Even though it feels like yesterday, the 1990s were more than 20 years ago. Fortunately, the fashion industry is embracing the nostalgia of the ‘90s and making a throwback of its own.

Designers such as Alexander Wang, Marc Jacobs and Donna Karan have helped revive ‘90s-inspired minimalism. Designers have been trading in the bodycon dresses for shapeless shift coats, luscious locks for stringy bedhead, and luxury, leather purses for fanny packs. 

Shivani Patel, a sophomore in fashion and textile management, said she began to see ‘90s-inspired looks on the runway and in stores about two years ago.

“I could tell through the little things people started wearing,” Patel said. “Or, of course, fashion weeks, store displays, street-wear blogs, stuff like that.”

Kaitlin Liu, a sophomore in animal science, said the ‘90s fashions are becoming more popular in retail stores.

“It’s much more apparent now,” Liu said. “Urban Outfitters and American Apparel were the first. Then as time went on, more mainstream stores like Forever 21 picked up on the aesthetic.”

Patel said listening to punk-rock music influences her 1990s-inspired looks.

“I like to listen to the Ramones and Nirvana,” Patel said. 

The 1990s celebrated the grunge movement, thrown into the forefront thanks to musical icons such as Kurt Cobain, Courtney Love and Chris Cornell. 

Current popular music has also jumpstarted the 1990s movement. Ever since Macklemore released his smash song “Thrift Shop” in the summer of 2012, teens across the United States have been flocking to Goodwill stores to find unique vintage threads.

“You can even find ‘90s clothes in your mom’s closet,” Liu said. “The ‘90s are great because everything matches.”

Jenna Calderone, a sophomore in fashion and textile management and creative director of PackFashion (NC State’s fashion blog), addressed the most relevant looks of the 1990s.

“There was a fluctuation between things being really baggy and tight,” Calderone said. “Of course the grunge stuff, but also really tight shift dresses with heels.”

Calderone said she thinks the 1990s revival will satisfy lovers of comfort.

“No one walked down the runway this season with heels on,” Calderone said. “It was all sneakers and platforms.”

According to Patel and Liu, the most popular ‘90s-inspired items include “plaid button-downs, destroyed denim, big chunky boots and dark colors.”

Every year, Pantone, a renowned color technology house, names its trendiest colors, and this year the list includes the shades Classic Blue and Marsala, a clay-like dark red—two colors that can clearly be attributed to the ‘90s revival.

“Beauty-wise, there was a lot of lip liner, glossy lips and greasy, stringy hair,” Patel said. “DKNY’s models for their New York Fashion Week show wore a lot of hair gel.”

Calderone said she is starting to participate in the grunge trend too.

“I just bought a pair of Doc Martens, a clear allusion to the grunge movement,” Calderone said. “No one’s wearing those colonial lace-up boots from last season anymore.”

Calderone and Patel also credit the ‘90s for exposing a bare midriff and igniting today’s crop top craze.

“Lots of crop top, cami-like deals were around,” Calderone said. “And skinny spaghetti straps.”

Patel described an important staple of the ‘90s trend.

“Crop tops and high-waisted stuff are, of course, huge,” Patel said.

Trends come and go for an array of reasons, but Patel and Calderone credit comfort, accessibility and nostalgia as the main reasons for the revival of ‘90s fashion.

“Our generation is very into nonchalance. Ease of wear, comfort, easy accessibility,” Patel said.

According to Calderone, the understated fashion of the ‘90s is easy for people to wear.

“It’s a pretty accessible trend,” Calderone said. “It’s easy for people to pull off, and styles from most other decades become costume-like. I think people like the aesthetic better than the cheesy ‘80s neon type stuff, for example.”

Although the revival of trends from past decades seems cyclical, Calderone doesn’t predict a new millennium comeback anytime soon.

“The 2000s were a collection of really weird trends,” Calderone said. “We wore that stuff back in elementary school, so that’s not really appealing to anyone.”