You’ve probably heard of memorable brand names such as Ed Hardy, Juicy Couture, or Von Dutch. These are some of the many clothing brands known for their uniqueness. From the late 1990s to the early 2000s, tracksuits, mini skirts, and lowrise jeans were almost everything you would see. As of 2026, the early 2000s fashion has made a comeback to the media and people can’t get enough of it. Generation Z is contributing to this fashion craze all over social media with short tops, big hoop earrings, with the lowest low-rise embroidered jeans they can find.
Y2k Craze
Y2k stands for the year 2000. The abbreviation originally came from a computer bug due to multiple softwares being unable to read “00” after transitioning from the year 1999. Programmers made sure to convert dates into 4-digit numbers. Now, when Gen Z refers to the y2k era, it’s likely that they’re referring to the unforgettable style. Y2K consisted of a lot of metallic, almost futuristic color palettes when it came to fashion. The new millennium brought a bunch of fear and excitement to everyone that was actually alive for it. It also brought a new wave of technology, and fashion trends even people born in the Gen Z era feel the need to bring back.
Junior Savannah Taylor and Junior Gabriela Regaldo give their perspectives on 2000s fashion coming back.
“I’ve been collecting y2k/early 2000s items since the end of last year, since that’s when I really started getting into the style,” Taylor said. “I love that the 2000 style is making a comeback, but I also think it becoming more popular takes away from the uniqueness of some people’s style. Some of my favorite Y2K brands are Babyphat, Ed Hardy, Von Dutch, and Miss Me. My mom graduated high school in 2001, and as a young adult during the 2000s, she wore a lot of the brands that I listed earlier as my favorite brands which I find really interesting; it shows how the trends are definitely making a comeback!”
“I feel great about y2k fashion coming back and I think it should be more common” Regaldo added, “Hollister, Abercrombie, and Edikted are my favorite y2k brands. Over this past year, I’ve been collecting low rise jeans and leaning more towards y2k fashion. My mom used to wear lots of low-rise and skinny jeans from True Religion and sweaters from Abercrombie with Uggs.”
Irreplaceable
Many celebrities made an impact on the fashion trends taking place during the Y2K and early 2000s.
“I was inspired to start dressing Y2K from Pinterest and other social media platforms,” said Taylor.
“Influencers and new trends inspired me to start dressing for y2k,” Ragaldo added.
Icons like Beyonce, Paris Hilton, and Lil Kim practically dominated the fashion industry. Beyonce loved the concept of “fringing” so much almost every outfit she wore had fringe pieces hanging from it. Beyonce had her iconic chunky highlights to make her hair stand out. Lil Kim wore candy colored wigs with bold designer pieces and rhinestone bodysuits. Paris Hilton was one of the many celebrities that wore dresses over jeans and leggings. Paris Hilton also wore Juicy Couture tracksuits and famously had a whole closet filled with them. She inspired plenty of fans to follow her footsteps and wear them as well. Nobody could get their hands off of them. Juicy tracksuits came in multiple vibrants colors. During the 2000s, vibrant colors were in. This aesthetic is heavily described as McBling. It’s technically in the name itself, but Gen Z wanted to bring back the “bling” with a bunch of bedazzled and shiny stuff. Colors that popped with different elements were always fun to recreate. They wanted to make iconic fashion statements as well!
All the Small Things
Another thing Gen Z has been rambling on about is low rise jeans. Big belts with rhinestones, and embroidered jeans is a fan favorite. Miss Me jeans, True Religion, and Apple Bottoms came back in style. There are many selections to choose from on their official websites. On one hand, they can get pretty pricey. On the other hand, thrifting and buying off resellers is always a great alternative for obtaining these vintage pieces. Recently, the thrifting prices have gone up due to everyone hopping on the trend. A lot of Gen Z thrift for vintage pieces because many have complained about brands not fulfilling their ideas of the early 2000s. Their rebranded “low-rise” jeans are actually closer to mid-rise, the sizing was bigger for the average “extra-small” and the materials are cheaper because a lot of brands started valuing quantity over quality. It worked for a bit, but Gen Z used these other ways to their advantage. Consumerism wasn’t going to get the best of them.
Back to Black
In contrast to the vibrant colors and McBling aesthetic Gen Z love, they also love how the 2000s were also a time of rebellion and expression. Emo, scene, grunge, were popular aesthetics too. Dressing in dark colors, smokey eyes and styling their hair with the classic sidepart icons like Avril Lavigne inspired were popular trends Gen Z brought back. Black chunky boots, flannels, denim on denim were ideal when it came to dressing outside of “societal norms.” Chains and converse shoes instead of heels with jeans, or chokers with heavy eyeliner (sometimes referred to as “guyliner”) inspired by the rock band My Chemical Romance. Canadian actor Devon Bostick, best known for playing rebellious Rodrick Heffley in The Diary of a Wimpy Kid franchise, unintentionally reinstated the dark clothing as well as the “guyliner” we all know and love.
Larger than Life
Gen Z adores the Y2K and 2000s era because it shows exploration and authenticity. Expressing ourselves through fashion has always been a fun way to show the world who we truly are. It allows people to get creative and make bold, striking statements with their clothing. Seeing others start to put more effort into their outfits after the recent “clean girl aesthetic” and minimalistic culture trying to take over was like a breath of fresh air for Gen Z. Excessive amounts of jewelry, studded items, rhinestone items, anything to truly make them shine was what they wanted.
