Gen Z Channels the 1990s

The icons and fashions of the fin de siecle are objects of fascination for those who didn’t experience them the first time around. Here’s what they say about why.

When Tora Northman, 23, scrolls through Instagram, as she does multiple times a day, she often sees a picture of Gwyneth Paltrow attending the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards in a burgundy velvet Gucci trouser suit in her feed. Sometimes a friend will have posted it. Other times, it has come from one of the 1990s- and Y2K-themed pages that have proliferated online, including @90sanxiety, @90smilk, @early2000sbabes and @literally.iconic, the owner of which claims, in the account’s bio, to have been “raised by paris and britney.”

“Every single time I see her in that red velvet suit, I will ‘like’ it, and I will probably share it,” Ms. Northman said.

Gen Z’s style obsession with the 1990s and ’00s is well documented. See Olivia Rodrigo at the White House in a “Clueless”-esque Chanel suit from 1995, or Bella Hadid celebrating her birthday in the opening look from Gucci’s spring 1998 collection. Survey a gaggle of teenagers and you’ll spot “vintage” camo trousers, platform shoes, strappy tops, belly chains, slogan T-shirts (“Boys Lie!”), hibiscus-print dresses and butterfly jewelry.