Hi folks! So I’d like to start out today’s post with a very special 90s birthday shout-out. I would be remiss in my duties of a 90s blogger if I didn’t mention that today is the late great Kurt Cobain’s birthday. Although he got popular before I could appreciate his music, he is undeniably a huge part of the meteoric rise of grunge in the early-to-mid 90s, which is a defining moment of 90s pop culture. Happy 46th birthday, Kurt!
This post isn’t going to be a Kurt Cobain love fest because unlike the myriads of teen 90s bloggers I’m shameless enough to admit that I’m not terribly familiar with his catalogue, but I would like to make a post about grunge fashion. I was too young to actively participate in this cultural wave, but its influence did spread down to every area of fashion and society. I definitely remember rocking some flannels as early as five that probably came from Target or Eddie Bauer or something, although I had no idea it was a part of the”grunge” fashion movement. Nowadays there’s something the kids are calling “soft grunge” that comes out of blogging sites like Tumblr, but I honestly have no idea what that means and it seems to bear very little resemblance to what most people think of as “grunge”. But anyway, I digress, I’m making myself sound old…
There was a moment in the 90s when grunge went high fashion, and that is Marc Jacobs’ iconic 1993 grunge-inspired collection for Perry Ellis. This collection was just a whole mess of florals, layering, mismatched patterns, and of course, flannels, and the fashion world along with everyone else went completely crazy over it. Jacobs was infamously ousted from the Perry Ellis brand after releasing this irreverent collection. Here are a few pics:
From the Spring/Summer 1993 Perry Ellis Collection
Images from Steven Meisel’s 1992 Vogue editorial Grunge and Glory, featuring the 1993 Perry Ellis Collection
The miraculous thing about this collection is that it really doesn’t appear dated at all and these pieces still have a grunge chic appeal. Everything looks effortless and comfortable yet oh so chic. Courtney Love, then considered the reigning queen of grunge, was sent this collection and promptly burned it. I know, it hurts to read that…
Grunge still lives on in various forms. Several designers have tried to reincarnate and update the grunge aesthetic, perhaps the most successful one being Alexander Wang (who is now at the helm of Balenciaga as creative director). Wang’s 2008 collection featured loose-fitting, slouchy knits and leather pieces (paired with ripped stockings) in dark colors, and the look became extremely popular among his legions of fans that became known as “Wangsters”:
Alexander Wang’s Autumn/Winter 2008 Collection
Even more recently, edgy designer Dries Van Noten released his spring/summer 2013 collection at Paris fashion week, and it displays some very obvious grunge influence. This was one of my personal favorite collections of Paris fashion week because Dries Van Noten has created an updated version of what Marc Jacobs did in 1993, and although these pieces are somewhat mismatched, I think the whole collection is a breath of fresh air that really works. The sheer floral prints mixed with plaids work to create a fresh grunge look for a new generation. I could totally picture younger celebs like the Fanning girls or Chloe Moretz rocking pieces from this collection.
And peep these sunglasses. Do they look familiar to you? Pretty sure we saw these earlier on a grunge icon in this post…
This look really has staying power, and I believe it’s because it’s a pretty easy and comfortable look for most people to emulate. It’s a kind of “messy chic”, and I see it all over my college campus because you can literally just roll out of bed and throw on a flannel, a skirt, ripped tights, and combat boots and it’s still a better look than sweatpants while simultaneously being (nearly) as comfortable. It’s lasted this long, so I think this is a look that’s going to stay around for a long time.
N0stal9ia 