What Does Y2K Fashion Mean for Today's Body Inclusivity Movement?

Nostalgia core is at an all time high, with a rise in Y2K silhouettes across emerging brands and luxury staples. Whether it be slim office siren glasses and sleek capris or leopard print and French tips, early aughts trends are undoubtedly experiencing a resurgence.

Although the decade delivered iconic fashion, it also revealed an obsession with thinness. The rise in Ozempic use and the return of the Y2K and heroine chic adjacent aesthetics is no coincidence. Before body inclusivity became mainstream -- or at least a performative version of it -- media blatantly encouraged collective body dysmorphia across a generation of girls.

Many Gen Z and Millennials women spent their formative years witnessing celebrities like Jessica Simpson be publicly shamed for weighing more than 120 pounds. Revisiting TV shows like America's Next Top Model and hearing Janice Dickson refer to a size 4 model as "plus-sized" illustrates the toxic beauty standards we were conditioned to believe. So, with the re-emergence of  Y2K style, how have conversations around body inclusivity changed?

"With any item from fashion eras' past, there's always a concept of the ideal body type that underlies the design. Certain women have memories of not having the ideal body and feeling uncomfortable when they wear them," fashion historian and vintage expert Paige Rubin tells us. Because of this, for many young women, Y2K fashion can be a reminder of society's inherent fatphobia. Low-rise jeans, the defining clothing of the time, are now controversial as they aren't hospitable to wearers with ample hips and thighs.

Curve model and content creator Maia Douglas recalls, "overhearing women not feeling comfortable wearing shorts and snug capris because they were too embarrassed to show their thighs." She continues explaining,  "I feel like low rise pants can be incredibly ostracizing. I could wear a low rise silhouette, but because I have bigger thighs and a larger butt, when I sat down I would get picked on for having 'plumbers crack,' which for anyone as a kid growing up in the early 2000s, we all know what that experience was like. I'd love to see low-rise jeans that are more inclusive to shapelier bodies."

As we redefine what's "flattering" in 2024, we're reclaiming the aesthetic for all body types, bringing the Y2K style into the future. Influencer Bianca Rodriguez doesn't allow societal standards to prevent her from joining in on the fun of trying out a trend. "When early '00's trends started coming back in style, I only saw it on thinner women, which can be intimidating for someone with curves. We're told not to accentuate our thighs, hips and stomach, but I love challenging myself to wear things that may not necessarily be deemed as flattering. If it's a trend that I'm excited about and I find cute on other people, I want to be able to be a part of it as well. I want to be able to inspire other women with similar bodies to wear whatever they want, even if they have a little stomach bulge."

Separating what society considers to be flattering from fatphobia can be used as a tool to take up space. "There's a chance for us to redefine what flattering means to us. Making my body look bigger doesn't have to be coded as bad," Douglass continues. The ebb and flow of the trend cycle is inevitable and while indulging in Y2K-inspired clothing is here to stay, we don't need to accept the harmful body standards along with it.