by Anna Fahkri '24 on November 4, 2023
Opinion
With the increase of denim maxi skirts, silky tops, and low-rise jeans on my Instagram feed, it’s safe to say that trends from the 90s-2000s are coming back into style. It feels as if almost every influencer online has a new pair of cargo pants, is sporting the classic 2000s smokey eye, or is listening to 90s music. The resurgence of vintage styles has taken over 2023, and it seems to be a result of a subconscious, unintentional influence of technology.
Our current use of technology, such as social media and the ability it gives us to connect with loved ones and strangers online almost instantaneously, has left us feeling more alone than ever. When was the last time when you were by yourself and you weren’t on your phone or consuming some type of media? It may be impossible to remember. We have been blessed with the technology to be in touch with the world around us at any given moment, but have simultaneously diminished our ability to be completely alone. This incessant need to be entertained or find a sense of escapism in media is why, I feel, that 80s/90s/2000s cinema has sparked a great influence on Gen Z and our sense of fashion.
Many of the movies most beloved today are Gen X classics, like Stand By Me or The Breakfast Club. Even classic Rom-Coms, like 10 Things I Hate About You, are always a go-to when there’s nothing to watch. Movies like these notably take place in eras when technology did not have the same profound effect that it has now. People in these films live in the moment and experience real human connection. We are drawn to these types of movies because we lack such connections in real life. Feeling a sense of escapism through them, we are subconsciously influenced by these characters. Though we can’t exactly erase the presence of technology in our world, something like a vintage character’s fashion sense, for example, can be easily, and sometimes unintentionally, replicated. I feel that our generation’s desperate need for human connection has caused a revival of vintage media, and in turn, allowed for a resurgence in fashion trends.