When I look at these images I am struck with deep longing for a time I don't remember. There's so much hope and positivity in these mementos, but being on the other side fills me with heartbreak. All in all, these are neat images of a time when we believed we would use technology for the best of mankind. Shame. So much shame.
I'm old enough to have lived through it and can verify it was a special time. The internet and internet access was growing rapidly, but it was new enough (and slow enough) where it was treated as a novelty not a necessity.
I think the best way to put it is the internet was a place you visited, not the place you lived.
From an aesthetic standpoint, I suppose one could make the argument that the Y2K aesthetic exemplifies this through the use of outlandish outfits, metallics, rudimentary 3D animation and cyborg themes. There's a discernable separation between what's real or human and what's not.
I was never keen on "frutiger aero" or it's simulated nature themes. Frankly, I just don't like the aesthetic. I think it's boring and uninspired but I suppose one could interpret the the melding of nature and technology as an allegory to our current day future. But realistically, I think both aesthetics are just artifacts of their time and the technology available.
Something I think is often overlooked when people look back on the Y2K era (and most other previous eras) is that what are considered the "defining looks" were seldom seen in real life. This is especially true of the Y2K era. It was pretty rare to see someone wearing metallic pants, platform sneakers and over-ear headphones. Granted, they were out there... But the reactions they received were not
"Whoa! What a fashion forward badass!" They were more like
That said, tropes like spiky gelled bleached hair, middle parts, big pants/little shirt and Asian/tribal inspired button front shirts were very alive among the masses.
I think it's common to look back on a moment in time and recount the most extreme or outlandish styles as those that defined the era. Many modern portrayals of the 1980s would have you believe that everyone was dressed like Cyndi Lauper and Don Johnson but looking at genuine candid photos and video of the era reveals that the reality was far less extreme and normcore has always prevailed.
If anything, I'd say that the Y2K aesthetic, as it applies to fashion, is more alive today than it ever was at the turn of the century.
I'm sensing myself going of on loosely related tangents so I'll cut it off here for now. But yeah, cool times. Cool aesthetic. Glad to see it back. Reveling in the opportunity to wear my Guy Fiery shirts without feeling like Ricky from Trailer Park Boys.
