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The 1990s are back baby but forget low-rise jeans, shell suits and platform trainers, it’s the nostalgia of minimalism that proves real style outlasts trends
With 1990s fashion catnip again, minimalism dominates this and next season too. The 1990s is the most used tag to describe the spring/ summer 2024 collections, while on TikTok, videos about the decade have more than 93 million views. The current winter collections have been underscored by restraint, unfussy silhouettes and sleek simplicity in tribute to the minimalism that defined the era.
Favourites including slip dresses, oversized coats, slouchy jeans, ballet slippers, vest tops and long cardigans have all featured prominently in designers’ ranges this season. Make-up and hair also has a strong 1990s feel with lip liner, smoky brown eyes, nude lips and sleek bobs trending, no doubt inspired by the recent Supermodels documentary series.
Add to this the imminent publication of the book Carolyn Bessette Kennedy: A Life In Fashion, which highlights her enduring influence and legacy as the queen of minimalism, along with the return of designer Phoebe Philo, and it feels safe to say that we are at peak 1990s nostalgia.
The potency of this throwback is not to be underestimated, especially as the world presents as increasingly threatening, even teetering on the edge of calamity. War, global warming and the shifting tectonic plates of power as America and the UK flounder all create a sentimental longing for a more secure past. Being too invested in frivolous fashion now feels out of step with the general air of amplified anxiety. Better to pare right back with understated clothing choices that are under the radar, muted and not extravagant.
While fashion is famed for eternally cannibalising the past to re-sell it again, this revival feels both potent and wistful. The 1990s were