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Flash photography, indie rock, and a whole lot of smudged eyeliner. The term ‘Indie Sleaze’ was coined in 2021 to describe the aesthetic prevalent throughout the 2000’s before its decline in around 2012. Thought to be a response to the economic climate of the recession, it is generally associated with a hedonistic and carefree lifestyle, and with the trend cycle rapidly accelerating, it appears as though this style is making a comeback.
Music played a large role in the rise in popularity of the indie sleaze aesthetic, with bands such as The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Interpol being the original inspiration. This brings me to the first essential: a vintage jacket (the grungier the better!). The military jacket was a staple of musicians like Julian Casablancas as a nod to bands from the 60s and 70s such as The Velvet Underground. Leather jackets were an extremely popular choice, with style icons such as Kate Moss pairing hers with a gold metallic mini dress, a studded All Saints belt and wellies at Glastonbury in 2005. Striped tops are another necessity, often worn by the likes of Alexa Chung and usually paired with denim shorts on top of tights, with over the knee socks for an effortless, thrown together look. Moreover, Leopard print could be seen everywhere from jackets to dresses which was the ultimate way of making any outfit scream “i'm with the band”. For me, the TV show ‘Skins’ perfectly embodied the messier, rebellious side of the aesthetic, with characters like Effy Stonem always wearing long graphic tees, babydoll dresses, and heaps of layered jewellery.
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No picture from The Cobrasnake, a well-known party photographer at the time, was complete without brightly coloured tights, American Apparel disco pants, or metallic bodysuits, reminiscent of 80’s workout clothes. While I won’t be opting for disco pants any time soon, coloured tights are definitely making their way back into mainstream fashion. My final staple for this style has to be the use of irony. For instance T-Shirts with slogans such as ‘I love [insert a random concept that nobody really likes that much], oversized fur hats, or the use of the American flag. When wearing similar pieces today the irony may only be understood by those who, much like myself, live on Pinterest, nonetheless, it is still a fun way to create an eye-catching outfit.
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In the time of perfectly curated instagram feeds we may never be able to truly replicate the authenticity of the time, despite our efforts to take bad quality club photos on a digital camera. Some may even argue that ‘indie sleaze’ never existed and was purely made up by Gen Z to give another label to styles which were considered ‘hipster’ at the time. But whatever your opinion is, it provides a great lesson into how to really have fun with clothes and personal style.