THE LOOK
Turn-of-the-Millennium Looks ‘All That’ Again
FASHION SASHA ROGELBERG | JE STAFF
LOW-RISE JEANS
are making a comeback, much to
the near-unanimous chagrin of
Jewish fashion experts.

The return of the infamous
pants, deemed “unflattering”
and “outdated,” is an omen of
the return of a whole host of
clothing styles of the late 1990s
and early aughts — for better
or for worse.

“We’re seeing the ’90s kind
of in full-force, moving into
the early 2000s a little bit,”
said Rachel Mednick, adjunct
professor and fashion educator
at Drexel University.

The delight in early ’00s
pop culture was made clear on
the national level when 103.4
million viewers tuned into the
Feb. 13 Super Bowl halftime
show, where Snoop Dogg and
Dr. Dre began and ended the
concert with a rendition of
their 2001 collaboration “The
Next Episode.” Other ’90s and
’00s superstars — 50 Cent,
Mary J. Blige and Eminem —
helped draw in an audience 7%
larger than last year’s perfor-
mance, according to The New
York Times.

Mednick sees college
students walking into her class-
room wearing crop tops and
showing midriffs or donning
leggings and oversized T-shirts,
paying homage to the turn of
the millenium.

“That was ‘the thing’ when
I was growing up,” Mednick,
34, said.

The styles are colorful, a
little suggestive, but comfort-
able, making them appealing to
not just younger audiences, but
also to those transitioning out
of their pandemic sweatsuits,
Fashion Statement Boutique
owner Marissa Gelman said.

“People are ready to go
out there, being comfort-
able, but they also want to
express themselves — colors
and different types of fabrics,”
Gelman said.

Though an outspoken
opponent of low-rise jeans,
Gelman is incorporating ’90s
inspirations into her upcoming
designs, adding “sophistica-
tion” to the styles with which
she grew up.

She’s leaning into the long,
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16 FEBRUARY 24, 2022
JEWISH EXPONENT
Fashion Statement Boutique owner Marissa Gelman is leaning into
long, crochet dresses made popular in the ’90s.
Courtesy of Marissa Gelman
flowy skirts popular 25-30
years ago, as well as long
crochet dresses, hoping to
evoke images of “Friends”-era
Jennifer Aniston. Miniskirts
and spaghetti straps of the
’00s, however, will not make
an appearance.

Young designers now in
their 30s don’t have the same
desire to bring back the styles
of their youth. Instead, the
Generation Z “Zoomers,” now
teenagers, are embracing the
looks. Video streaming social
media platform TikTok, which
has skyrocketed influencers to
fame, has helped popularize
these looks, Mednick said.

But young people aren’t the
only ones inspired by throw-
back fashion. Plenty of people
tend to look back on past eras
for inspiration.

“I think back to even my
grandmother and what she
wore growing up, and I think
that was such a beautiful era,
and things were handmade,
and it was so different,”
Mednick said. “She looks back
on that and appreciates that
and says, ‘Why don’t we do
this anymore? Things are so
much better made; it was better
quality.’” Mednick and Gelman
both cited the ’60s and ’70s as
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Gabrielle Mandel’s new
collection drew inspiration
from the abstract patterns
and bright colors of the ’60s
and ’70s.

#JEWISHINPHILLY L
LY Photos by Gabrielle Mandel
inspiration for their personal
fashion: “funky, free-fl owing”
skirts with “fl ower power”
patterns and bright colors.

Gabrielle Mandel, creator of
art and home goods collection
Supra Endura, is launching a
collection of abstract-patterned
beeswax wraps and dishcloths
inspired by the time period,
with the additional infl uences
of pop art, Henri Matisse’s
impressionism and designer
Roy Halston Frowick’s affi nity
for disco.

“People are turning more
towards this fun optimism and
probably a little bit of hedonism
that also kind of started in the
’70s,” Mandel said.

COVID has made people
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM reputation and styles of the
’60s and ’70s, few have actually
lived through the time period
and, therefore, have a reductive
perception of that era.

“Th ere’s both an overgen-
eralization and also not really
a deep understanding of what
actually was happening,”
Mandel said. “Obviously, there
was a lot of turmoil and a lot of
big changes in the ’60s, and it’s
hard to really understand what
the mood of those times were.”
As the next generation
takes an interest in the turn
of the millennium, experts are
wondering if this cycle has the
potential to continue. Ten years
from now, will kids be wearing
clothes inspired by the 2010s?
Mednick has reservations.

So much clothing from the
’10s was also inspired by past
decades; it’s hard to tell what’s
original at times.

“We’re kind of stuck at this
point,” she said. “I don’t know
how much newness we’re really
seeing.” ●
itch for levity and bright
colors in their style, Mandel
said. Mednick agreed, arguing
that the ’70s were a simpler
time, before social media and
the pandemic made life feel
complicated. But there is a tendency
to add rose-tinted lenses to
nostalgia-inspired looks as
well. Mandel, also in her 30s, grew
up in the ’90s, never seeing the
looks she felt inspired by in
person. “I wasn’t around for the ’70s
music and wasn’t really under-
standing things for most of the
’80s, as a 3-year-old,” she said.

Th ough many people are srogelberg@jewishexponent.com;
drawing on the laid-back 215-832-0741
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FEBRUARY 24, 2022
17