Though many who grew up in the early aughts protest, Y2K fashion has officially been revived. Just a quick scroll through TikTok will show you that Gen Z has embraced the high-gloss look resplendent with rhinestones, low-rises, and lots and lots of skin. For resort 2022, Adeam designer Hanako Maeda joined the pack of designers looking to put their own spin on the trend but in a way that felt true to her tasteful emerging label. “When you look at TikTok or the next generation, it’s too literal an interpretation for me,” she said. “So I wanted to do it in a way that feels more acceptable to people who were teenagers or adults at the time.”
She was inspired by her own wardrobe as a teenager growing up in Azabu, Tokyo, when she listened to grunge and punk music and wore a uniform to school. As a result of this personal backstory, you’d have to really squint to find recognizable Y2K hallmarks, though that’s likely to appeal to a wider range of customers than a literal interpretation. In the first look, she reimagined a uniform cardigan and flannel pants as a convertible knit top featuring a removable wide collar and cuffs, with pants made of plissé gingham chiffon. Maeda also says that she used to wear oversized shirts as dresses in the era; that look is shown here as shirtdresses and T-shirt dresses with tie details along the waist. Among the most obvious nods to the early aughts are the trompe l’oeil double waistbands, placed on flowing midiskirts and denim minis, that mimic a teenage boy’s sagging jeans in a way that will appeal to the refined Adeam customer.
Some references are more ’90s, like the dress with a plissé gingham skirt and a white tie on the waist, and a top that resembles a T-shirt over a flannel shirt. The latter is distinctly feminine and is paired with sensible white pants and slip-on loafers, suggesting, as the rest of the collection does, that the punk grew up and got a penthouse on the Upper East Side.
