An examination of modern street fashion: Part two

Fashion and the anti-sex

By Brittney MacDonald, Life & Style Editor

This is a continuation of part one from the previous issue.

Now that you have some background on the somewhat retaliatory nature of trending fashion, let’s examine how it relates to today’s street fashion. As I said before, the street fashion movement of the late ’80s to early ’90s was a direct result of the decadence and performance-wear of the ’70s to early ’80s. That begs the question: What is modern street fashion retaliating against?

Modern street fashion, in general, is a fairly modest genre in that clothes tend not to show a lot of skin, are available in muted colours, and are usually oversized. We can see this by looking at the latest collections from popular labels like Nike and Supreme. There are some slim-fit jackets and joggers, but the majority of items are baggy—especially the ones that show up more on an Instagram page and less at the track meet. What could be the cause of this desire to be so unobtrusive?

Y’all remember the early 2000s?

If you don’t, I’m not fully sure if I should be envious or if I should pity you. The 2000s were a pretty amazing time in terms of fashion—everything was ridiculous. This is the era of Christina Aguilera’s Stripped album, as well as Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie’s The Simple Life. It was a time when it was fully acceptable for you to walk outside your house in bikini bottoms paired with leather chaps and body glitter. Not that you shouldn’t do that now—you do you, boo. However, in the 2000s, such clothing choices were encouraged as feminine promiscuity and sexual freedom were the hot topics of the day. The late ’90s and early 2000s saw the rise of “Do-me” feminism, which encouraged women to break away from feeling morally restricted in asking for or expecting sexual gratification and pleasure. As if to mirror this, men’s fashion also began gravitating more towards the raunchy. In terms of social progression, it was an important step in the constant battle for gender equality—but it was also very in-your-face.

After all of that, it only makes sense that fashion trends would sway once more towards a more comfortable, conservative style. Thus, in terms of labelling fashion eras, you might be able to call this current one the “anti-2000s”—or the “anti-sex.” Not because it discourages sex, but because it is less about overtly sexualizing the human body and instead more about communicating low-maintenance and ease of wear.