The 90s fashion trends are becoming the 2019 trends.
The 90s were for many of us the year zero, the beginning of the Internet, with the 56k and the sound that made us hope to be able to spend some very slow hours “surfing” the internet, not so very “social” at that time. Music becomes free and downloadable thanks to Napster.
These were the years of the Walkman and floppy disk, of bungee jumping and generational situation comedy, of the Tamagotchi and the Game Boy, of inline roller skates. These are the years of Twin Peaks and X-Files.
The Rave Culture
This decade will also be remembered for the Rave Culture, as popular as it is criminalised. The Rave Parties are illegal parties that last for days, organised last-minute, born in the 90s in England. The main points in rave were very loud house music or techno, lots of alcohol and drugs. In those raves is where were introduced new drugs: MDMA and Extasis.
The young people of that period also organise protest rallies against Globalisation and against the politics of the multinationals.
The slogans are taken directly from Naomi Klein’s No-Logo book: No space, No choice, No jobs, No logo.
Vintage repeats itself
The nineties are by now a distant memory but in fashion, cyclically, vintage repeats itself. Thus the 90s style is proposed again in 2019, with some items like the overalls and the bumbag.
Being yourself.
In the foreground were individuality and personal style. Fashion in the 1990s is a mix of beliefs that reflect diversity in society: on the one hand, anti-fashion, minimalism and “fake poor” style, on the other, the super-coloured barbie woman.
Musical groups like Pearl Jam and Nirvana launch Grunge fashion, while Spice Girls celebrate girl power and uniqueness, so each of them (Sporty, Ginger, Posh, Baby and Scary) had a unique look that will be much copied in that time. The five girls owe the popularity of wedges, pigtails and body glitter.
Kate Moss and Johnny Depp
Kurt Cobain
Grunge Style, the “Come as You Are” fashion.
Kurt Cobain and his wife Courtney Love become the image of this style. Ripped trousers, oversized checked shirts worn unbuttoned on t-shirts with prints and writings, double t-shirts (long sleeves worn under a t-shirt, maybe both torn at some point and very worn), felted sweaters, All Star at feet for him; while the leader of Hole unleashes the “kinderwhore” style with torn stockings, baby dolls used as clothes, studs and Dr Martens, for her. For both the hair is long and unkempt, the style of “just got off the bed”.
No man has embodied the grunge mood more than Kurt Cobain. His striped shirt, round glasses and patchwork jeans as well as his iconic green cardigan with holes and missing buttons. So iconic and historic that it was auctioned for $ 137,500 in 2015.
Hip Hop
Hip Hop fashion starts in the 80s but it is in the 90s that it takes a new turn. Wide pants, worn with exposed briefs, baseball cap, shirts and jackets buttoned only on the first button. For women, the pants are loose-fitting worn with a tight-fitting shirt or top with bright, almost fluorescent colours. The hair is smooth, with fringe.
Will Smith, the Prince of Bel Air, becomes a trendsetter with colourful overalls, Zubaz trousers, Bermuda shorts and an impressive Jordan collection. Over all, oversized t-shirts and cartoon-style accessories.
They are also the years of floral dresses, of formless jeans, of petticoat dresses. Finally the timeless round and small glasses, the crop tops, the bras used as a t-shirt and the biker shorts … In short, everything that street style offers us today was already in the 90s.
Winona Ryder inaugurates its tomboy style that immediately captures the attention of the public. Pixie cut and total black look become her trademarks.
Winona Ryder and her Tomboy style
Madonna
Sexy Schoolgirls
In the early 1990s, a lost and bewildered girl arrived from London: Kate Moss, the antithesis of the top models who had depopulated in the 1980s. With her begins the era of the “heroin chic”, which enhances the androgynous features and very dry silhouettes.
The “porn-chic” aesthetic spreads. Navel piercing and bubblegum pop, with Britney Spears with a sexy and mischievous schoolgirl look that paves the way for low-waisted jeans, navel rings, miniskirts and colourful tank tops that would have characterised the style of the end of the decade.
The usual Madonna is confirmed as a fashion icon with one of her most memorable looks: the bra with the cone-shaped cups that Jean Paul Gaultier designed for his Blond Ambition Tour in 1990.
More Music For The Jilted Generation
The Prodigy also come from the United Kingdom, changing the sound and culture of the 1990s with a style that we can define as the new punk. Their music marks the transition between rave electronics and rock: an unprecedented hybrid.
It is they who transform the DJ into a musician, producer of his own music and who will see the transformation of this role in the following years. No longer a simple “record holder” but a true artist who creates new styles and genres.
Prodigy
90s Fashion Trends
Style icons
From the USA come styles launched by Hollywood stars: Drew Barrymore launches the slightly hippie and a bit wild look, mixing elements of grunge, dark makeup, wavy hair and tattoos, with a bohemian style made of clothes and flower crowns.
Jennifer Aniston, one of the protagonists of the Friends series, launches her wavy and scaled haircut, created by hairstylist Chris McMillan that will become the most requested cut of the 90s.
The very blonde Gwen Stefani wears cargo pants and very short tops, all complemented by a bindi on the forehead, the decoration for the front coming from India), and a head full of small buns.
Must have 90 years for 2019
Flowered skirts, sports shoes, miniskirts and crop tops, denim jackets always and in any case, worn on clothes inspired by underwear.
The grunge style, in particular, has returned to great with garments and accessories. The black leather jacket or denim jacket breaks up the bon ton look of a floral print or solid colour dress, a sheath dress, or help create an urban look when paired with jeans and T-shirts; overalls is another great return of the Nineties decade. And always the timeless amphibians of Dr Martens.
One of the 90’s must haves was the wool hat: for a perfect look beanie you had to choose it strictly black or at most burgundy or grey.
The dark style features heavy makeup, smooth velvet, wide sleeves and bijoux with crystals, pearls and chokers. In addition to this it was practically impossible to resist the charm of the Parisians, the simple knee socks.
The choker is omnipresent, the velvet crew-neck collar presented again this year by many designers.
Undoubtedly in the 90s music, culture and fashion went hand in hand, with grunge and minimalism that represented the main trends of the decade.
The 90s were an incredible decade for music.
Nu metal was born in those years, influenced by rap, grunge, tribal sounds or Balkan rhythms. Brings metal to the masses, making it more catchy and dance-able. The spread of clubs that play from metal to rock and mix it through nu metal is unleashed.
The main bands, like Korn, System Of A Down, Limp Bizkit, Deftones, Slipknot are on all the charts. The metal rock mix is electrifying. And the look that comes up is total black with black sweatshirts, black t-shirts, black jeans, black leather jackets. For the hair a complicated style: dreadlocks.
Nirvana
90s Fashion Trends
