The Immortal ‘90s and Its Everlasting Impact

Different eras always cycle through the runways, but lately, one epoch has been an eternal source of inspiration for designers: the 1990s. Though not even halfway through the current decade, today’s trends are a by-product of notable designers and collections from the ‘90s, including Calvin Klein minimalism, grunge by Marc Jacobs for Perry Ellis, and the sleek sexiness of Tom Ford's Gucci. Every fashion era returns for its moment in the sun, but ‘90s minimalism endures due to nostalgic longing, a renewed interest in individuality, and an increasingly intimate relationship between fashion and celebrity.

Plagued by an economic recession, the political landscape of the early ‘90s deeply influenced style. The start of the decade was marked by two distinct visions of fashion, both a reaction to the cultural and stylistic excessiveness of the '80s. The first was grunge, a trend that developed from young consumers’ generally apathetic-at-best and antagonistic-at-worst attitude toward economic and social inequality. Ultimately, the trend’s lingering hypocrisy led to its downfall. Colleen Hill, Curator of Costume and Accessories at The Museum at FIT writes in her 2021 book Reinvention and Relentlessness: Fashion in the Nineties, “Criticisms of the high-priced, grunge-influenced designs by [Marc] Jacobs and others often centered on the fact that this was a look that could be crafted from secondhand clothing..., or in a variety of much lower-priced iterations.”

Memorable but fleeting, grunge was overtaken by minimalism. As Hill notes in her book, “Although fantasy in fashion is inarguably important, so, too, is clothing that has a place in everyday life. This was especially significant during the 1990s, as fashion was coming off a flight of fancy that had left the average woman wondering where she (and her wardrobe) fit in.” Inspired by easy silhouettes for the modern woman, brands like Prada, Helmut Lang, and Jil Sander used material, shape, and color in new, practical ways that could attract a larger public at a time when consumer spending habits were down. Notably, Miuccia Prada’s nylon backpack became an early icon of the decade, coveted for its simplicity and durability. The trajectory of the early ‘90s seemingly mirrors the 2020s. The 2020s has experienced recessions, surging inflation, and a global pandemic, all of which rocked the ability and desire to spend. Following in the footsteps of Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z seek inspiration from an era that encouraged personality within minimalism.

By the late ‘90s, the West experienced an economic upswing that changed attitudes and access. At Gucci, Tom Ford ushered in a post-recession return to luxury. This wasn’t the in-your-face luxury of the ‘80s, but a pared-down perspective offering sleek tailoring, bold embellishments, and sensuous fabrics. Cemented by trendsetters like Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, Carine Roitfeld, and Gwyneth Paltrow, minimalism found its footing and became associated with the “chic city girl.” While economic acceleration has yet to arrive in the 2020s, the industry’s reflection of the ‘90s demonstrates a desire for a similar shift in positivity and prosperity after years of existential dread and trends that come and go within months, weeks, even days.

“Core” fatigue has undoubtedly led to a yearning for simpler times and simpler fashion. For those blessedly unfamiliar, a “core” trend is a niche trend that proliferates through social media. Although difficult to trace exactly where or when “core” was coined, “normcore,” a gender-neutral aesthetic that unironically celebrated plain clothing, was introduced in the early 2010s. With the rise of TikTok, cores returned with full force. “Core” trends (Barbiecore, fairycore, balletcore, cottagecore) revolve around a vibe and encompass not just fashion, but lifestyle. A renewed interest in the unaffected fashion of the 1990s is in part a reaction to an impossible-to-follow trend cycle. Now, some designers are beginning to create pieces that transcend core cycles. Similarly, some consumers are beginning to invest in personal style and sustainability as opposed to trends with a two-week shelf life. By reaching back to the ‘90s, designers quench that thirst and deliver a nostalgic vision that’s eternal.

The ‘90s were rife with familiar faces embedded in culture, with the “Supers” marking a new era and forever changing the relationship between fashion and celebrity. Until the rise of Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, Kate Moss, Claudia Schiffer, Tyra Banks, and Linda Evangelista, the clothes were more famous than the models. The Supers brought personality to the fashion industry, encouraging individuality. Their devil-may-care attitudes and distinct personalities shone brightly on runways, in pap photos, and on the cover of Vogue. Countless photos featured off-duty models wearing their takes on trends, which have become pop culture iconography. This made celebrity endorsements commonplace, which, in turn, led to both red carpet and everyday looks becoming quite the opposite: highly stylized, requiring a netizen of professionals to manufacture the perfect looks of today’s celebrity ambassadors like Zendaya, Rihanna, Kim Kardashian, and Kim Kardashian. We may be seeing a return though to the undone ‘90s aesthetic as a rejection of the cultivated Instagram image.

Evoking the ‘90s does not require a designer to pigeonhole their creativity into one overarching point of view. The decade’s fashion was at once practical and romantic, simple and detailed, thoughtful and effortless. At Gucci, creative director Sabato de Sarno explores and rehashes minimalist themes and sexy silhouettes in a recreation of Ford’s signature style. In doing so, de Sarno—a ‘90s kid through and through—established a departure from Alessandro Michele's maximalist vision. And Miu Miu delivered on muted palettes with careful attention to the materiality.

The enduring cultural appeal of the '90s is a clear indicator that culture and fashion mutually influence each other. The ‘90s were an aspirational decade. A struggling economy became a booming one, leading to a postmodern society that welcomed singularity, resulting in iconic clothing, art, and imagery. For many, it felt like the last great frontier before the millennium, a decade mired in uncertainty and fear but longing for hope. It is no wonder, then, that the designs from this period consistently pull on the heartstrings of designers–and consumers–today.