Spring/Summer 2022 Runway Trend | The Y2K Style
Most trends come and go but they’re never gone for long. Fashion is taking it back this season to the early 2000s with a Y2K style that has defined the collections of brands like Blumarine and Dolce & Gabbana. Take a look at the brands that adopted the Y2K style on the spring/summer 2022 runway.
It’s safe to say that Tik Tok has a powerful influence on the fashion of Generation Z. Referencing the music and pop culture scene of the late 1990s and early 2000s, the brands of today are either offering us subtle hints of that era or giving us a full homage of the Y2K look but with a modern twist suitable for 2022.
THE Y2K STYLE
Even though people keep talking about the Y2K style, what exactly does it mean? Just like at the beginning of the millennium, this season’s runway promised crop tops and butterfly patterns, an excess of denim and low-rise jeans, exposed midriffs and mini tops. There was no escape from this never-ending show of dedication to that era. But that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing. In fact, this blast to the past may be exactly what fashion needs to show how far it’s come and how trends never die but are simply reborn.
THE Y2K STYLE ON THE SS22 RUNWAY
Blumarine
No brand has enthusiastically embraced the Y2K renaissance as much as Blumarine. Nicola Brognano’s SS22 collection is like an unrequited love letter to the early 2000s with fringed and beaded bikinis, cropped cardigans, exposed midriffs, chiffon cargo pants and butterfly motifs included. It’s almost like the turn of the millennium again.
Chanel
Even a brand with as classic and timeless appeal as Chanel, the French luxury house couldn’t help but incorporate elements of the Y2K obsession into its most recent collection. Virginie Viard may have taken inspiration from the 1980s as homage to Chanel’s roots for this show. But with opening looks of one-piece swimsuits draped in chain belts, patchwork denim dresses, miniskirts and butterfly prints, it was definitely a clash of the decades.
Dolce & Gabbana
As the Y2K fever sweeped the fashion industry this season, Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana seized on the opportunity to revisit the brand’s iconic 2000 collection, which defined the fashion aesthetic of that time. The parallels are apparent in their collection for this SS22 season including beaded fringed skirts, exposed lingerie and the pelmet mini and sheer shirt combination.
Balmain
Olivier Rousteing made history as the first Black person to lead a luxury French house when he was appointed creative director of Balmain in 2011. And after a decade at the helm, he has turned Balmain into one of the most in-demand and coolest brands of this generation. So it’s no surprise that aspects of the Y2K movement made their way into his SS22 collection such as low-slung cargo pants, mini tops and skirts and metallic clothing that gleamed on the runway.