Y2K

Y2K is the style of the turn of the millennium (late 1990s — early 2000s), its name derived from 'Year 2000'. It absorbed the era's fascination with technology, pop culture and futurism: metallic and holographic fabrics, low-rise jeans, bandeau tops, mini skirts, rhinestones, logomania, pink glamour, thin sunglasses and tiny handbags. The style icons were Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Destiny's Child. The Y2K aesthetic combined cyberpunk optimism with the bright, slightly naïve glamour of the 2000s. After a wave of nostalgia, Y2K returned powerfully in the 2020s, when a new generation discovered its bold, sparkling carefreeness. Y2K is a style of fun, techno-optimism and the carefree, glittering glamour of an era when the future seemed bright and boundless.