A Low-Rise Revolution

by Alexia Suceveanu

When 7 For All Mankind first showed its ‘Y2K’ collection back on its February runway, it felt like just another wave. Months later it has officially transitioned from catwalk to sidewalk.

All over NYU's campus, low rise jeans, belted micro shorts and skirts have been making their way back with Gen Z for years now. It has become a uniform for many college students. People have grown tired of the ongoing minimalism that has dominated our society in recent years. Is it safe to say goodbye Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy and hello Jenny Humphrey or will this trend disappear as quickly as the rest?

7 For All Mankind just released its new collection nicknamed the ‘Y2K’ collection, playing into our nostalgia for the 2000s and the early days of Gossip Girl. Surprise, most of the stock is already sold out. Their newly opened Soho store added to the hype and has already been labeled ‘gallery-like’ by women’s wear daily. Their ready to wear collections have showcased  the return of low waisted jeans and statement accessories bringing back the 2000’s aesthetic into the mainstream.

A major reason this could last beyond the average Instagram trend is the already dominant generational obsession with vintage that has expanded and continues today. One could argue   that Y2K never left when you walk on campus and see students clutching their Balenciaga city bag, Isabel Marant wedges, and Zadig & Voltaire outfits. Above all, we can thank the rise of vintage shopping for letting youth buy into the nostalgia of the past.

Vintage has its perks; it's cheaper, arguably more beautiful, and more unique. However, when companies embrace vintage-inspired designs, they risk undermining the very appeal of vintage itself. Pieces that were once hard to find in the vintage market are being recreated and reintroduced into the mass market. That said, the new could never be as good as the original or have ‘the edge’ we are longing for.

Is Gen Z's romanticization and envy of a ‘better’ time enough to end the beige age and ‘“clean girl aesthetic '”? Either way, minimalism is on its way out; if not Y2K, what else is fit to replace it?

Only time will tell.