Y2K is an Internet aesthetic based around products, styles, and fashion of the late 1990s and early 2000s. The name Y2K is derived from an abbreviation coined by programmer David Eddy for the year 2000 and its potential computer errors. The Y2K aesthetic can include synthetic or metallic materials, inflatable furniture, and computer interfaces of the dotcom era. Y2K may also borrow elements of the McBling aesthetic, [1] [2] in which it is sometimes conflated with. [3]
Originally, Y2K as an internet aesthetic retrospectively referred to a retrofuturistic art movement, characterized by metallic materials, blobjects and reflective clothing. [1] As the term "Y2K" garnered mainstream attention over the course of the 2020s, this term has since expanded to refer to 2000s fashion in general; [4] the former definition of Y2K is sometimes known as Cybercore to differentiate itself from the latter. [5]
Y2K likely originates from "nowstalgia," a phenomenon where culture changes so quickly that newer generations miss things from the recent past. [6] The fast change in the 2000s came from the September 11 attacks, the war on terror and the 2000s' quick advancements in technology, such as the iPod and iPhone. [7]
Aesthetics is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty and the nature of taste and, in a broad sense, incorporates the philosophy of art. Aesthetics examines the philosophy of aesthetic value, which is determined by critical judgments of artistic taste; thus, the function of aesthetics is the "critical reflection on art, culture and nature".
Camp is an aesthetic and sensibility that regards something as appealing or amusing because of its heightened level of artifice, affectation and exaggeration, especially when there is also a playful or ironic element. Camp is historically associated with LGBTQ+ culture and especially gay men. Camp aesthetics disrupt modernist understandings of high art by inverting traditional aesthetic judgements of beauty, value, and taste, and inviting a different kind of aesthetic engagement.
K-pop, short for Korean popular music, is a form of popular music originating in South Korea. It includes styles and genres from around the world, such as pop, hip hop, R&B, rock, jazz, gospel, reggae, electronic dance, folk, country, disco, and classical on top of its traditional Korean music roots. The term "K-pop" became popular in the 2000s, especially in the international context. The Korean term for domestic pop music is gayo, which is still widely used within South Korea. While "K-pop" can refer to all popular music or pop music from South Korea, the term is often used when referring to artists associated with the entertainment and idol industry in the country, regardless of the genre of music output.
Fuchsia is a vivid pinkish-purplish-red color, named after the color of the flower of the fuchsia plant, which was named by a French botanist, Charles Plumier, after the 16th-century German botanist Leonhart Fuchs.
Lime is a color that is a shade of yellow-green, so named because it is a representation of the color of the citrus fruit called limes. It is the color that is in between the web color chartreuse and yellow on the color wheel. Alternate names for this color included yellow-green, lemon-lime, lime green, or bitter lime.
Fashion in the 1990s was defined by a return to minimalist fashion, in contrast to the more elaborate and flashy trends of the 1980s. One notable shift was the mainstream adoption of tattoos, body piercings aside from ear piercing and, to a much lesser extent, other forms of body modification such as branding.
The fashions of the 2000s were often described as a global mash up, where trends saw the fusion of vintage styles, global and ethnic clothing, as well as the fashions of numerous music-based subcultures. Hip-hop fashion generally was the most popular among young people of both sexes, followed by the retro-inspired indie look later in the decade.
Pedal pushers are calf-length trousers that were popular during the 1950s and the early 1960s. First seen as Knickerbockers or "knickers", they were baggy trousers that extended to or just below the knee and were most commonly fastened with either a button or buckle. Knickerbockers were initially worn by men in the late 19th century and over time became part of women's fashion. Often cuffed and worn tight to the skin, they are related in style to capri pants, and are sometimes referred to as "clam diggers". The name "pedal pushers" originated from the style originally worn by cyclists, because long pants can catch in bicycle chains, but the style quickly became identified with teenage girls.
Kintsugi, also known as kintsukuroi, is the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery by mending the areas of breakage with urushi lacquer dusted or mixed with powdered gold, silver, or platinum. The method is similar to the maki-e technique. As a philosophy, it treats breakage and repair as part of the history of an object, rather than something to disguise.
Y2K may refer to:
Judy Blame was a British fashion stylist, accessories designer and punk iconoclast.
Vaporwave is a microgenre of electronic music and a subgenre of hauntology, a visual art style, and an Internet meme that emerged in the early 2010s, and became well-known in 2015. It is defined partly by its slowed-down, chopped and screwed samples of smooth jazz, 1970s elevator music, R&B, and lounge music from the 1980s and 1990s. The surrounding subculture is sometimes associated with an ambiguous or satirical take on consumer capitalism and pop culture, and tends to be characterized by a nostalgic or surrealist engagement with the popular entertainment, technology and advertising of previous decades. Visually, it incorporates early Internet imagery, late 1990s web design, glitch art, anime, stylized Ancient Greek or Roman sculptures, 3D-rendered objects, and cyberpunk tropes in its cover artwork and music videos.
Elizabeth Nicole Abrams, better known as Liz or Liz Y2K, is an American singer and actress from Tarzana, Los Angeles, California. Her music is described by herself as "Sailor Moon R&B" and "future pop". and her music has been continuously stated to be "unapologetically pop" sounding.
Cottagecore is an internet aesthetic idealising rural life. Originally based on a rural European life, it was developed throughout the 2010s and was first named cottagecore on Tumblr in 2018. Cottagecore centres on traditional, rural, or pioneer aethetics, through clothing, interior design, and crafts. Cottagecore is related to similar aesthetic movements such as grandmacore, goblincore, gnomecore, and fairycore.
Hyperpop is a loosely defined electronic music movement and microgenre that predominantly originated in the United Kingdom during the early 2010s. It is characterised by an exaggerated or maximalist take on popular music, and typically integrates pop and avant-garde sensibilities while drawing on elements commonly found in electronic, hip hop, and dance music.
The fashions of the 2020s represent a departure from 2010s fashion and feature a nostalgia for older aesthetics. They have been largely inspired by styles of the late 1990s to mid-2000s, and 1980s. Early in the decade, several publications noted the shortened trend and nostalgia cycle in 2020s fashion. Fashion was also shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic, which had a major impact on the fashion industry, and led to shifting retail and consumer trends.
The Consumer Aesthetics Research Institute (CARI) is an online community which is "dedicated to developing a visual lexicon of consumer ephemera from the 1970s until now".
Indie sleaze was a fashion style popular in the United States and United Kingdom from approximately 2006 to 2012. Characterised by an affordable, messy and lethargic take on vintage fashion styles, especially the 1970s, the style was particularly popular amongst the hipster subculture and indie rock bands.
An Internet aesthetic is a visual art style, fashion style, or music genre accompanied by a subculture that usually originates from the Internet or is popularized on it. Throughout the 2010s and 2020s, online aesthetics gained increasing popularity, specifically on social media platforms, and often were used by people to express their individuality and creativity. They can also be used to create a sense of community and belonging among people who share the same interests. The term aesthetic has been described as being "totally divorced from its academic origins", and is commonly used as an adjective.
Frutiger Aero, sometimes known as Web 2.0 Gloss, is a retrospective name applied to a design trend observed mainly in user interfaces and Internet aesthetics from the mid-2000s to the early 2010s. It succeeded the Y2K aesthetic, which was popular from the late 1990s to the early 2000s. The term Frutiger Aero is derived from Windows Aero, which exemplifies the style; and Adrian Frutiger, a Swiss typeface designer who was responsible for many of the humanist typefaces that were often used in older computing interfaces.