As long as you have not been living under a rock, you have probably already noticed that fashion world is absolutely obsessed by 2000s fashion. It’s official: the decade with the most controversial and contentious trends is having its moment again and the guilty for this comeback is the worldwide known app TikTok.
In the fashion industry, there is a phenomenon called the 20 year trend cycle. It conveys the idea that every 20 years, people start revisiting aesthetics that were strong in the popular culture exactly 20 years ago. In other words, this rule is about the time it takes for a trend to die, then become fashionable again.
This cycle happens because the generations renew themselves, and the nostalgia factor creates a romanticized vision of the old years. The 2000s fashion revival comes to reinforce the idea that new generations feel the necessity to try clothes, behaviors, and movements from the past, as they didn’t have the opportunity to live it in the old times.
What leads us to TikTok, the most widely used platform nowadays. According to Forrester Research, 63% of Americans between the ages of 12 and 17 use TikTok on a weekly basis. The concentration of this new generation on this social media would explain why TikTok has been the greatest guilty for the 2000s fashion explosion.
Along with social media power, another considerable influence came from the trendsetters – someone or something that starts or helps to popularize a new fashion. Back to 20 years ago, the famous trendsetter team would be primarily constituted by names such as Britney Spears, Christina Milan, Lindsay Lohan, and Mariah Carey. Likewise, the current era does have its team, however, it has new faces and new ways to engage the modern generation. Dua Lipa, Bella Hadid, Hailey Bieber, Anitta, and Kim Kardashian are just a few names that have the potent power of setting the fashion trends nowadays. Although all the current stars’ outfits have a modern impact, it is clear how the 2000s trendsetter superstars still affect the choices of this new celebrity group. Therefore, it is easy to point out high similar outfits between these two different trendsetter generations, even though there are more than 20 years between them.
Butterflies, bucket hats, visible thongs, all denim outfits and much more, are strong references from the 2000s fashion.
Pointedly, as mentioned earlier, a trendsetter can be someone or something, and if there is one thing that luxury brands know how to do, it is to popularize – or repopularize – a fashion trend. A great example is what Miu Miu did in its 2022 fashion show, where it brought back the controversial SUPER mini skirt -an extremely famous piece from the 2000s.
As well as Valentino’s last show in Paris Fashion Week, where the brand delivered most of its looks in shocking pink -an exclusive Pantone pink color created by Valentino. Intended or not, it is impossible not to remember Paris Hilton and her obsession with the color.
Moreover, it’s interesting to see big fashion brands using different kinds and sources of inspiration when dealing with the 2000s. Versace, for example, used the most hyped doll of the 2000s, Bratz, as its main source of inspiration to create the high heels of the moment.
At the end of the day, for the clever ones who know how to pick up the best from the moment, explosion trends are just another open door to launch products that consumers will undoubtedly get crazy to purchase. Similarly, in 2020, Kim Kardashian, in a typically expert marketing move, joined her icon friend Paris Hilton to recreate throwback moments wearing velour tracksuits. Everything was done with a simple goal: promote Kim’s new loungewear collection from her line Skims.
To sum up, beauty and fashion trends from the 2000s are reviving, and it`s all because teenagers, getting inspired by TikTok and trendsetters, seem to love the very era they barely experienced. Again, nostalgia appears to win over old memories, especially considering that the fashion of the 2000s is undoubtedly back and, deservedly, impossible to miss.
