Akshara

“We study history not to know the future but to widen our horizons, to understand that our present situation is neither natural nor inevitable, and that we consequently have many more possibilities before us than we imagine”

– Sapeins: A Brief History of Humankind, pg. 269

If we are to say history repeats itself, sure enough we are living in the Y2K era. A definitive era that has come full circle. As trends come and go, the power of the early 2000’s is bigger than nostalgia. What we saw in music videos, magazine covers and down the runway was a glimpse into the future on what today, would inspire a new generation.

It was a time of low-rise jeans, butterfly clips, halter tops, platform thongs, matched with a smear of glitter eyeshadow. It was a vibe. Forward to present day TikTok were we are currently living in the metaverse version of the 2000’s, with cropped knit cardigans, mini skirts & the return of mini butterfly clips, holding strands of hair framing your face.

As a product of the 90’s I vividly remember one of my most memorable outfits I had worn to the movies. I had worn a pink halter neck top that had an iridescent pink sequence butterfly, pink flared corduroy pants, a white belt and foam pink platform sandals. Without knowing, I was a part of an era that went down in shape shifting history.

A big part of what solidifies the Y2K aesthetic is the impact pop culture had on influencing a generation and beyond on what to wear. If there was one movie that has touched an entire generation of brown girls its, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. Mini skirts, sequin crop tops, low-rise cargo pants and a neon halter top were as relevant back then as they are today.

More recently, Ahluwalia debuted her AW22 collection at London Fashion week a few days ago, the collection was heavily inspired by Bollywood & Nollywood imagery and dramatic story telling. Ahluwalia perfects the art of story telling by the use of texture, print on print and colours of bubble gum pink with teal. What we see is motion picture x fashion x nostalgia x the disruption of everyday wear.

With the last two years dramatically changing out lives, the Miu Miu 2022 Spring Ready to wear collection, extends the perfect balance of disruption and is the definition of question everything. What once was a known as ‘uniform’ for work, your basic shirt and trousers has now erupted into baggy, low waist pants, frayed hems and even tinier hemlines. Smoky tones and the occasional POP of colour are soon to be staples for your ‘everyday is casual Friday look’. What Miu Miu represented was the early 2000s meets post-pandemic work wear, the clothes were a nod to naughties low rise trend, whereas, the textures and tones were reflective of the pre-pandemic work wear reprised. In my opinion, that is the real power of “if history has taught us anything…”.

Today, fashion shows are less about selling the clothes or making them the main attraction but using them as a tool to get your view across to the audience.

-A