Get Rid of Your AirPods, “Indie Sleaze” is Making a Comeback
Written by Nicole Ariki
If, like me, you recently succumbed to the allure of low rise jeans, shoulder bags, and Paris Hilton-esque tracksuits, you are likely aware of the all consuming 2000s fashion trends that have been dominating TikTok and Instagram feeds for the past year. But, like all trends, this too shall pass. If the uber-glamour of early Y2K fashion is not for you, you are in luck. Trend predictors have begun to realize cues of the next development in 2000s fashion, a trend wholly opposite of the current: indie sleaze. The @indiesleaze Instagram account, having amassed 23.1k followers in the span of a year, provides a depiction of the coming trend; categorized by skinny jeans, ballet flats, loose fitted tank tops, and flannels. Indie sleaze encompasses more than fashion, however. It was equally dominated by provocative flash photography, “old timey” technology, and an overall hedonism and devil-may care attitude. What, then, does a potential resurgence of Indie sleaze mean for fashion, and why is it making a comeback?
The term “indie sleaze,” was not actually coined until the end of 2021 by trend forecaster Mandy Lee who created a now viral TikTok explaining where she sees signs of the trend’s resurgence. The era was most prevalent from roughly 2008 to 2014, its first appearance during the height of MySpace and persisting through the start of Tumblr’s popularity. Indie sleaze is the style you would most likely associate with the rise of Kesha, high flash photography, and old American Apparel ads. The fashion itself is a combination of 90s Kate Moss grunge, Brooklyn hipster, and 70s and 80s electro and club styles. These combinations fostered the risquè and thoughtless aesthetic of the “sleazy” style of fashion; outfits at the time seemed to have little thought put into them: skinny jeans, ballet flats, and loose fitted tank tops being staples of the aesthetic.
The clothes themselves are merely a piece of the picture where indie sleaze is concerned, and the fashion is interestingly not what trend forecasters have noticed to signal a resurgence of the trend. Alerts actually began with the return of outdated technology and photography. For a while now, Gen Z has rejected modern cameras and iPhone photos and instead opted for film and disposable cameras—a generational ode to the 90s. More recently, however, we have been seeing less film photos and more early 2000s digital cameras and provocative flash photos. This style of photography, think early American Apparel ads and Megan Fox’s 2008 GQ cover, was a staple of indie sleaze when photographers like The Cobrasnake reigned supreme. To describe this era of photography, The Cobrasnake recently told Harper's Bazaar that “when you look at my photos, people look like they’re having the best time of their life. They’re not focused on the phone in their hand or posing for the camera. They’re living, basically.” This sentiment reigns true in all aspects of the indie sleaze aesthetic; it’s about freedom and a disregard for the rules.
Another ode to “older” technology, seen on celebrities like Lily Rose Depp and Bella Hadid, are wired headphones, which, most recently, have become not only the cheaper alternative, but the more fashionable one. Whether it be for practicality or aesthetic, it is without question that wired headphones are the new “fashionable” accessory. Teen Vogue has even called them the new “it” accessory. This phenomenon is representative of indie sleaze’s nostalgia for an entire aesthetic experience as opposed to mere practicality.
A worthy mention with respect to indie sleaze’s remarkably hedonistic aesthetic is the new, and worrisome, return to cigarette consumption. In 2020, for the first time in two decades, cigarette sales increased, according to the New York Times. While this phenomenon is not tightly linked to one trend, the appeal of cigarettes independently has certainly become trendier among young people. Cigarettes’ link to indie sleaze, then, does not lay in the aesthetically pleasing pictures of cigarettes on Tumblr and Pinterest, although this aspect is certainly considerable in its overall appeal. Rather, cigarette smoking is representative of the celebration in excess young people are engaging in as a result of the pandemic. In a world that is still in recovery from a year and a half in isolation, all people, but young people especially, are looking for a sense of togetherness. A few individuals told the New York Times that cigarette smoking was not only “something to do'' but “something to do together.” This mentality mirrors the one ushering in the return of indie sleaze. As trend forecaster Mandy Lee touched upon, “indie sleaze subculture, 15 years ago, community, art and music were so powerful – that’s what brought people together.” Indie sleaze is not simply the next natural step in the cycle of fashion trends, the culture is wholly representative of Gen Z’s post-pandemic mentality.
It is no secret that young people are choosing excess and indulgence in the era after lockdown. This has been made obvious by social media feeds’ opulent displays of partying and provocative photography. Hedonism has always been society’s reaction to a world in crisis, as in the last “roaring ‘20s” following the 1918 pandemic, the current era will “plunge humanity into an era of vice and indulgence,” the New York Post explains. This overly self-indulgent turn of mind explains the craving for a trend that will encompass the pleasure-seeking attitude that represents the attitudes of young people in a world in the early stages of re-opening. Apart from the purely cultural aspect of indie sleaze, the fashion trends of the era also display a reaction to pandemic fashion. During the pandemic, we saw an ode to minimalism, comfort, and practicality from brands like Everlane and Allbirds. These trends were representative of a pandemic mentality, which honed in on the bare necessities while health and safety were frontal concerns and indulgence was placed on the backburner. Now, individuals want to style themselves in a way that reflects immoderation and creativity. A style, in its entirety, the opposite of simplicity, and that is, for lack of a better word, sleazy (but in a cool way).
All this being said, the immediate desire is for a sense of togetherness that the world has not seen since before the pandemic. For that reason, trend forecasters feel strongly that a complete resurgence of indie sleaze is unlikely. As with all trends, the return of indie sleaze will inevitably have its own modern spin. At the core of what people want is “a more nonchalant mash-up of things that feel right in the moment. Indie sleaze was ultimately about seeking pleasure, approaching life as a giant mashup, making the most out of the moment at a time when life was getting darker” says Geraldine Wharry founder of the Trend Atelier. That “giant mashup” is bound to look different than it did in the early 2010s, because regardless of the cyclical nature of fashion trends, the fact that each generation makes a trend their own holds true. On recent runways, both Chanel and Saint Laurent have shown collections demonstrative of trashy hipsters, and Anthony Vacarello’s AW21 runway showed gaudy, gold pieces, metallics, and pearls. These demonstrations highlight the potential for a modern spin on indie sleaze, but with the core values of community, pleasure, and nonchalance persisting.
In short, indie sleaze is, without a doubt, making a comeback. Moreover, its comeback is not only to be expected, but it's welcomed. Indie sleaze represents the cultural desire for the “roaring ‘20s;” an era of reconnection with the world through art, and culture. More than anything, young people want to indulge in celebration and the pursuit of pleasure, and they want to do it in excess. In a world geared towards living on the other side of a pandemic, a sense of excitement and cultural connectivity is the natural, and even inevitable, next step, especially for Gen Z-ers who feel that they were robbed of more than a year of their youth. Fashion trends are never to be taken at face value, they are a vessel of communication for young people. With indie sleaze, Gen Z is telling the world that they want to celebrate their lives and disregard the darkness of the world, even if only aesthetically, and they are doing just that.
