From The White Lotus’ Portia to Gisele gyrating in gynaecologically challenged low-slung white jeans and a tassel belt, it’s obvious that fashion is in its noughties nostalgia era. 

And nowhere is that more obvious than amongst Gen Z who are co-opting the aesthetic all over TikTok. But how accurate are these modern day interpretations? Were the 2000s as legitimately cool as today’s trend forecasters would have us believe, or are they simply being viewed through rose-tinted Chloé heart sunglasses?

It’s a question that feeds into one of my longstanding obsessions. At what point do garments stop being daggy ‘last season’ and turn the corner to covetable ‘vintage’? And, as someone who is ageing to the point of being there the first time around, is it possible to enjoy ‘vintage’ in our lifetime, or will there always be something a bit ‘off’ about the originals?

In the words of the great poet Lorde, “Don't you think the early 2000s seem so far away?”

In the year 2000 I was living in Melbourne working as an editor for a start-up. The following year I returned to NZ to work as Kate Sylvester’s sales and PR manager, putting me at the epicentre of everything that was cool and exciting about fashion in Aotearoa. 

The work of Karen Inderbitzen-Waller and Rachael Churchward in Pavement magazine, the first flushes of NZFW that saw for the first time international buyers and critics visit, rather than our designers having to travel, increasing numbers of Kiwi designers showing at Australian Fashion Week, plugging away at international sales. It was a fertile and exciting time - albeit one that viewed fashion through a very narrow and rather problematic lens.

But when I recently dug into my archive (a fancy way of saying ‘old’) of clothing and unpacked boxes of musty-scented clothes from the last century, I have to say, there’s nothing I’d actually wear now. And I don’t think I could convince any teens to wear it either. 

With these questions burning deep in our brains, we dusted off the floppy discs to trawl, and critique, the archives.

World

From the show that undoubtedly put NZ fashion on the map: before there was high-speed internet, social media or any other ways of cheaply and swiftly spreading imagery and information, there was the ‘NZ4’. A group of NZ designers (amongst them Zambesi, World, NOM*d and Karen Walker) who travelled to London in 1999 for a  show organised by NZ Trade & Enterprise and Wools of NZ.

The show, which previewed 2000 collections, was famously well-received by global fashion media who clearly didn’t expect anything cerebral, intelligent and well-made to come from such a far flung land. It’s this goodwill that helped open doors for NZFW to come and proved us to be a nation that don’t slavishly follow trends. That said, this World dress is so intricate and beautiful, crafted and timeless.

While it might not overtly scream ‘noughties’, it certainly can be seen as influencer in the work of our current Gen Z designer crop; it wouldn’t look out of place in a collection by Emma Jing or Taylor Groves.

This look from World 2005 is a hot mess and a no from me. It’s very Kim from Kath and Kim...

This is a positively subdued look for World, who never met a Swarovski crystal they didn’t want to embellish further. I tend to associate World with power dressing and shoulder pads. This is like they tried to embrace the move into the more bohemian trends popularised by emerging brands at the time like Tsubi and Sass & Bide. I kind of like it? But it’s definitely far too Brethren to be embraced by the kids of today.  

International Play Girl

International Play Girl (IPG) was a very ‘of the moment’ short-lived local brand, beloved by those who weren’t hindered by Kiwi modesty / did not see a need for leggings.

Ironically this brand, which was far too flashy for Kiwis at the time, is probably the one most in line with the reemergence of noughties fashion today. There doesn’t seem to be much around the usual secondhand haunts, although this is possibly more to do with the cheap fabrics and lack of crafting that went into them rather than a resurgence in popularity.

I can see The White Lotus' Portia, with her proven poor decision making skills, wearing this blue IPG dress as she teeters around the cobblestoned corridors of Sicily. A gold hoop appears to be holding up the handkerchief top at the neck, which is perhaps a bit too authentically ‘of the time’, as is the Mariah Carey-inspired butterfly halo.

Karen Walker

Never a particularly trend-based designer, Karen Walker’s 2003 NZFW show, where she first launched her jewellery line, was a discombobulating experience for attendees expecting a catwalk (although possibly not as polarising as her Australian Fashion Week show in 2000, where guests were provided with Discmans and headphones to select their own music. Karen and her creative partner Mikhail Gherman appear to have little interest in pleasing a crowd). 

Zoe trawls TradeMe and eBay to collect pieces from this KW era - but the head scarf definitely would not find a home in a current collection, and the omnipotent Kiwiana-esque leggings would also likely get a wide berth from newcomers to the noughties. 

I’m pretty sure I had this Karen Walker bib/top. And I’m pretty sure if I still had it I’d wear it again. It reminds me of a cooler interpretation of a handkerchief top. That said, the fit of these pieces in unprecedented (aka modern) times are so askew, I expect it would look like weird petals spilling from my taut bosom.

Zambesi

Zambesi prove the timelessness of their designs in this street style snap of former retail assistant Briar Neville, who was photographed in 2006 wearing a Zambesi scarf and dress layered with a NOM*d (this was the era of purchases from Zambesi almost needing an instruction manual for their complexities and multiple ways of use.

Former fashion editor and stylist Tamzyn Elliott was photographed in 2005 wearing an outfit that would not look at all out of place today: a Zambesi white linen bustier, low-slung Starfish skirt (the seminal sustainable brand founded by Wellington deputy mayor Laurie Foon in 1993) paired with a NOM*d wristband and vintage boots from the iconic Karangahape Road vintage store Fast & Loose (RIP).

Kate Sylvester

The dour lighting of the musty old town hall of NZFW 2002 only adds to the ambience of this Kate Sylvester show. The top I would wear now. The leggings under the knee-length skirt, not so much.

Kate Sylvester has also never been an overtly trend-driven brand. In this campaign image from 2004 however, there are some unmistakable nods to the noughties – the low slung waist of the skirt and the salvaged edges of the tee.

Carlson

Gosh we really loved a hat accessory back then huh. Other than that, and the dated boots, I reckon I wouldn’t be alone in saying I’d wear this Carlson dress as shown at NZFW 2002 again. In Tanya’s defence, the collection was inspired by Guns N Roses, the hat presumably Slash-esque.

Sabatini

Sabatini is known for its timeless knitwear. This, from an indeterminate time in the early 'aughts, is not of that era. Ivanka Trump meets Heidi on a ski holiday in Aspen is how I’d describe this. At least they’ve given us a break from the ocean of leggings, by giving us a stiff serve of upper thigh instead of ankle.