It feels like everyday there’s a new trend to define right now, but its rare one comes along to encapsulate a whole millennium. The Y3K aesthetic, though, is doing exactly that.
If it sounds familiar, that’s because Y2K (or year 2000) fashion and beauty has long been a source of fascination and inspo for comeback style. Even though it was only a couple of decades ago, the noughties have influenced plenty of the trends that are currently on top (see: Ugg boots, ultra glossy lips, crimped hair and butterfly clips). But rather than looking back, Y3K looks forward, and according to Pinterest’s Summer Trends Report there’s a whole load of us who are intrigued by it, with searches for “Y3k outfits” up by 6030% on the platform.
What is the Y3K trend?
Following on from Y2K, Y3K references the year 3000, but because it looks to the future, the aesthetic is characterised by the types of futuristic space-age looks that could trend a thousand years from now.
Taking to TikTok to explain the evolution of the trend, creator @cinnagal explained: “Y3K is one of the more recent fashion trends coming out of Japan. The name is obviously a play on Y2K, or the year 2000, so Y3K would mean the year 3000. As the name implies the style is very futuristic. According to Japanese sources, the style is inspired by the recent shift in reality that we’ve all felt because of the rise of social media, Photoshop and AI. In response to this shift, Japanese brands started to satirise the ‘near future’ or ‘digital world’.”
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How to wear the Y3K trend
Fashion
The vibe is techy alternate universe. “The fashion comes from a perspective of a near future world view. The colour palettes that you’ll see a lot are metallics, greens, greys – what you would see in a sci-fi movie,” says Cinnagal.
“These [Matrix-looking] sunglasses are super trendy. You can also see the Y3K influence in other Japanese styles like Sabukaru or Tenshi Kaiwai. Japanese sources also credit the Chinese app XiaoHongShu with starting the trend. K-pop group Aespa has also been cited as an inspiration for the trend. A lot of people who engage in the style almost want to look like AI or an avatar and with all the discourse about the future of social media and virtual reality, it makes sense that people would look to the future to think about all of the possibilities and take inspiration from them,” she adds. Tough fabrics like leather and metallic silver jewellery features heavily.
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Beauty
As for beauty, “makeup for the style includes glitter or metallic eyeshadows, unusual eyeliner shapes and rhinestones,” explains Cinnagal. Ethereal, alien skin is in (which means luminous highlighters in prismatic pastel colours). For hair, we’ve seen otherworldly extensions and braids, and futuristic hardware, like safety pins and silver snap clips added to styles. For nails, abstract shapes and chrome detailing features heavily, as do 3D accents.