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Fashion
LifestyleFashion & Beauty

Return of Y2K fashion: why the Gen Z looks of Kim Kardashian, Paris Hilton and Britney Spears are making a comeback

  • From the Fendi Baguette to crop tops to boot cut jeans, Y2K fashion is on the way back, with millennials embracing its nostalgic style
  • We look back at clothing trends that stood for a simpler time

Reading Time:4 minutes
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Britney Spears – in any outfit – set the standard for Y2K fashion. Now that it’s is cool again, we look back at some of the trends that helped define the OG decade.
Ginny Wong

Walking into H&M a few weeks ago felt a little bit like going back in time. Crop tees, flared trousers, flatform sandals … I had, somehow, inadvertently stumbled into 2003, a time when I would go home after school, log on to MSN Messenger and talk to the friends I’d literally last seen an hour ago.

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Back then, my biggest worries were homework and whether any of the boys I fancied had spared me a passing thought. Now, my concerns lean more towards things like if I’ve slathered enough antibacterial gel on my hands and whether a tickle at the back of my throat could be Covid-19-related.

That, and also boys.

Maybe that’s why a number of millennials (born in the 1980s and early ’90s) like me are wholeheartedly embracing Y2K fashion – it was a simpler time, and we’re nostalgic for it. The trend is not new – it has been steadily picking up steam for a few years – but now it’s in full force.

 
Y2K fashion’s return has been driven by Gen Z (the post-95 generation), and is inspired by the mid-’90s and early 2000s. Think Keira Knightley on the red carpet in a teeny tiny white top and super low-rise jeans, then-party girls Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian in velour tracksuits or strappy, baby pink minidresses, and Britney Spears – in any outfit. They’re all looks that we’re seeing on young people now, who are making them appear effortlessly stylish.
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We’re not just seeing this on the high street – major fashion labels are embracing the throwback, too. Tom Ford’s autumn/winter 2020 collection saw a return to low-slung trousers on the catwalk.

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