It’s a scene straight out of our Tumblr blogs of yore: Kesha is strutting down the streets of New York City; Kristen Stewart is wearing suspenders on the red carpet; celebrities are ditching their demure wire glasses and embracing thick black frames. It might as well be 2012 all over again.
It was only a matter of time before we reached this point. The ’90s and Y2K era have dominated fashion for the past several years. A 2010s revival, while chronologically logical, has also been brewing for some time now. With the indie sleaze era having a recent moment in the sun (Charli xcx’s brat summer, boho-chic, and the McQueen skull motif included), we can’t say we’re surprised by a full-steam-ahead trajectory.
For those of us who popped lenses out of our cheap Wayfarers to mimic Skrillex’s frames or painted our faces in glitter well before Euphoria, there may be some hesitation to relive the era. But lately, celebrities have been making the case for the trends of the last decade—and doing them in a way that perhaps isn’t as shudder-inducing as last time.
Perhaps suspenders draw to mind Mumford Sons, The Lumineers, and the mustachioed folk rocker milieu of the 2010s. But when Kristen Stewart hit the red carpet for the premiere of Sacramento in April dressed in Thom Browne suspenders, she offered a punkier, more feminine interpretation. Of course, she’s far from the first woman to wear the look (hello, Beyoncé), but it feels like a distinct enough departure from the barn wedding crowd that a revival feels more palatable.
The same can be said for oversized glasses popular with the early hipster crowd. As the sartorial pendulum swings back from demure Bayonetta glasses, Tracee Ellis Ross and Dua Lipa have both embraced thick, face-eclipsing frames. While Lipa opted for a rounder shape and Ross chose square frames, there’s room aplenty on the Jessica Day to Skrillex continuum.
Perhaps the biggest bellwether isn’t a trend but a person. Kesha, the doyenne of the 2010s, is back in full force. With a new song (“Yippee-Ki-Yay” featuring T-Pain) out now and an album on the way, the 2010s have never been so back.
