In May 2019, Hailey Bieber arrived on the Met Gala red carpet in a backless, baby-pink dress.
When she turned around, there lay the top of a pink satin g-string.
The whale tail was back.
But a peek-a-boo thongmuch like razor-thin eyebrows and glittery pastel eyeshadowfelt a step beyond.
Two years later, the Y2K revival is in full swing.
What Is Y2K?
Design by Tiana Crispino / Getty Images
If there was one through thread of the era, it was excess.
The original Y2K, much like its resurgent counterpart, emerged as a bit of a pendulum swing.
That helped to set the stage for the Y2K fashion.
Design by Tiana Crispino / Getty Images
Beautyperhaps mercifullyalmost exclusively borrows from Y2K color palettes while eschewing the techniques of the time.
During the 20th century, nostalgia transformed yet again: this time, into a driving commercial force.
In the 1970s,Happy Daysruled the television airwaves while movies such asAmerican GraffitiandGreaseplayed on silver screens.
Design by Tiana Crispino / Getty Images
In 2008, I had a Motorola Razr that stayed charged for days on end and played a Panic!
At the Disco song when it rang.
I can easily go back and find photos of Paris Hilton from 2001 or Lindsey Lohan in 2005.
What Ive seen on the internet … is that Gen Z Y2K fashion is extremely white-washed, she says.
Along with social media, the rapid advancements in technology has also shaped our overall cultural relationship with time.
Simply put: We expect more, and we expect it faster.
And that includes our clothing and makeup.
As such, its understandable that designers turn to the last big thing when conceptualizing the next big thing.
Will Nostalgic Fashion Last?
For one, says Hill, trends dont come and go in neat silos based on the calendar.
Its important that we not get too caught up in the concept of the 20-year cycle.
Sseguya-Lwanga and Le both note that the very social media perpetuating the trend will also bring its downfall.
Social media has led to an oversaturation of trends, says Le.
Its definitely depressing for the environment.
Defining generations: where millennials end and generation z begins.
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