A few weeks ago I saw a version of myself, as a teen, crossing the road. She wore baggy low-slung jeans held up with a Von Dutch skater belt, and a pink tank top that showed a hint of lower belly. I would not have been surprised if her belly button was pierced; I still bear the scar of that 2000s fashion choice.
Then, over the weekend on Auckland’s Karangahape Road, a group of young girls stood at the crossing next to me, with their baggy hip-hugging jeans flipped at the waist to show off the label. Cue more flashbacks to the style of my youth, and a small existential crisis about the state of fashion and my own mortality; the resurgence of “Y2K style” among Gen Z being the first time a trend has genuinely made me respond, ‘I was there the first time around’.
The concept of Y2K was originally more futuristic than what we may think of it as being now. Today’s version that we’re seeing everywhere is really an interpretation of various aesthetics of the early to mid-2000s, celebrity paparazzi culture and what trend forecasters call “McBling” - sparkly, hot pink, a little bit trashy but with a knowing wink. It was Paris Hilton wearing Juicy Couture and carrying a Fendi baguette handbag; it’s now Wellington-based poet Tayi Tibble’s “bougie native” style blending designer archival pieces with op-shop finds. It’s equally flashy and low-key - back then, it was enough to wear a white tank top with a pair of (low-cut) jeans. Just make sure your shoes were pointy, and makeup glossy.
It was a look that embraced excess and indulgence, post 9/11 and ahead of the Iraq War - a hedonistic response to turbulent and violent times. And so here we are, once more.
Overseas, this 2000s revival has been a longtime coming. As always these days, you could say this trend started on TikTok but I would say it actually started on the street, and has trickled its way up to the runway - from Blumarine’s literal interpretation to Conner Ives’ fringed handkerchief tops and headscarves.
At New York Fashion Week last month the brand Collina Strada released a digital fashion show that offered a tongue-in-cheek take on mid-noughties reality shows Laguna Beach and The Hills, while in Milan, Diesel forged a comeback of its own with leather literal belt skirts, logos, trucker caps and yes, low-rise jeans.
Style elements of the era are today being championed by a group of local young designers, many of whom embrace one-offs or made to order - a blend of a ‘90s indie spirit and a very now approach to reducing waste, with a noughties design perspective - like the tiny knit party dresses from RGK or the silk, puff-sleeved “going out tops” from Molly Perkinsons. They’re skin-baring pieces that say “I’m hot and I know it”.
Miu Miu created a stir last year when it sent models down the runway in very short skirts that looked like they came straight from an Xtina music video, slung low on the hips to expose hip bones and acres of midriff. That mini skirt has since gone on to appear on countless magazine covers and in shoots, including on Nicole Kidman for Vanity Fair, and become a sort of flashpoint for conversations around where fashion is heading.
It’s just a skirt but that, and the slim models being chosen to wear these 2000s inspired pieces on the runway and in shoots does raise the question: who is Y2K for? Back in the early 2000s there was a deeply unhealthy culture around thinness (the “Zoe-Bots” of 2005, celebrities styled by Rachel Zoe, were a brief but shameful pop culture moment for my generation), and sadly I can see echoes of that era. A backlash to fashion’s “inclusive” approach and the body positivity movements of recent years? It adds another complicated layer of discomfort around this 2000s “trend” comeback.
So who is 2000s fashion for? It’s not for me, anymore, but I can enjoy watching the youth give it a go, and maybe embrace the trends for tank tops, small bags and ridiculous sunglasses. But low-slung jeans are simply non-negotiable.
How to do noughties your way, now...
Pointed ankle boots
Anything with a butterfly
Karen Walker sterling silver ring, $99
A tank top
A flip phone
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 5G, from $1699
Small sunglasses (or wrap arounds, even better)
A little shoulder bag
Frosted makeup
Shiseido POP PowderGel Eye Shadow in ‘Shari-Shari Silver’, $42
A juicy couture tracksuit (but any will do)
