Why Is There a Resurgence in the 90s Fashion Trend? – All You Need To Know As Creatives

The 90s fashion trend is really back! We thought we’d just get nostalgic and move on, but they’re sticking around really nicely! Is this a coincidence? Is it all a part of a plan, or are we living in a time warp?

The resurgence of the 90s fashion is predominant compared to that of other decades. The 90s era indeed influenced the style and the creative industry. These trends have been enduring for quite a long while. We’ve seen a lot of 90s fads resurface in better designs. But we seem not to bother much about why this is happening, leaving other eras behind. Why Is There a Resurgence in 90s Fashion?

Don’t get me wrong! We’re not quibbling at all! But……What’s so different about the 90s and its style that makes this so?

Let’s retrace a bit -what was so alluring about the 90s fashion trend?

It’s fair to say that the 90s fashion designers were very experimental about fashion trends. Designs were expressive, captivating, and exciting. It was a period packed with creative innovations from street style, grunge, hip-hop, and African fashion. This made it one of the best fashion eras.

This age reintroduced minimalism in another dimension. It was a breath of fresh air from the jazzy and elaborate designs of the ‘80s. Bold, bright, and flashy designs were replaced with more uncomplicated and comfortable fits. The 80s were about more weight and volume -shoulder pads, heavy skirts, and an obsessive craving for designer wear.

In contrast, the 90s fashion trend came with trends less garish. People opted for lighter wear to barely anything. The slip dresses with spaghetti straps remain a lasting example. ‘90s clothes were also less expensive and required low maintenance.

Towards the end of the decade, fashion continued to move towards this approach, and we were sure it was here to stay! To date, it has been hard to pin down the 90s fashion trend. We now have most of them as staples on our closets -bike shorts, wide-leg jeans, denim jackets, cargo pants, and flannel shirts.

So yeah! The 90s fashion trend era was a whirlwind of fashion activity and innovation.  No wonder it’s still evident in the 2000s. The simplicity it had is undoubtedly appealing.

Brief Rundown of the 90s Fashion trend: What Did We Wear?

It’s no myth that we had a clash of fashion trends in the 1990s. Some were statement pieces, while others were meant to be a part of the everyday collection.

The 90s also birthed many fashion brands, which reigned supreme through the decade. Fashion labels like Calvin Klein, Versace, Chanel, and Tommy Hilfiger ruled the decade. Some remain well-known to date, while others have seen better days.

The iconic moment for Versace was when celebrity supermodels Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, Naomi Campbell, and Cindy Crawford walked arm-in-arm for the finale of its Fall 1991 collection.

Now, moving on to what we wore in the 90s!

90s fashion trend for Women

The Early 90s fashion

This era was dominated by supermodels including Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, Tatjana Patitz, Nadja Auermann, Christy Turlington, Kate Moss, Cindy Crawford, and Eva Herzigova. The most influential group of supermodels was called the ‘Big Five,’ which consisted of Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Christy Turlington, Cindy Crawford, and Tatjana Patitz. They really influenced fashion in the early 90s trend.

During this period (1990 – 1993), womenswear was basically neon-colored shirts, denim jackets, spandex leggings, crop tops, bike shorts, mom jeans, and button-down shirts. Leopard-printed skirts and pants were also trendy. This period was mainly about looking ‘glammy and feminine,’ and waif-like model Kate Moss had a hand in making this last for as long as possible.

Then, grunge fashion came into the limelight for both men and women. In 1992, grunge fashion consisted of jeans with wide legs (flared), mom jeans, ripped jeans, flannel shirts, oversized sweaters, combat boots, Birkenstocks, and Band T-shirts. Metallic accessories were top-choice complementary pieces. People continued to embrace this fashion until 1994.

The Mid 90s fashion trend

Towards the end of 1994, grunge fashion faded quickly. Women’s style became more body-fitting and feminine again. Baggy and boyish clothes were replaced with silky clubwear. An excellent example of this is the undergarment turned outerwear -Slip Dresses.

The ‘Sexy School Girl look” became popular amongst younger women. It was made of miniskirts, bike shorts, undersized sweaters, knee-high and thigh-high boots, pantyhose, backpacks, ballets flats, and scrunchies. Meanwhile, older women opted for petticoats, pencil skirts, cardigans, leather jackets, and loafers.

The Late 90s fashion trend

Casual chic fashion became appreciated from 1997-to 2001. Both sexes decisively opted for more comfortable clothes. This style was dominated by tracksuits, sweatpants, spaghetti strap crop tops, and stonewash jeans. The famous Queen of athleisure wear, Princess Diana, left no style unturned in this fashion era.

90s fashion trend for Men

The Early 90s fashion

From 1990 to 1993, men considered casual clothing and grunge fashion the real deal. They wore high-waist jeans, denim jackets, and plain tees. Then from this period leading into 1997, men clung to grunge fashion which included swearing flannel shirts, acid-washed jeans, turtlenecks, and sweaters. Shoes were nothing besides All-stars converse, Doctor Martens, and combat boots.

The Mid 90s fashion trend

Casual fashion dominated this era but slowly gave way to modern preppy and hip-hop styles. Preppy fashion originated in the USA, and men worldwide adopted the trend.  Stripped T-shirts, boat shoes, casual sneakers, and short-sleeved shirts made up the starter pack. Brands like Gap and Old Navy provided the right fit for this trend.

Then Hip-hop fashion took over as the leading style. Men copped baggy jeans, baseball jackets, bomber jackets, and tracksuits to look trendy. Sportswear (basketball and baseball T-shirts) became acceptable as casual wear due to the influence of hip-hop rappers.

The Late 90s fashion

Grunge fashion became more and more unfashionable, and every man ditched it and stuck to the trendy streetwear. More stylish clothes became more appreciated. Loose-fitting T-shirts, Khaki jeans or chinos, and leather clothes became stylish. It became more fashionable to leave shirts untucked. This brought about the revival of more solid colors, and in turn, the rebirth of brand designers like Calvin Klein also ensued.

Is The Resurgence Worth It?

Fashion is a cyclical system. Trends are repetitive and revolutionary. Now that we’ve discussed the ‘90s fashion, we can easily deduce that there is a resurgence because the era had a lot to offer. It introduced a new dimension to dressing which we embrace and don’t mind reliving.

Therefore, we do not doubt that the resurgence is undoubtedly worth the craze! And as long as social media and the internet are active, we’re sure to expect more recurrence from this era.

Since the 90s fashion trend is here to live once more, we will wholeheartedly accept them and watch out for ways to look classic. Celebrities like Bella Hadid have proven to us countlessly that ‘90s fashion is back and better than we had even imagined! We guess ‘You Only Live Once -YOLO’ doesn’t apply here!

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