Ten ‘90s Trends That Are Back Again
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Flannel
While grunge was born in the Pacific Northwest as a music genre, it made its way across the country in the early ‘90s. Musicians like Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love became both music and fashion icons. Flannel, a common material found in grunge fashion, began to influence designers like Marc Jacobs and Vivienne Westwood. The trend is alive and well on the runways of Jeremy Scott (Spring/Summer 2019) and Dsquared2 (Pre-Fall 2019), among others in the last few years.
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Chokers
Whether velvet, ribbon, or tattoo-inspired, chokers were everywhere in the ‘90s. The era’s most stylish celebrities like Drew Barrymore, Ryder, and Lenny Kravitz all wore them, as did models on the runways of Thierry Mugler, Christian Dior, Anna Sui, and more. It was a look that could add instant edge and elevate a simple floral dress or a basic T-shirt (or flannel with a pair of high-waist, straight-leg jeans). Now, with the industry waxing nostalgic for the decade, chokers have returned on the runway: Sarah Burton of Alexander McQueen brought the look back for Fall/Winter 2019, as did Marni for the same season and Brandon Maxwell for Spring/Summer 2019.
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Velvet
Both elegant and enigmatic, you can’t talk about trends from the ‘90s without mentioning velvet. Tom Ford’s iconic Fall/Winter 1996 collection for Gucci made liberal use of the fabric, crafting pantsuits, and trendsetting hip-huggers from the material. John Galliano, too, featured sexy, backless velvet Art Nouveau-inspired ball gowns for his Spring/Summer 1998 Couture show. But the trend also made its way off the runway, gracing slip dresses, suits, chokers, hats, and combat boots, its texture either crinkly and crushed or smooth and sleek. The trend lives on today—it was spotted on the Fall/Winter 2018 runways of Prabal Gurung, Balenciaga, and more.
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Slip Dresses
Popularized by Calvin Klein and Narciso Rodriguez, the slinky slip dress quickly became a go-to trend, a feminine and minimalist complement to the masculine flannel and combat boots of the decade. High-profile celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow, Sofia Coppola, Carolyn Bessette, and every supermodel in existence pushed the dress into the annals of fashion history. Stella McCartney and Marc Jacobs have brought the dress back to their runways (both for Spring/Summer 2019; they also used the dress in their collections from the ‘90s) for a return to chic simplicity today.
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Combat Boots
A military staple, combat boots found their way into ‘90s fashion as another byproduct of grunge. Both stylish and comfortable, they became a staple off and on screen. They were worn by Tai (played by Brittany Murphy) in Clueless and Corey Mason (Liv Tyler) in Empire Records. Designers embraced the chunky boot as well, with a traditional black version seen on the Perry Ellis Spring/Summer 1993 runway and a pointy and metallic style at Chanel’s Fall/Winter 1994 show. Decades later, Dr. Martens are as popular as ever, and high-fashion versions have stomped on the runway at Yohji Yamamoto for Fall/Winter 2018 and Prada the year after.
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High-Waist Jeans
Before the high-waist, straight-leg jean became one of the biggest trends in denim today, before it was derided as the “mom jean,” it was a key piece that made up the quintessential ‘90s uniform, along with flannel, combat boots, and chokers. Not only was the light-wash style embraced by the fashion elite—Chanel and Todd Oldham both showed denim in the mid-’90s—but it was also seen on nearly every cast member in classic sitcoms like My So-Called Life and Saved by the Bell. (It was also Mariah Carey’s denim of choice during that period.) Now that the throwback style has re-emerged, in-demand vintage Levi’s have pervaded the street-style scene while designers like Virgil Abloh of Off-White, as seen on the Fall/Winter 2018 runway, have presented their versions on runways.
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Logos
The ‘90s signaled the birth of streetwear, featuring sportswear covered with logos. Tommy Hilfiger, for one, branded crop tops and bike shorts in his Spring/Summer 1997 collection. Missy Elliott sported her love for Adidas on more than one occasion, as did Mel C, or “Sporty Spice,” of the Spice Girls who was often seen with the brand’s signature stripes running down her legs and arms. Kappa, Nike, and Reebok left no sweatshirt or tracksuit unadorned. Karl Lagerfeld famously introduced Chanel-branded sportswear for Spring/Summer 1996. Now, years later, with the industry’s obsession with all things ‘90s, logomania has swept the runways at Fendi, Jeremy Scott, and Versace.
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Overalls
Few pieces had the widespread, demographic-breaking appeal of overalls—everyone of all genders and ages wore them, from Michelle Tanner in Full House to the buzziest R&B singers of the time like Destiny’s Child, TLC, and Aaliyah. And luxury design houses like Sonia Rykiel and Chanel couldn’t resist putting their high-fashion spin on the denim one-piece—which persists today as Alberta Ferretti, Jeremy Scott, and more continue to reimagine the ‘90s silhouette for the Spring/Summer 2019 season.
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Crop Tops/Baby Tees
Cher Horowitz’s most memorable outfits in Clueless might skew high-end, like her risque Calvin Klein dress or the Azzedine Alaïa number she wore when held at gunpoint, but it’s her white baby tee—the one she wears as she gazes pensively into the distance with a pink feather pen—that’s perhaps the most relatable. Shrunken tees—crop tops cut above the stomach, baby tees extending to the hips—were such a hot commodity that, little known fact, even Sofia Coppola capitalized on the trend with the 1994 launch of her brand Milk Fed, which was beloved by “It” girls in LA and New York. Prada and Chanel did their own takes on crop tops during the era, though you can also see them in recent collections like at Jason Wu for Fall/Winter 2018, 3.1 Phillip Lim for Spring/Summer 2019, and countless others.
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Scrunchies
In the sixth season of Sex and the City, Carrie Bradshaw declared that no self-respecting New York City woman would be caught in a scrunchie. But in the ‘90s, the statement hair tie was everywhere in a myriad of colors, fabrics, and textures. On the runway, its high-fashion equivalent was a black bow, which was seen at Chanel for Fall/Winter 1996 and Yves Saint Laurent for Fall/Winter 1992. Now, scrunchies in all their divisive glory are back: We saw them at Balenciaga for Resort 2018 and at the 2019 Oscars when Jason Momoa made headlines for coordinating his pink suit with a velvet Fendi scrunchie.
The structure and excess of 1980s fashion—suits, spandex, and teased hair—seemed to disappear as soon as the ‘90s began. And with it came its own decade-defining trends that favored more relaxed silhouettes over tight ones, minimalism over extravagance, and comfort over complexity. There was grunge-inspired edge in the air alongside flirty femininity and stark simplicity. Altogether, it made up the uniforms of beloved ‘90s pop culture icons like Kurt Cobain, Courtney Love, Celine Dion, and Winona Ryder. Years later, those same trends have returned. Here, we take a look back at the ten most prominent fashion and accessory trends that have made their way back onto the runway.
