A New Era of Fashion: Embracing the Ugly

Fashion trends today have evolved into a blend of better and worse, with sauce stains, bleached eyebrows, combat shorts, and stomper boots defining the current style. Isaiah Lat, a 20-year-old student, DJ, and stylist from Chicago, embodies this trend, admitting he doesn’t mind a bit of oil or spaghetti on his shorts. “I used to wipe away stains, but now I think it’s chic,” he says, describing his style as a mix of dystopian, Mad Max, pirate, Steam Punk, and mythological vibes. He prefers thrift and DIY fashion, sporting skinny jeans, Capri pants, and visor-like sunglasses, often with clothes that are “somewhat stained.”

The Diverse and Rebellious Fashion Mood

A new mood has emerged in fashion, marked by varied aesthetics but unified by common themes. Camouflage, combat shorts, grungey plaid, goth-inspired makeup, and stomper boots are in vogue. Silhouettes and garments inspired by 2010s indie sleaze, along with nihilistic internet humor slogans on T-shirts, are prevalent. Daniel Rodgers, a digital fashion writer at British Vogue, attributes this to the rebellious energy of kids born in 2000, reclaiming styles millennials dismissed as uncool. The resulting look is often grotty, greasy, crumpled, and raw.

Breaking Away from Homogeneity

The past decade has seen homogeneous looks dominate visual culture, from sleek athleisure to the “clean girl” trend epitomized by influencers like Hailey Bieber. Sean Monahan, a trend forecaster, predicted this shift in his 2021 article on the incoming “vibe shift.” He notes a significant move away from streetwear, blaming “crypto bros” and “hype dads” who over-invested in branded apparel. The final nail in the coffin was a 2019 shopping mall sighting of a dad in head-to-toe Balenciaga streetwear, mortifying his teenage son.

Inspiration from the Rave Scene

Isaiah Lat finds fashion inspiration at raves, where many dress in ways outsiders might deem “uncouth and inappropriate.” He sees this look as intertwined with the synth and techno music scene, with artists like Charli XCX, Snow Strippers, Shygirl, and AG Cook leading the way. This fashion rejects mainstream norms, with Lat declaring, “We are sick of late-stage capitalist fashion. We want to dance and look hot — and this is our way of showing the government and corporations that we don’t need them.”

Referential and DIY Fashion

Agus Panzoni, a trends spokesperson for Depop, highlights the rise of “referential fashion,” where personal style is influenced by specific references. Charli XCX’s viral hit 360 captures this, with its video featuring quirky, unique looks. The aesthetic of the video taps into a return to “street style” that isn’t brand or product-led, as observed by Johnny Cirillo, a prominent street style photographer in New York City. He notes an unprecedented variety of looks on the streets, from goth to robotic metal accessories.

IRL Fashion and Julia Fox’s Influence

Panzoni also notes a shift towards “IRL-ness” in fashion, with faux fur coats and shredded wool sweaters replacing puffer jackets and bright online shopping hues. Julia Fox is a key proponent of this look, known for her viral, imaginative, and barely-there outfits. Her stylist, Briana Andalore, grew up thrifting and hanging out with drag queens in Manhattan, influences she proudly incorporates into her style. Andalore’s current project with Fox, OMG Fashion, showcases how to make garments from shower curtains, emphasizing that fashion doesn’t require a lot of money.

Youth Rebellion and DIY Fashion

Youth rebellion through DIY fashion isn’t new, dating back to the punks of the 1970s. Monahan sees a “cultural rhyming” with millennials who discovered vintage clothing and an indie aesthetic in college. However, today’s fashion has a particularly nihilistic edge, with people combining looks from the past 15 years into a wild, eclectic mix. Subcultures are sampled without the lifestyle obligations that used to accompany them, creating a fashion landscape where everything is trending at once.

Embracing Individuality and Internet Humor

Panzoni notes that young people today embrace the idea of creating themselves without adhering to fashion rules, believing that as long as they are being themselves, they will look hot. Sabina Meschke, a 27-year-old comedian, and coffee shop worker in Bed Stuy, exemplifies this with her wardrobe, which includes a hunting camo baby doll dress and a “Hooked on Jesus” shirt with clown prints. Angela Qian, a 22-year-old Berkeley graduate, shares her post-ironic outfits online, including a backless hoodie with Oprah’s image and SpongeBob sneakers with “Live Laugh Love.”

Post-Irony and Cult Brands

Post-irony is a significant influence among designers of cult brands targeting meme-raised young people. Uncle Inc, for example, juxtaposes hot girl aesthetics with gross elements, creating bright pink Juicy Couture-inspired hot pants with the word “Rancid” in a horror movie font. Other popular items include shirts with phrases like “Ketamine Tuesday” and collaborations with actor Rachel Sennott featuring slogans like “So Exhausted From Carrying Around My Big Heaving Tits All Day.”

The Chaotic, Youth-Optimized Aesthetic

Rodgers points out that while elements of this style are percolating into the mainstream, with even Hailey Bieber adopting more chaotic looks, the overall aesthetic has yet to crystallize into a marketable trend. The DIY nature, stains, outrageous humor, and wild variety make it tribal and understood only by those in the know. Monahan argues that this look is a youth-optimized strategy, difficult for most to pull off. It’s ironic but also a flex, as only the very attractive can make such chaotic, unstructured outfits work.

In reaction to a decade of Facetuned influencers, ultra-fast fashion, and digitized social lives, this new youth mood centers inventiveness and secondhand clothes, resisting brand-led trends. What might look ugly to some is, in reality, a rebellion against homogenized fashion, creating a rather beautiful statement in its defiance and individuality