Many of us got our first phones in middle school, putting us under the constant surveillance of our caregivers, who shuttled us from school to soccer to home until the pandemic shut us inside for two years. City kids can likely attest to having had more freedom than kids from suburbia, but still, most of us spent our childhoods sheltered inside. Now here we are in college with dwindling dreams of someday owning a home, let alone becoming financially independent. Furthermore, we are all child witnesses to globalization, a global pandemic, imminent climate collapse, the internet and the war on terror. 

 

It is no wonder why American youth today have arrested development. It is no wonder why I see 30-year-old women posting memes about still being teenage girls. It is no wonder why so many of us have poor social skills and cope by making jokes and blogging online. Young Americans have lost trust in the military, religious leaders, police officers, elected officials, business leaders, and key institutions, according to Pew Research. We are disillusioned by progress, by the future. We are nostalgic for the past. 

 

Sincerity is cheugy now, so all of this turmoil gets expressed with niche, detached, post-ironic attitudes that often lean toward earnestness. Fashion can allow us to express these societal frustrations in subversive ways. For a generation struck by such disillusionment, it is only understandable that the clothes we wear harken back to a simpler time in all of our lives.

 

In one blithe example, the young British designer Ashley Williams' Spring Summer 2024 collection is like a chronically online apocalypse rave if there ever was one. Distressed trappings hung on one model with dark under-eye makeup and fried platinum-blonde hair. Another bleached-eyebrowed model wore Hello Kitty merchandise and “you must die” emboldened on an oversized T-shirt. My favorite standout confidently sported “2010 Justin Bieber side swoosh” hair and a side cap. The collection also featured “I Love NY,” anime and other meta graphics which all together mimic the deadpan, post-ironic humor of the internet and perform an ode to the good old days of 2013 when Vine and Tumblr were still thriving.

 

The schoolgirl aesthetic is another symptom of our affection for the past. Sandy Liang’s bows, pleated skirts and Mary Jane flats are a call to all the woman-teenagers of the world. These styles, which Liang has admitted were influenced by her own nostalgia for girlhood, unites women with their long-lost attachments to their youth and have contributed to the rapid success of Liang’s brand. 

 

Miu Miu, a subsidiary brand to Prada and named the brand of the year in 2022, also reminisces girlhood in several collections by adding a juvenile edge to corporate-chic pencil skirts and cardigans, such as fastening bows on clothing and reimagining ballet shoes.

 

Off the runway we see the varied interpretations of high-fashion inspiration. In a more exaggerated celebration of the past, New York based stylist Clara Pelmutter (@tinyjewishgirl on Instagram) has embraced “camp” with arms wide open. American writer Susan Sontag defined “camp” as “a sensibility that revels in artifice, stylization, theatricalization, irony, playfulness, and exaggeration rather than content.” Perlmutter’s personal style is the equivalent of if the tween clothing brand Justice could twerk. It is ridiculously fun and childish while simultaneously esoteric and cunt. Her Instagram following of 141,000 proves that camp fashion can be more than just a joke, but a genuinely appreciated contribution to New York City street fashion.

 

The creative styling magazine “untitled” designed by Keenan Grooms and Drew Cwiek reflects the many subversive street styles popular in New York City. By styling odd combinations of sports jerseys, school uniforms and vintage denim, the college students have created a range of preppy punk to deliberately trashy looks that risk seeming utterly unfashionable to many. The many referential influences of these looks, namely, bloke core, eurotrash, prep fashion, punk and skating culture, create somewhat of an inside joke out of each outfit and reflect the glib attitudes of their wearers. This fusion of street style influences represents a self-conscious departure from individuality in the wake of the saturation of the internet and globalization. 

 

On the runway and in the streets, today’s fashion innovation reflects the lingering teenage spirit of our time and expresses youth attitudes toward postmodern life. As we navigate the uncertainties of today, fashion remains a powerful tool for self-expression and a mirror to our evolving world.