Grunge Throw Back

June 21, 2012
By: Michaella Kossakowska

The nineties was characterised by ripped jeans, oversized clothing, patterned leggings, lots and lots of denim, thigh highs, chunky shoes, baby doll dresses, and a mix of military and vibrant colors by most adolescent groups. Music was a huge influence towards personal style; genres like rock n’ roll, pop, and grunge were among the standout inspirations. When it came to dressing ‘grunge,’ bands like Nirvana epitomized the look.

In the music world, grunge is a mix of different rock sub-genres that is said to have originated from Seattle, thanks to well-known bands such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam. In a fashion typical to musical phenomena, grunge soon spread and became a recognized music genre in other locations of the United States and eventually in Europe. The way in which the band members dressed, especially Kurt Cobain, quickly enticed the fans and soon enough the term ‘grunge’ surpassed just music classification, it became a way of dressing. Celebrities like Drew Barrymore, Kate Moss and Johnny Depp were also very involved with the style choice. It is a timeless look, laid-back, flannel clad, lazy even which is why it has managed to pervade the decades and continue as a major style choice unlike the music genre.

Today we see a very modernized spin-off of the genre look. Of course there is a more vibrant color palette and religious iconography, skulls, the cross and other pagan symbols have become keen central points. The shoe trend of flat forms has also been introduced in the look, and both females and males are taking part in the very androgynous trend. Fashion stylists and editors also love to include the look in major fashion spreads, it’s a look that has found itself present in at least one issue every year. However, instead of being as effortless and laid back as it was in the past, it is much more of a fashion statement today rather than a statement in adolescent society itself- a lot of effort has been made to make the grunge look stand out today in comparison to the past. Either way, it’s a look that has surpassed its own source of inspiration and decades of style choices.