At the age of (nearly) 32, this may be the first time I have encountered the resurfacing of a trend that is so close to home it makes me queasy. Yes, we millennials have certainly experienced trends that come back around; low-rise jeans and ballet flats being prime examples. But even so, they still held a bit of early 2000s nostalgia that didn’t quite replicate our teenage years. Tech continues to be a huge influence on the timeline of trends. So it’s no surprise that we millennials are already encountering our youth becoming a trend as early as our 30s.

Discovering the Instagram account @indiesleaze was the first time I came across this trend terminology. An Instagram account now with a following of 185k and bio reading ‘Documenting the decadence of the mid-late aughts and the indie sleaze party scene that died in 2012’, It’s filled with photographs that could easily be mistaken for my own.

Quickly seeping through the veins of the internet it captured the attention of Alexa Chung - who before being tagged in images from the account was unaware she was a poster child for the trend. Speaking in an interview with the Financial Times, Alexa quotes; 

‘These images capture a scene of people united by an enthusiasm for alternative music in, arguably, our last gasp of unfettered freedom before the ability to go on the lash undocumented was swept away by wilful oversharing and sponsored posts.’

Undeniably this trend has triggered an unease in me. Yes, it’s a hard pill to swallow - (no pun intended, we will get to that later) it certainly is a reminder that the experiences we encountered in our youth can no longer be replicated, not because we may look out of place but because it no longer exists. Understandably this era doesn’t encapsulate every millennial’s youth; but as a self-proclaimed ‘Indie girl’ growing up in a city known for its music, art and party culture - it hits hard. 

For us, the introduction to the Indie era didn’t come from Pinterest or influencers as we know them today; It came from the culture we were absorbing and living through. Alexa Chung on T4, Kate Moss and her Topshop collab era and the revolution of indie music shaped our teenage years. It was a time to be creative and embrace the undone. and as a result, our style was just that.

The indie style was relatively unintentional. Our lived-in liner really was a hint of being worn the night before, our hair was naturally untamed and thrifting wasn’t due to sustainability being at the forefront of our shopping habits - but because we gravitated to the wear, feeling and uniqueness of the clothes.

Our styling choices were experimental, eclectic and a myriad of aesthetics. Outfits were routinely created from the pile of semi-clean garments building on the ‘clothes chair’. An array of items mashed together in hopes it worked. For me, it oftentimes didn’t. But it didn’t matter. Fashion felt unjudgmental and rebellious. A sense of freedom only gained through the lack of documentation and pressure to ‘perform’.

As we witness the fading of the ‘clean girl’ aesthetic and the introduction to trends such as the ‘mob wife’; the juxtaposition of these two trends is like watching a rebirth of youth.

Experiencing the rise of the Indie scene first-hand as a teenager is something I am grateful to have been a part of. But with many things, on reflection as an adult, it came with a level of toxicity.

Like many cultural movements; it should have come with a warning label. The music scene was notoriously unruly yet captivating and the glamorisation of diet culture, drugs, alcohol and smoking are all part of the catch.

The healthy lifestyle of today’s generation was never fed to us. No one cared about getting 10k steps in a day, skincare routines or pilates. Our idols were continuously seen with a cigarette as an accessory and a replacement for lunch. A harmful aspect of the scene. ‘Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels’; The famous Kate Moss quote that still haunts me to this day.

The Introduction to the TV show Skins produced a long list of problematic behaviours that for some reason, our spongelike brains wanted to replicate. Behaviour that was full of risks disguised as ‘fun’. I challenge you to rewatch the first series through mature eyes and get back to me.

I certainly have a level of intrigue in how this trend will be adapted and interpreted by today’s youth. We have already seen a resurgence in the leopard print fur coats making their way onto our feeds and makeup reminiscent of our Tumblr days. With so much pressure on social media can this generation really encapsulate the trend whilst being so self-aware? Don’t get me wrong the revival of this trend is overdue. Let’s just hope those who participate have more sense than we did.