The decade that we have been dreading has found its way back into fashion, as we see Y2K begin to fall off the trend cycle, the 2010s feels like a natural progression. While this may be a horrifying prospect for many of you, we are actually seeing a lot of these trends already circulating and they are far from the galaxy prints and shutter shades that still haunt us to this day.
Neck Corsages
The ‘IT’ girls favourite necklace replacement; a neck corsage may seem like something you haven’t really seen before. But, if you ask us, this is 2023’s choker. The black ribbon choker had us in a literal chokehold in the 2010s, and they were worn everywhere; it did not matter whether you were going for a coffee or attending a red carpet, a choker was the perfect accessory no matter the occasion. Now we are seeing neck corsages fill this void.
Mango Maxi Flower Choker
Asymmetric Skirts
Asymmetric skirts and dresses have had a makeover. While we are seeing stars such as Dua Lipa and Bia wear the style in their more traditional forms (proving that they are definitely back in style) we have also seen some of Gen Z’s favourite brands re-invent the look. Brands such as Fanci Club and I Am Gia have been popularising the style through ruffles, cinching and tassels, bringing a whole new perspective on the trend. These new styles have meant that the trend is almost unrecognisable, and its 2010s origin has been undetected by fashion girls across the world. Rather than the high-low styles with a dramatic slit, these designs play with asymmetry in fun new ways, our favourite being the tentacle-esque tulle tassels that we have been seeing everywhere at the moment.
I Am Gia Arly Dress
I Am Gia Primrose Skirt
Dresses Over Trousers
Now, we must apologise. We didn’t mean to give you a jump scare with this last trend, we know that you never thought you’d see this trend again after that Ashley Tisdale look from 2001. But we are here to tell you that it is in fact back, but it’s not quite as scary as those dark, dark times in the early 2000s.
While this trend reached its peak in the 2000s, some celebrities and trendsetters were so fond of the look that they kept it going for as long as they could and manages to sustain it into the early 2010s. But now, it is back. We saw it rear its head at a variety of runway shows for 2023 and its safe to say the look is catching on.
We may not be completely sold on this look just yet, but it doesn’t look like it’s going to be going anywhere anytime soon, so we will have to learn to love it. Maybe when we get past the memory of Disney Channel red-carpets and pop-culture of the noughties, we will be able to appreciate it. One thing that did make this trend more palatable was Fendi’s monochromatic take on the look, this minimalised the busyness of the layering and gave it a much more intentional feel than the jumbled looks that we were used to seeing in the 2000s. This is the same styling that we saw Kicki Yang Zhang employ in her look, which makes the whole outfit appear seamless and co-ordinated. Brands have even started selling trousers with built-in skirts (or skirts with built-in trousers) proving that the new way of styling this trend is through co-ordination rather than the mis-matching patterns and textures of the 2000s. And, if you ask us, this is a much better way to approach this trend.
Slouchy Bags
We have been seeing the Bottega Veneta Jodie bag, and its contemporaries everywhere, the effortless look of this oversized, slouchy bag has been our latest accessory obsession. The bag has been seen on everyone including the likes of Hailey Bieber, Kendall Jenner and Matilda Djerf. This style of bag is a stark contrast to the miniature and highly structured bags, such as the Jacquemus Le Chiquito, that have been fashion’s favourites for the past few years.
However, this is not the first time that we have glorified a more relaxed style of bag, in the 2010s the Mulberry Alexa and the Balenciaga City Bag were some of our most beloved pieces. While the bags may have changed, the casual, slouchy style is rooted in the 2010s. In fact, the Mulberry Alexa, which originally launched in January 2010, was relaunched in November 2020 ahead of Mulberry’s 50th anniversary. So, we may even see a revival of this specific style coming soon.
Sheer Lace
It comes as no surprise that sheer lace is having a revival. We are seeing it everywhere at the moment, from formal wear for celebrities to the casual street-style looks of influencers, lace in inescapable. But this is not the first time that lace has dominated both formal and casual wear, in the 2010s we experienced a similar phenomenon.
Formal lace moments including Kendall Jenner’s iconic Instagram post that saw her take the throne of most liked picture and Blake Lively’s Zuhair Murad gown in Season 4 of Gossip Girl had everybody under their thumbs. This saw lace pieces become everybody’s go-to for formal occasions, but, even then, lace wasn’t limited to eveningwear.
The 2010s saw the mass Coachella-fication of fashion. The desert festival was less about music and more of a dusty red-carpet for our best dressed celebrities. With this came a boho and lace obsessed generation, stars such as Vanessa Hudgens and Selena Gomez championed these looks and the whole of the internet was in awe. This more casual approach to lace is being seen again at the moment, however, the lace is finer and brings in more Coquette-inspired elements than the boho-chic that we saw in the 2010s. One particular brand Bella Venice has been gaining popularity for its sheer lace dresses and co-ords that have been worn by celebrities from Mackenzie Ziegler to Matilda Djerf.
I Am Gia Yvette Top
I Am Gia Yvette Skirt
Words by Amelia Gregory
Header Graphics by Magdalen Manning
