2020: Is Nostalgia The New Black?
It’s now 2020, and nostalgic fashion imagery from the '80s, '90s & 2000s have colonized our mood boards, Instagram feeds, and the catwalks to the point of making Generation Z nostalgic about times they’ve never lived. In just the past year, '80s high wasted jeans, fanny packs and oversized blazers have been populating the streets, bars and college campuses of major cities across the world. Marc Jacobs remade the infamous grunge collection that got him fired earlier in his career, and Dior’s 2000s iconic logo Saddle bag made a huge statement, paving the way for logomania’s comeback, infiltrating the catwalks of Burberry, Gucci, and Fendi. So, what exactly is it that’s making fashion-lovers so nostalgic?
Dior Logo Saddle Bag, Image Credit: Shutterstock/1211419000
Malika Imzour, a 26-year-old Paris-based freelance stylist told Peacock Plume, “a lot of the people I work with nowadays all want to dress in vintage, funky clothes. The most interesting thing I find about it is that people are actually adopting these '80s and '90s trends as their permanent, personal style.” When asked why, she added that, “it's almost a resentment for the current state of the fashion industry, this buying-and-throwing-away,”.
Generational expert, Alexis Abramson, told the Sourcing Journal, “When we reach back and pull up memories of our favorite teen idol, TV show or article of clothing we normally associate it with a positive experience, and we want more of the same.” Essentially, millennials are drawn to “sameness” and "familiarity" as a coping mechanism for major historical and cultural shifts. The crushing U.S. student loan debt, 9/11, a shrinking American middle-class, the rise of political polarization, and climate change. Just to name a few. It seems like we’re not just looking for high-waisted jeans or oversized blazers for the sake of wearing them, but rather, it's the longing for the more comforting times to which these staples belong.
As we move forward, self-expression is picking up momentum through digitalization. Meaning, more self-expression, more memories, more coping and even more nostalgia. So expect to see more trends from the past for the coming decade.
