What the Shift from Y2K to Millennial Pink (and Back Again) Means
“On Wednesdays we wear pink,” Karen instructs Cady in the infamous scene from Tina Fey's 2004 movie Mean Girls. The color in question wasn't just any pink, but a particular type of pink that dominated the 2000s.
From Paris Hilton and Britney Spears to Regina George and Elle Woods (who declared, "Whoever said orange was the new pink was seriously disturbed.”), the Y2K era was all about bright, bold, bubblegum colors, anything that could work on a Barbie or Bratz Doll.
Pantone, fashion's chief color measurement system that often predicts the trending colors for the years to come, set the tone for the 2000s by naming fucshia rose its "Color of the Year" in 2001.
But Pantone did more than just capture the Y2K trend. The early aughts Barbie tone of pink was rooted in femininity, something we can see in the 2000s movies and pop culture icons who set the trend. For Pantone, fucshia rose was all about appealing to everyone's feminine side. Being a "girly-girl" wasn't something to be ashamed of, but something to celebrate.
As the years went on and fashion took a turn towards more subtle styles, so did Y2K pink, as it transformed from bubblegum to a softer combination of beige, peachy blush, and salmon tones.
Millennial pink, also known as "Tumblr pink" as it became a Tumblr-approved pastel on the defining social platform of the early 2010s, became a favorite color among celebrities and high fashion brands, showing up on the runways of Gucci, Céline, Balenciaga, and more.
As we saw in the pink trend of the 2000s, what happens on-screen can often shape a trend off-screen. Wes Anderson's 2014 film The Grand Budapest Hotel can be viewed as one place where this shift to millennial pink in pop culture began. The acclaimed filmmaker, known for his distinct use of color palettes, made everything in the film a shade of this toned down pink hue, focused entirely around the hotel building, which was in itself shades of this millennial-friendly color.
The color took off from there. Apple released the "rose gold" iPhone in 2015, a variation of millennial pink. Major millenial-facing beauty and fashion names like Glossier and Acne Studios based their branding on the color. Music artists like Drake and Harry Styles also incorporated the hue on their album artwork.
Like the Y2K trend, we can look back to fashion's favorite color measurer, Pantone to define the trend. Pantone announced Rose Quartz was one of two joint colors for the 2016 Color of the Year (the other was Serenity blue).
But millennial pink symbolizes something more than just a pretty color. If Y2K was all about embracing a "girly-girl" femininity, then millennial pink was about getting rid of the gender boundaries, symbolizing a shift in society and fashion. Pantone's choice of rose quartz for Color of the Year was meant to challenge "traditional perceptions of color association."
"We are experiencing a gender blur as it relates to fashion," Pantone said in a statement, "This more unilateral approach to color is coinciding with societal movements toward gender equality and fluidity, the consumer's increased comfort with using color as a form of expression, a generation that has less concern about being typecast or judged and an open exchange of digital information that has opened our eyes to different approaches to color usage."
This societal and fashion shift is represented by the switch in the dominating shade of pink, from Y2K's hot pink to the softer, millennial style. Graphic designer Kevin Lo explained this in his essay "The Propaganda of Pantone: Colour and Subcultural Simulation," writing, "a muted pink speaks to our altering society's understanding of femininity (i.e., traditional hot pinks and baby pinks that we often see used in feminine hygiene products or 'girls' toys')."
But what we're seeing now is a return to Y2K fashions, including the bold pink color—this time, with a modern perspective. As we move into an age where antiquated, societal rules of gender are being put into question, with a surge of gender-neutral clothing lines and a lack of gender stereotypes in mainstream fashion, the deeper meaning behind millennial pink can be applied to the Y2K trends we're seeing on TikTok and high fashion runways. The shift from the distinctly feminine, "girly" pink of the 2000s to the "muted" millennial pink allowed us to remove the previously established gender binaries. This paved the path for the eventual return of the brighter Y2K color, now no longer chained to the "girls versus boys" mindset. As we see from superstars to big brand names, this bold pink hue can (and should) be for everyone.
