The millennial trends Gen Z is secretly obsessed with—and why
Remember the days of low-rise jeans? Officially, they’re back in fashion now. We’re not exaggerating, worldwide search interest in “low rise jeans” has reached an all-time high in August and has surpassed “high rise jeans” since May 2024.
Along with low rise jeans, neon prints, cargo pants, platform sneakers and many other such millennial trends are coming back from the dead. But this isn’t just a simple copy-paste situation. Gen Z is adopting their older counterparts’ Y2K style but blending it with a fresh spin, such as pairing them with custom hoodies, Labubu accessories and more.
Fashion trends typically follow a 20-year cycle, but the current revival of early 2000s styles is happening faster than industry experts predicted. Gen Z consumers are driving significant demand for Y2K-era fashion items that defined millennial trends between 2000 and 2010.
Recent retail data and social media analytics show a marked increase in searches and purchases for low-rise jeans, crop tops and platform shoes—signature pieces from the early 2000s. This revival represents a comprehensive return to Y2K aesthetics, with younger consumers adopting millennial trends that their older counterparts thought they had left behind 20 years ago.
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Gen Z fashion: The return of low-rise jeans and Y2K staples
Kylie Jenner is showcasing Gen Z fashion with low-rise jeans, a popular millennial fashion trend
Gen Z is pairing low-rise pants and skirts with crop tops, just like their older counterparts
Perhaps no trend symbolises this revival more than the return of low-rise jeans. While high-rise jeans had (and are still having) their moment, low-rise jeans have made a clear comeback, with high-end designers like Stella McCartney showcasing them on the runway as part of the spring/summer 2025 collection and celebs like Kylie Jenner donning them in their streetwear looks.
The wide-leg jean phenomenon has been particularly striking in 2025, with not just Stella McCartney but also Alaia and Emporio Armani embracing it wholeheartedly.
Gen Z has also adopted athletic wear that defined the early 2000s, though with updated branding. If you frequented Victoria’s Secret in the 2000s, you’re no stranger to the infamous yoga pants, featuring flared bottoms and thick, stretchy waistbands. Today, you can still find this athletic wear at retailers such as H&M—only now, the hip-again style goes by the name “flared leggings”.
Millennial beauty trends embraced by Gen Z
Lip gloss, a millennial trend, is popular yet again, thanks to K-beauty aesthetics
Quite surprisingly, wired headphones have also emerged as a fashion statement. For those who never threw away their wired headphones, you’re in luck: they’re officially considered a “vintage accessory” now.
Millennial trends are also making a huge comeback in the beauty sector—think lip gloss, turquoise nails and more. Two of ’90s radically different aesthetics, grunge and pastel, are also being embraced by Gen Z but the beauty focus goes deeper than the surface level, with Gen Z prioritising skin health heavily.
The broader cultural impact of Gen Z’s revival of Y2K fashion
Paris Hilton attending a party in 2000 (Photo by Sam Levi/WireImage)
The Y2K revival isn’t just about nostalgia—it represents a broader cultural shift. In the early 2000s, spotting a leopard or zebra in fashion meant Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton were out in full party mode. Animal prints and smoky eyes are back on the 2025 runways, but with a cleaner, more elevated approach. It’s still that fearless Y2K attitude, but sans the tabloid frenzy.
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