The 2000s are coming back: the reasons why this era is so fascinating today

Low-rise jeans, colourful belly button piercings, Juicy Couture velvet tracksuits, spaghetti strap tops and candy pink lipglosses: it’s hard to ignore the 2000s fashion coming back in the streets or on social media. But what is the explanation behind the rebound of these trends once deemed kitsch and not so harmonious?

 The “Plastics” from Mean Girls, 2004. © Alamy

The 2000s, a frivolity period full of energy

The whole era could be summed up in one word: carefreeness. The 2000s are a colourful time, a bubble out of the time which bloomed after the AIDS years and which started an injunction to not take oneself seriously. Fashion trends were sometimes uncertain – among them the bob, the Hawaiian shirt, flip-flops and full denim outfits – and were the result of this will to not bend to any limit, but not only. It’s for the same reason that this period, which still bore the multicoloured exuberance of the 1980s and the aventurous and tomboyish casualness of the 1990s, saw the rise of crude reality TV shows full of gags as well as now cult series such as Gilmore Girls, Lizzie McGuire, That’s so Raven and One Tree Hill. These TV series take place in fictional worlds which offer an escape from reality to stay in a flamboyant optimism.

Spice Girls during a concert in Toronto, 2008. © Eric Mutrie

A new form of emancipation of women

The 2000s also marked the promise of a refreshing feminism which bound power to sensuality and showed a female body empowerment. The Spice Girls were the main protagonists of this feminism, but also the scandalous Paris Hilton or even Reese Witherspoon’s character in Legally Blonde, now considered to be a feminist film. These are the icons today’s artists make use of to try and bring up to date this feminism combined with a provocating cheekiness. In her “thank u, next” music video, Ariana Grande paid tribute to Legally Blonde but also Mean Girls, whose leading role is played by the famous Lindsay Lohan, who was the protagonist of many rom-coms during the decade. In her “Motivation” music video, Normani also took inspiration from the “Crazy In Love” music video from Beyoncé (2003) to prove that the 2000s sparkle is still there and to display intersectional feminism. It’s an ode to girl power, always associated with playfulness, glitter dust and creamy tones.

During a demonstration supporting the abortion right in front of the SCOTUS, 2016. The poster on the left shows a direct reference to one of Regina George’s lines in Mean Girls. © Jordan Uhl

An intense comeback to lighten society’s evils

With the boom in social media and in tabloids, stars have swept under the carpet their clothing experiences at a time where they have to put on a performance and show daily perfection through shots made with the help of professionals. Since this sudden composure at the beginning of the 2010s, the 2000s have decided to rear their head again, just like a reminder of good old times and to breathe a bit more optimism into this #MeToo era. Even Paris Hilton is showing self-deprecation of the person she was a dozen years ago on social media. The 2000s comeback is like the alliance between a darkened present and the sweet provocation of starlets from twenty years ago. In short: progressism, but make it sexy.