People are craving comfort. Amid what can feel like a state of constant crisis – a layering of traumatic societal events – it can sometimes seem like we’ve lost a sense of scale and cohesion. In the face of this, the desire to retreat into nostalgia is more seductive than ever.

Y2K aesthetics have re-emerged into the beauty mainstream, largely due to TikTok trends and influencers. But why exactly are young social media users obsessing over retro accessories and make-up looks? And how does this interest reflect Gen Z’s approach to digital creativity in beauty and beyond?

Following a four-year hiatus, fashion and beauty retailer Claire’s is making a comeback with a range of Y2K-inspired accessories that customers know and love. As the brand doubles down on its brick-and-mortar experience, why is it resonating among a fresh audience of Gen Zers?

Grimes is stoking interest in alien beauty and body enhancement with alternative white ink tattoos. In a period filled with pessimism due to a war and global pandemic, more beauty and fashion fans are turning to retrofuturistic fantasy and sci-fi for escapism and optimism.

Gen Zers' obsession with the Y2K era is sparking a second-hand clothes boom. Young people are embracing ‘nowstalgia’, which is to feel nostalgic simultaneously for both everything and nothing. In other words, they’re increasingly adopting unattached and YOLO mindsets, fuelling the deadstock surge.