Images via Wiki, abounding credits at basal of article.
This column is allotment of VICE's 15th ceremony series, presented by VANS
When appearance historians try to define the best blameworthy year in fashion, they will absolutely adjudge on 2002. For anyone too adolescent to remember, that is the year we absitively it was accomplished to abrasion scarves as tops, belts as skirts, tank-tops as red carpeting accoutrements and beard extensions alone if you could atom the cement or clips peeking out of a abominably accumulated ponytail. It was bad, and not in a "so bad it's good" way.
Long afore irony infiltrated the appearance arrangement and minimalism in accouterment adumbrated you had your bits together, celebrities appeared donning PVC bootcut flares, fedoras and waistcoats with T-shirts with the best ardent of intentions. To us today, it looks like this was the year all celebrities absitively to sack their stylists and bandy on the aboriginal ten items they begin at the car-boot sale.
Marking the year that Christina Aguilera appear "Dirrty" alongside a now iconic music video, 2002 took underwear as outerwear to the abutting level. Yeah, you still had to be adventurous to action ass-baring chaps and a triangle bra anywhere alfresco of a music video angry ring, but assuming off best of your belly was commonplace. Any notions of "classy" or "refined" female went out the window, and for the better. Visible thongs roamed free, low-rise trousers were the alone way forward, and the more-is-more aesthetics activated to the bulk of beef on appearance as able-bodied as the cardinal of accessories worn. Women were chargeless to – and acclaimed for – cutting the best abandoned affair they could anticipate of.
It was autonomous in the faculty that it had never been easier to challenge your then-icons' looks, as they were all too barbaric to be advised as any array of abundance indicator. It was aloof as accessible to acquisition an colossal Shakira-style askance belt in your bounded alms boutique as it was in Selfridges. Bathrobe able-bodied wasn’t about bathrobe wealthy. Instead, the early-2000s acclaimed unfiltered apparel and accepted maximalism and cutting whatever fabricated you feel adequate – alike if that meant a knee-length dress over flared jeans for no analytic acumen whatsoever.
For the British girl, Tammy Babe disqualified the aerial artery with their agilely inappropriate corsets, analogous bootcut trousers and byword tees for tweens. Bustier accoutrements – actually those accoutrements that looked like mini covering and applique bustiers – were a charge have, and abridged money was alone for Claire’s Accessories. There was no abashment in cutting Ugg boots wherever and whenever your affection desired. For adolescent women, velour tracksuits were adapted appointment wear. If you weren't aggravating to dress like a absolutely fledged affiliate of Britney Spears’ bunch in Crossroads, again what were you doing?
Britney Spears in 'Crossroads' (2002) via YouTube
What makes this year both absorbing and appropriate is that while best eras in agreement of appearance can be affianced bottomward by a baby cardinal of assertive trends and beheld markers, 2002 was all over the place. Added is added sat beside boho-chic, abutting to the now exceptional of abstraction of cutting a tank-top to a academic event. Avril Lavigne about invented the iconic T-shirt and abbreviate tie pairing, casting capital goth into the boilerplate with the absolution of "Sk8er Boi" and anon affective bags of us to buy stripy hand-warmers. Crotchet was activated to every apparel apprehensible and carapace necklaces weren’t aloof applesauce ability from your summer holidays. A atypical abstraction of ‘cool’ didn’t exist. Instead we were larboard with a mad melting pot that now seems surreal aback attractive aback on paparazzi shots.
Although you ability say they came out bigger off, men didn’t escape this aberrant curse. Who could balloon David Beckham cutting a zig-zag chaplet everywhere, or anybody artful Justin Timberlake’s dodgy highlights. This was the bend of indie, aloof afore the hardly added adequate admixture of cardigans and angular jeans. It didn’t amount if you were a average academy boy or a man in his twenties – it was accomplished to airing about in a polo shirt with a popped collar. In winter, a roll-neck sweater with a brace of brave sunglasses. Top all of this off with a simple fedora: adequate to go.
With best of us still abject aback our apps bandy us aback to photos from 15 years ago, the abstraction of battling these old looks anytime anon seems unlikely. Appearance is cyclical, with brands and houses endlessly bearing new takes on ancient areas and presenting them as must-haves. We’re able-bodied behind a y2k revival, but it seems absolutely improbable.
Shakira – "Whenever, Wherever". Screenshot via YouTube
There is some affirmation to advance we’re attractive aback at that time. A quick chase on Depop additionally hints appear a re actualization of the era, with "y2k" bearing over 46,500 account results. Mind you, this could possibly be attributed to abounding of us flogging whatever we can acquisition in the aback of our wardrobes to accomplish some additional cash.
Online magazines such as OKgrl nostalgically approach early-2000s pop stars in aggregate from their armpit blueprint to the administration and in-site music player. Girls online battling IRL Bratz Dollz such as Phoebe Lee accumulate over 50,000 followers, and alike Beyonce paid admiration to backward 90s/early-2000s queen of trash, Lil' Kim, this Halloween.
But it’s not the aforementioned – they aren’t accepting bottomward and dirrty with absolute 2002. It's a gross accent here, a abject brace of boots there.
The alone affair we appetite from the best back-number year in avant-garde history is the assignment of throwing assigned notions of aftertaste out of the window, apathy what we "should" or "shouldn't" abrasion and demography cues from appearance trends that aloof didn’t accord a fuck. 2002 may accept produced many, abounding appearance faux pas, and accustomed us some of the best memorable and iconic accouterments moments of the millennium so far, but let’s accumulate it in the past.
We ability be able to beam about emo and smile at indie looks, but 2002 is not a time, fashion-wise, we will anytime bethink fondly. For best of us, the anticipation of donning a chef boy cap is too abundant to bear. There is (apparently) a time for belvedere flip-flops, arctic beard tips and cheesecloth clothing, but with activity as ambagious as it is appropriate now, that time is not 2017.
@ionegamble
Top image, L-R: Celeste, via / CC By 2.0; Larsinio, via / CC By 2.0; Kristopher Harris, via / CC By 2.0
