The early-aughts revival is everywhere you look: on the streets of New York, in Gen Z’ers’ TikToks, in the new collections—my Spotify even suggested an “Indie 2000s” playlist the other day, each Shins and Yeah Yeah Yeahs song a reminder of my Y2K baby tees and Candies. A.L.C.’s Andrea Lieberman played a significant role in shaping that era’s look and energy, most famously in her styling work with Jennifer Lopez. Lieberman was behind that plunging Versace gown at the 2000 Grammys and many of Lopez’s music-video ensembles, like the string tops and cargo pants in “If You Had My Love.” So it doesn’t come as a huge surprise to hear she’s happy to watch fashion’s pendulum swing back in that direction. “This is my comfort zone,” Lieberman said on a Zoom call. (Puffed sleeves and flou? Not so much.)
Resort’s curve-hugging jersey dresses and rhinestone jeans were the most obvious nods to the ’00s, but they weren’t nostalgic. Lieberman explained that even in the 2000s, she was really thinking about the 1970s, and this 2022 collection felt like a mix of both decades: An Anjelica Huston–worthy black tux was cut in streetwise, low-slung proportions, while a ruched midi-dress came in deep russet, not the kitschy pastels of Y2K. Those rhinestone jeans were styled with a louche button-down, not a crop top, and the furs and shearlings were happily faux.
In the end, some of the best looks felt firmly rooted in the present, like a sumptuous ivory poncho (hand-knitted by the artisan group Manos del Uruguay) layered over satin pajama pants and leather slides. It will resonate with plenty of women as the perfect reemerging look. Also very 2022: The quilted A-line jacket had zip-off sleeves so you could wear it as a vest, an ideal layer for outdoor dining (lest you forget it’s now a permanent fixture in New York).
