The Grunge Renaissance

Introduction

Two months into 2024, February brings a rather angsty tone to today’s landscape of contemporary fashion. As opposed to the soft and coquettish resonance from the past year, I’ve heavily noticed themes of grunge from exactly a decade ago are sparking up the media, with today’s teens experiencing 2014 Tumblr nostalgia. Alongside recent prominence of 90’s and 2010’s craze, indie reverie and authenticity are just a couple of relieving outcomes seen in modern style.

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The Soft Relaunch of Indie Sleaze

Although many of us aren’t nearly ready to re-embrace our Tumblr personas (myself included), all of the emo GIFs, angsty quotes, and edgy fashion that flooded my timeline are entering the runway.

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Making a lasting impression at London Fashion Week, designers like Jean Paul Gaultier and Conner Ives bring sleaze realness to their Fall/Winter lines, debuting faux fur coats and punk choker styles. Along with incorporations of modern mafia wife romanticization, their designs are quite reminiscent of early themes stuck in our Tumblr reposts.

Bygone technology such as wired headphones and iPod Nanos also made LFW appearances this year, with Ives ending his clothing line in a dewy-eyed ode to last decade’s quintessence. As crazy as I feel calling life before airpods ancient, it does make me feel a whole lot older than I actually am.

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On a side note (that I promise is relevant to the topic), I just recently finished the new Netflix show ‘One Day’ and realized how much of the media I’ve been indulging in is based in Europe. The idealization of the European lifestyle is nothing new, with the European summer vacation micro-trend making its wave last summer and ongoing themes of blokecore in fashion.

Taking a look at the niche genre of the Britain-based young adult, the Euro-academic (as seen in popular media like Conversations With Friends, Saltburn, Derry Girls, Sex Education, Normal People, etc.) has this incomparable, indie coming-of-age film vibe. I couldn’t tell you what is so appealing about the life of a young adult in Europe; Maybe it’s the dynamic of their social culture or the fact that every scenario they live out feels like The 1975 should be playing in the background. Whether you’re a frequent at the London nightclubs or an introverted Oxford bookworm, you’re serving angst that current fashion and media are living for worldwide.

In all of this year’s sleaze and glory, resurgence of punk themes from the 90’s and 2000’s also makes big moves into both fashion and pop culture, which I’ll go ahead and touch on further.

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Is Y2K Dead or Just Being Redefined?

Before I get into this next topic, I want to preface: I love Renee Rapp. I do. I watched ‘The Sex Lives of College Girls’ at least three times in full and I send my love to my girl Avantika as well.

But, I have to agree with the Internet conflict in saying that the style representation in the Mean Girls reboot was a giant flop. Although I didn’t go bother to see it in theaters, the pictures online were enough to form the opinion. Every character’s outfit was giving Shein clearance at best.

As iconic as 2000’s fashion has been, many believe the discourse on how Y2K fashion has been morphed and misunderstood throughout the past couple years will ultimately lead to its downfall. Yet, I beg to question — are we just leaving our ‘Mean Girls’ Lindsey phase and embodying ‘Freaky Friday’ Lindsey instead?

This year’s Coachella lineup shocked many with an unexpected reunion from No Doubt announced as a surprise guest headliner, along with other alt favorites such as Deftones and Sublime. Although these bands were based in the 90’s, their prominence in 2000’s grunge culture was undeniable.

Feminine angst is taking back pop culture this year, with newfound audiences resurfacing nostalgic 2000’s cult classics like Girl Interrupted and Jennifer’s Body.

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The perfect example of a modern Y2K grunge icon is internet sensation, Tarayummy. I’ve been watching her online for a little bit now and am in no way surprised at her recent levels of popularity increase. Aside from her looks and charm, she has this natural cool girl aura to her and fully reclaims the 2000’s punk princess aesthetic.

Although some might be able to compare her it-girl status to the likes of a Y2K icon like Megan Fox, Tara seems to have more of a relatable twang to her style and brand that reels in an audience. Her vulnerability online and influencer persona might be accredited to the difference, but I’d like to argue that a new age of indie sleaze also calls for a new age of bona fide femininity.

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Be Real, Be Raw

We simply cannot talk about grunge icons without mentioning Miss Bella Swan who, might I say, was low-key a fashion icon. She gave Rock Revival, minimalist it-girl before Pinterest was even born.

People were so quick to throw Bella in the “I’m not like other girls” bandwagon until they realized Kristen Stewart is just real life Bella Swan. I think the point of making her character this awkward teenage girl was not to make her this poster child for how girls ‘should be’, but to be the representation for the girls who relate to her.

In this discussion over modern age grunge, our society is slowly steering away from the ‘not like other girls’ trope and accepting people for who they are. The vampire queen herself is fictional proof that you could be the uncomfortable loner and also be that bitch, all at the same time.

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With all the media hype on female figures normalizing no-makeup campaigns, our simultaneous embodiment of authenticity is spreading into our mainstream means of entertainment. I saw all the online controversy about those criticizing the new Mr. and Mrs. Smith show on Netflix starring Maya Erskine and Donald Glover. Many had something to say about the stars’ looks, especially compared to the original movie’s leading couple, Brad and Angelina. After finishing the full show (and loving every second of it), I was especially pleased of not only their undeniable chemistry together, but how raw and organic the show’s sub-content was. Alongside the action, the show was emotional, dark, and just plain real.

As much as the culture of Hollywood has revolved around the unattainable idea of edited perfection, a new era of angst and melancholy pushes the boundaries of a once false reality.

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Brands That Push Back

I’ll admit—  I’m aware I am not saying anything new when I share my love for Tyler McGillivary. But when I say I am obsessed with her work, it is an understatement. Little did I know that the 90’s grunge floral pieces I was pinning on Pinterest was Tyler and as a fashion enthusiast, it is a little embarrassing. BUT, nevertheless, I think her brand is very on par with our general topic today.

One of her pieces that I see being worn constantly is her infamous pomegranate tee. You might be surprised to find out just how much controversy surrounds any imagery of the fruit, and some would argue that pomegranates have been a symbol of female fertility for quite some time. Her delicate yet dark feminine designs feel sultry and, dare I say, subtly obscene, which appeals to the indie sleaze coterie in young contemporary fashion.

I’ve noticed a lot of subliminal themes of sexuality within pop culture, art, and media throughout the recent years. More so in the grunge subculture, there’s a grit to the idea of something being vulnerable, which interestingly tends to teeter on the line of feeling borderline provocative.

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When I think of other brands that push ordinary boundaries, Diesel immediately comes to mind. I follow HypeBae on Instagram and they wrote an article that covered the brand’s most ‘sex-positive’ campaigns, which involve advertisements, art installations, and other marketing ploys containing sex toys, condoms, and eroticism.

The topic of sex has always been a taboo one, with constant controversy surrounding conservatism and its moralistic value. The term “sex sells” is very prevalent in today’s market, but instead of looking at sex from a capitalistic point of view, I do believe positivity surrounding safety and normalization will only become more frequent this year.

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There’s always been a certain connotation to anything sex-related and critics are always quick to call something tasteless. People are quick to judge when they’re fed anything that feels abnormal or tumultuous in their heads. But I’d like to argue a component of art will always be mass misinterpretation, and with themes of grunge sleaze continuing to push the limits in our media landscape, art will call for all sorts of untraditional passages the rest of 2024.

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