[TALKING TRENDS] 'Y2K fashion'

Seo Jeong-min
The author is a senior reporter of the JoongAng Ilbo.

When we witness that clothes worn a decade ago are getting popular again, we cannot help but agree that what goes around comes around. This is why brands like Gucci gamble on so-called Granny Chic, embracing vintage styles despite being one of the hottest luxury brands today.

Since last year, "Y2K fashion" is dominating the women’s apparel market in Korea. It refers to the fashion trend that continued from the late 90’s to early 2000s. “Y2K” refers to the year 2000 and was often connected to the millennium bug, the feat that computers would just stop working when the clock struck midnight to start the new millennium. Back then, people worried that social chaos would occur as computers could only process the final two digits of the calendar year.

The symbols of Y2K fashion, which is also called “fashion at the end of the century,” are a crop top and low rise pants. These days, matching a short crop top and loose pants is gaining popularity again among the young. Besides, velvet tracksuits and heavy chain necklaces are selling like hot cakes as Y2K fashion items on online shopping platforms.

If you want to know the difference between the current fashion and that of the 2000s, just compare Lee Hyo-ri in her twenties with Jenny of Blackpink, the hottest fashion icon nowadays, and the cast of Street Woman Fighter, a dance survival program. Something that hasn’t changed is the fact that the style is quite charismatic and gives a strong impression. Why? Because these women are full of confidence!

BY SEO JEONG-MIN [meantree@joongang.co.kr]