Youth Month Digimag - June 2021

The return of the Y2K aesthetic THE year 2000 is one of the most memorable years because of the iconic cyberpunk fashion trends, the rise of technology and the fact that people thought the world was going to end.

It can be compared to the year 2020 as many thought the world was coming to an end, thanks to the global pandemic and even though things are slowly going back to normal, there is no promise that the future is going to be any better.

This may be why Gen Zs have been gravitating back to fashion trends from the year 2000 (Y2K), which was a simpler time, full of promise, if you did not believe the world was going to end, of course.

The Y2K aesthetic started around the late 1990s, when people were both terrified and excited about the rise of technology. While some were looking forward to the new era, others feared that the year 2000 would be the end of the world due to a “computer bug” that was projected to create so much havoc in computers and computer networks, that the world would cease to exist.

Luckily, this did not happen, but instead people got to experience new gadgets and futuristic fashion trends that included coloured sunglasses, velour tracksuits, and tiny baguette bags.

Thanks to that very same technology, young people have been able to use the internet to go back in time and get some inspiration from the era that some of them are too young to remember living through.

It is common in the fashion industry to see a ‘blast from the past’ and the return of the Y2K aesthetic is exactly that – the reappearance of clothing and aesthetic trends from the late 90s and the year 2000.

You can see it today in the fashion influences. Take the transparent heels and accessories trend and the translucent make-up we see in editorials.

It’s prevalent in video games, design and also, music. It’s an amalgam of the best bits of the 2000s – grunge, animé, pop, and a lot of tech.

When Apple launched its new iMacs, they paid homage to their original iMacs, which were translucent and colourful.

The many reboots of iconic 2000 era films, such as The Matrix, have also re-ignited our interest in the Y2K aesthetic.

The trend is more prevalent in fashion, where we are seeing the return of low-rise jeans, wide-leg jeans, bedazzled shirts and cardigans. The sneakers have translucent soles and psychedelic colours.