As much of fashion focused on the eighties during the later aughts, there was only one logical next step for designers: the nineties. With an obsession on web start-ups and a lingering recession, the headlines didn’t look so different then. There was a vague pessimism, politicians seemed particularly focused on undecided female voters and Kate Moss was everywhere. People still wanted their MTV. And those who lived through the decade, or are living through it now vicariously on Tumblr, look at the artifacts of the era — Dr. Marten boots, Fight Club, glow sticks, velvet chokers, “Sex and Candy,” plaid flannel and lace — with an intense nostalgia. At the time, the worlds of fashion, nightlife, and music coalesced at New York clubs like Limelight and Tunnel, where the mood was visceral, radical, and kind of psychotic — Michael Alig notwithstanding. To celebrate these moments, especially as RuPaul and Claire Danes are ruling television again, we’ve taken on the very difficult task of picking just twenty of our favorite nineties songs and matching them with an item of current fashion. Cue up the playlist on Spotify, then click through to see the results.
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The Playlist:
“Smells Like Teen Spirit” - Nirvana
“Celebrity Skin” - Hole
“Bitter Sweet Symphony” - The Verve
“Intergalactic” - Beastie Boys
“Glycerine” - Bush
“Criminal” - Fiona Apple
“Creep” - Radiohead
“Life in Mono” - Mono
“Where Is My Mind?” - Pixies
“I Think I’m Paranoid” - Garbage
“Basket Case” - Green Day
“The Dope Show” - Marilyn Manson
“Possum Kingdom” - The Toadies
“Insane in the Brain” - Cypress Hill
“Killing Me Softly With His Song” - The Fugees
“One Headlight” - Wallflowers
“Sex and Candy” - Marcy Playground
“Gangsta’s Paradise” - Coolio feat. L.V.
“Today” - Smashing Pumpkins
“Lovefool” - The Cardigans