The fashion in the 2000s were often described as a global mash up, where trends saw the fusion of vintage styles, global and ethnic clothing (e.g. boho), as well as the fashions of numerous music-based subcultures. Hip-hop fashion generally was the most popular among young people of both sexes, followed by the retro-inspired indie look later in the decade. Celebrities had a huge impact on 2000s fashion, people like Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, and Beyoncé inspired many of the decade's trends and styles to follow and “hop on”.
Men and women aged 25 and older adopted a dressy casual style which was popular throughout the decade. Globalization also influenced the decade's clothing trends, with the incorporation of Middle Eastern and Asian dress into mainstream European, American, and Australasian fashion. Furthermore, eco-friendly and ethical clothing, such as recycled fashions, were prominent in the decade.
In the early 2000s, many mid and late 1990s fashions remained fashionable around the globe, while simultaneously introducing newer trends. The later years of the decade saw a large-scale revival of clothing designs, primarily from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.
General trends The rise of fast fashion
The early to mid-2000s saw a rise in the consumption of fast fashion: affordable off-the-peg high street clothing based on the latest high fashion designs. With its low-cost appeal driven by trends straight off the runway, fast fashion was a significant factor in the fashion industry's growth. As affordable clothing became even more important in the entrance to the new age, brands started to develop strategies to keep up with consumers' new spending habits.
In 1999, department stores in the US such as Macy's, J.C. Penney, Kohl's and more had sales totaling $230 billion. In the years that followed, that number began to fall. By the early 2000s, the rise of online retail and in-store fast fashion caused department store sales to dwindle as retailers offered new styles quicker than ever before. Retail giants of the new millennium included H&M, Forever 21, and Zara. Target found major success in collaborating with various fashion designers to create affordable designer pieces, making them available to the average consumer.
This trend in fast fashion allowed shoppers to own designer items at lower prices and also allowed the production and public normalization of copycat styles. Designers noticed that their designs were being copied, and many designers began to adapt; in 2004, the retailer H&M, a prominent fast fashion brand, collaborated with fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld to introduce a one-time collection that proved to be a huge success, as women flocked to H&M stores to own a piece of the designer's 30 selections available in the collection.
Stores such as Wet Seal and American Apparel are said to be "American precursors to the fast fashion empire".
Ethics The ethics of fast fashion has been the topic of numerous debates and questioning of business practices. Producing fashion at such fast rates involves less secure working conditions/or wages. It also involves a lot of waste. Americans throw out 14 million tons of clothing a year, with the help of fast fashion. Retailers like Forever 21 and H&M have come under fire, not only for their wasteful fast fashion practices that have grown steadily since the beginning of 2000 but for the involvement of cheap labor. The appeal of fast fashion lies in the copying of higher-end brands; however, after something is no longer trendy it is on to the next, leaving clothes to go to waste, and workers to continue to live on unlivable wages.
The logo purse At the same time that fast fashion became able to supply vast quantities of imitation luxury goods, Western income inequalities had risen steadily. To create an image of belonging to a higher income group, people sought real or copied branded "high fashion" items. In haute couture, designers were becoming increasingly inspired by pop culture and street style. These designs could succeed in high fashion because some top percentile earners wanted to present as being less wealthy to communicate "street cred" or equality ideals. In addition, designer street style enabled the few social climbers that did exist (such as in the entertainment industry), to show that they valued their roots. The tensions of income inequalities and fast fashion therefore led to the blending of street style and haute couture. The designer's logo was seen boldly printed on all types of clothing, particularly items that needed to be replaced less often, such as purses or sunglasses. A logoed purse was a visual unifier, worn by celebrities, models and "middle class" shoppers (who, because of growing income inequalities, earned increasingly less than habitual haute couture customers). Thanks to outlet stores and plentiful supplies of fast fashion "knockoffs", a logoed purse became available to everyone. For the majority of shoppers, a branded purse was a form of escapism; a unifying factor that let people forget how much money they made, and present themselves as being more financially well-off.
Vintage clothing As the decade went on, it became increasingly popular in the UK and America to mix designer and fast fashion clothing. In response, vintage and thrifted clothing asserted itself, growing in popularity after the 2008/9 recession.
Women's fashion
Early 2000s (2000–2002)
Y2K fashion American, British and Western European Fashion in the 2000s was profoundly influenced by technology. Around this time, there was a monochromatic futuristic approach to fashion, with metallics, shiny blacks, heavy use of gray, straps, and buckles becoming commonplace. Y2K fashion, as it came to be known, aimed to reflect the sleek appearance of its era's new technology. When the original iPod was introduced in 2001, the white earbuds, as well as the gadget itself, became something of an accessory for early adopters. Styles such as tracksuits, low-rise jeans, and huge sunglasses and more of the sort became popular mainly because celebrities wore them in magazines, music videos, and red carpet events.
Fashion also influenced technology; in January 2015, Google's president Eric Schmidt cited the massive attention to the dress Jennifer Lopez wore to the 2000 Grammy Awards as the motivation for the creation of Google Images search. In 2000, Google Search results were limited to simple pages of text with links, but the developers worked on developing this further, realizing that an image search was required to answer "the most popular search query" they had seen to date: Jennifer Lopez's green dress.
Other pieces of Y2K clothing included mesh tops, wraparound sunglasses, wireframe rectangle glasses, box-pleated skirts, handkerchief tops (often in a metallic pattern such as silver or gold for a disco feel), satin or leather skirts, concert t-shirts or band merch with rhinestones, sparkling shoes, halter tops, sequined pants (popularized by Peter Morrissey), and embroidered and sequined tops (inspired by Easton Pearson), along with the famous pearl printed black dress cocktail dress by Karen Walker—which was successful worldwide.
In 2000, some examples of casual women's and girl's fashion trends were oversized sunglasses, mini shoulder handbags/purses, aviator sunglasses, oversized hoop earrings, jeans worn in various ways (such as mid-rise, boot-cut, fabric accents down the sides, fabric accents sewn into the flares, lace-up sides and tie-dye), wedge flip flops, hotpants, denim jackets, chunky sweaters, pashmina scarves, Skechers, belly shirts, and tube tops.
Casual chic In Africa, Europe, North America, East Asia, South America, and Oceania, the early 2000s saw the continuation of many mid and late 1990s fashions due to the continued influence of teen pop stars such as Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, such as the military look, while introducing newer more vaguely dystopian post modern trends. From 2001 onwards, women wore long-sleeved shirts with bell sleeves, cowl-neck tops, crop tops, Burberry, hoodies, flare jeans, hip-huggers, low rise pants, white jeans, whale tails, cargo pants (especially ones made out of silk, satin, and velvet) hip-hop inspired sweatpants, daisy dukes, thong underwear, and solid bright-colored tights.
9/11 and the mortgage crisis of 2008 impacted fashion by bringing in a new wave of conservatism. This created a rise in denim, the American fabric of the working person. Jeans became acceptable in every situation, from the supermarket to the red carpet. This slow shift to conservatism can be observed in jeans started low-rise in reflection of the free-spirited Y2K style and moved through various waistlines and leg widths. The sense of unity in the country because all kinds of people were buying the same brands and sporting the same American companies furthermore established corporate logos as a form of stability and comfort in fashion.
Possibly in reaction to the streamlined, futuristic, outer space-themed Y2K styles of 2000, distressed denim became popular in America from 2001 to 2008. Pants became lower-waisted and significantly more flared than they were previously, and often featured elaborate embroidery rather than the utilitarian, no-frills style of before. In the UK, it was popular for women to wear skirts over trousers, floral print shift dresses, and colors like black, purple and pink. Big, chunky shoes and chunky sandals were popular, with thick wedge heels and imitation leather straps decorated with floral embroidery, while previously successful sneaker brands like Skechers declined in popularity.
First-wave 1980s revival Although the 1980s fashion revival wasn't in full swing until 2001, the first movement started in the late 1990s and continued into the early 2000s. This first wave primarily focused on the early 1980s. Such trends that emerged during this period included denim miniskirts, ripped "distressed" jeans, denim jackets, tracksuits, trench coats (often in pleather), puffy jackets (revived by Hip-Hop artists), and preppy polo shirts with popped collars. These remained popular until about 2008 when the revival of later 1980s fashions occurred.
European and American women and girls wore low-top sneakers such as Skechers, Heelys, Adidas shoes, Reebok shoes, and Nike, as well as knee-high boots with spiked heels and pointed toes (or conversely, thick low heels and round or square toes). Popular accessories of the early 2000s include white belts, aviator sunglasses, trucker hats, hoop earrings, block heeled mary janes, leg warmers (worn with mini skirts), ugg boots, flip-flops, jelly shoes, lace-up sandals, newsboy caps, ponchos, and jelly bracelets.
Sex and the City The American television series Sex and the City impacted how women cared about fashion and how they shopped. The show depicted women as empowered consumers, each with their own independent styles that shopped based on what they wanted, not what they were told to wear. The main characters became fashion icons, inspiring window displays, fashion lines, magazines, and women globally. Carrie Bradshaw, the main character, is credited for making Manolo Blahnik a household name from her obsession with the Spanish designer's high-heeled shoes. Trends inspired by the show include stilettos, designer handbags (with two episodes centered around the latest "It bag"), large fabric flowers, and berets.
Mid-2000s (2003–2006)
It items and 1960s revival
It items were very popular in the 2000s, particularly the early and middle years. Examples of some highly sought-after It items of the mid-2000s included Kate Spade wallets, Prada sneakers, Dior saddle bags, designer-brand jeans such as True Religion low-rise boot-cut jeans and 7 for all Mankind skinny jeans, Juicy Couture velour tracksuits, Balenciaga cargo pants, Von Dutch trucker hats, and Takashi Murakami's collaboration with Louis Vuitton for their iconic It bag.