Clean Girl's out. Indie Sleaze is in.

Effie and Freddie. Side bangs. Glitter. Stripy socks. Triangles on EVERYTHING. Flannel shirts. Graphic tees. Strappy neon headbands. HUGE sunglasses. BEBO. Ripped skinny jeans…

If you’re a millennial, and were a teen anywhere between 2005 and 2012, you know these are relics of an iconic era.

The Indie Sleaze Era.

Trashy, carefree, and colourful.

Oh, how I miss taking my sh*tty digital camera out to explore skate ramps and flower fields with my friends. Getting home, uploading my images to the computer. And posting an entire album of our adventures on Facebook, (with a title like 'rainbow veins' or something, of course).

I miss dying my hair in the bathroom sink with Manic Panic I bought without my mom’s permission (sorry Jo, I love you.)

I miss spending all my pocket money at the thrift stores.

Oh, wait. I still do that lol.

Our icons? 90s figures like Chloe Svigny and Kate Moss brought their grunge aesthetic to the era. And the likes of Sky Ferreira, Ke$ha, and the Olsen Twins solidified it with their fresh perspectives.

Our playlist? The Strokes, MGMT, Empire of The Sun, YeahYeahYeahs.

The world just doesn’t have that kind of whimsy in it anymore (sad face.)

But that hasn’t stopped Gen Z from trying.

The so called 'revival' of the Indie Sleaze Era is upon us.

It’s a rejection of the Clean Girl Era that has dominated for so long. Minimalism, fresh, glowy faces. Slicked buns. It’s a polished look that’s almost impossible to keep up with. Because, let’s be real, nobody is that pretty all the time. And not everybody wants to be, either.

The revival of Indie is the permission to get free.

Think: Venetia from the now-infamous Saltburn film that rocked our socks off at the start of this year.

Her messy, bleached hair adorned with dark outgrown roots, her (intentionally) smudgy eyeliner, her eccentric, often bold-in-colour makeup. Indie af.

Actually, the whole film is reminiscent of the era. Oliver wearing the antlers at the 2000s-styled house rave. 'Poor Dear Pamela.' The tennis match where they’re drinking champagne out the bottle in suits??? Indie af.

We’re also seeing mainstream figures who have adopted the style of our golden (or maybe glitter?) years.

Olivia Rodrigo with her long black hair and tartan skirts. TikTok star Tara Yummy has all the right maximalist things going on that would make a scene boy 'Rawr XD' on sight.

And, most recently, Charli XCX with her Bratification of the internet gave us all the green light we needed to let loose and be a little dirty sometimes.

The hashtag #indiesleaze has already racked up 17.7K posts on TikTok and it's steadily growing. We're seeing makeup, music, and outfit recommendations from creators on every corner of the platform.

It’s kind of comical seeing them style oversized denim jackets and Doc Martens and think they’re doing something revolutionary. But, hey, it's the circle of life (and fashion).

So, what does this have to do with your brand?

Basically, I’m calling the trend now. If the success of Brat is anything to go off, I think it’s going to be huge. The pendulum has swung from clean to messy and your brand can get on board as an early (re)adopter.

Many of us millennials are already nostalgic for times filled with less worry and less debt. We’re the most susceptible to nostalgia marketing right now. That's because we're still close enough to our youth to remember it with clarity, so reminders of it hit us right in the feels.

As a brand, you can get in on this trend early by:

Using music from the early 2000s. This is a great way to capture the millennial, former Indie audience. 20 seconds of 'off off off with your head' and I’m buying whatever you’re selling.

Adopting the indie style in your campaigns. Film aesthetic was huge in this era--the moodier and grainier, the better. Think Tumblr aesthetics, and then amplify.

Taking design inspiration from this era. Think colourful, neon, dripping, morphing, dirty graphics. Extra points for mushrooms and starscapes.

What are we not bringing in with this trend?

The drugs. The ED rib and thigh gap photos. The glamorisation of mental health disorders. The painful whiteness of the aesthetic while still appropriating other cultures. The racism.

These are things that are, unfortunately, tied to this era. But with the resurgence of Indie Sleaze, we can bring about a more inclusive, healthier version of the trend.

All that’s gritty, certainly isn’t gold.

At its core, I believe the revival of Indie Sleaze comes from a place of escapism.

Studies over the past few years have noted that young people have been drinking less, having sex less, and are calling it a night earlier than any generation before. 

Over the last 5 years, Gen Z have been a heavily humanitarian-focused generation, fighting for the rights of other humans. This is great and super progressive. But with things being so serious and tensions being so high, it’s almost like they forgot how to enjoy themselves.

It’s like Gen Z needs permission to do and be more. Maybe even experience a little bit of hedonism. Indie Sleaze is that permission to do so. 

-Sophie, Writer