20 Things That Have Shaped Fashion & Style in the Past 20 Years
Happy birthday Yahoo! In honor of its 20th anniversary, we’ve assembled a list of the top 20 things that have shaped fashion and style over the past 20 years.
REALITY TV
Survivor started America’s obsession with reality TV in 2000, paving the way for Kim (and all of the other) Kardashians.
KATE MOSS
She changed the perception of beauty from Amazonian supermodels to a shorter girl with quirky imperfections and has sustained her career as an unwavering icon of style, beauty and all things cool for 25 years and counting.
STREET STYLE BLOGGERS
The Sartorialist, then Tommy Ton, and now countless blogs turned the fashion on the sidewalks, instead of the runway, into a circus—and multi-million dollar careers.
SEX AND THE CITY
Four ladies with a penchant for sex, shoes and snappy conversation—not to mention a lot of love for New York City—still influence fashion around the world, nearly ten years after the show went off the air.
JOAN RIVERS
She was an outspoken trailblazer, a legendary comedienne who revolutionized red carpet fashion critique and invented those popular four words: “Who are you wearing?”
FAST FASHION
Target, H&M, Zara, Forever 21, Uniqlo: High design at a fraction of the cost totally changed the fashion game. Suddenly, you could shop at H&M and wear Karl Lagerfeld, or pop by Target for a handful of Proenza Schouler, leveling the playing field for fashion-lovers everywhere.
THE INTERNET
The Internet turned the tiny industry of fashion into a global phenomenon. As the curtain was pulled back, consumers could see—often in real time—what was happening inside the industry. From live streaming runways to personal style blogs, fashion became accessible to everyone at home, which kicked off the era of the couch critic.
PROJECT RUNWAY
The Heidi Klum-hosted series opened the fashion world up to television audiences and over 10 years later, the massive hit is still going strong. Aside from launching a series of modeling and acting careers, it deserves some credit for Michael Kors’ massive lifestyle business (including his eventual IPO), and increased Parsons’ enrollment by more than 45%.
MODELS OFF DUTY
Model-off-duty style is to now what the supermodels were to the 90s—real business. Alexander Wang made it a mission statement for his business, bringing what was going on in street style (before there was “street style” mania) into high-fashion focus, and made a killing.
APPLE
The first tech company to understand and marry design with innovation, appealing to the fashion and style crowd. First, the success of the iPod, then the iPhone, and soon the Apple Watch, which resulted in a huge worldwide event in September. The watch is in Vogue this month, and already scored the cover of Vogue China.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Friendster, Facebook, Twitter—all opened the door to user content, universal sharing and, ultimately, branding for designers and labels around the world. It’s now the best—and fastest—way for any brand to get its message out there.
EMOJIS
Although the first one was created in 1998, they didn’t hit the mainstream until 2010. Now we talk about how we look and feel via tiny little icons.
NATALIE MASSENET
Massenet knew women would want to buy luxury designer clothes from the comfort of their own home before they did. She launched Net-A-Porter in 2000, the first luxury e-commerce website. She took a gamble and she was right; today her company is valued at billions.
INSTAGRAM
We need to call out one social media platform: Instagram has become the darling of bloggers and the fashion world, as the easiest way to showcase looks and style. Inspired hashtag: #OOTD.
THE “RACHEL”
No other haircut in the last 20 years has earned as much attention as Jennifer Aniston’s layered cut on Friends. And nothing since has been able to dethrone this zeitgeist look (which in turn dethroned the “Farrah”).
CELEBRITY FRAGRANCE
Move over Chanel No. 5: From Britney Spears to Beyonce, Justin Bieber to Jay Z, you’re no one without your own fragrance in the 21st century.
THIRD WORLD STYLE
Fashion turned into a big business for many former Socialist countries: Vogue launched editions in Russia (1998), China (2005), India (2011) and even Ukraine (2014).
HOLLYWOOD
Movie stars, celebrities and musicians replaced models on the covers of magazines and in ad campaigns for high-end designers. Despite the occasional model (and blogger) cover, that trend shows no sign of letting up. The truth is, celebrity sells.
GRUNGE
Marc Jacobs’ infamous Perry Ellis collection (for which he was ultimately fired) was the first step toward the slouchy casual look taking over fashion’s previous preference for glam.
CHINA
The world’s largest country became the number one place to see and be seen for fashion brands; business is booming in China. Look no further than this year’s Costume Institute exhibit and gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, China Through the Looking Glass, for proof.
