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Indie sleaze

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GQ described Pete Doherty as "the original indie sleaze pin-up"

Indie sleaze was a fashion aesthetic popular in the United States and United Kingdom from approximately 2006 to 2012. Often compared to the hipster subculture, indie sleaze has been described as an aesthetic response to the Great Recession, being considered as defined by affordable clothing, amateur visual styles and unabashed hedonism. It experienced a resurgence in the early 2020s, when the style was first retroactively named and subsequently became popular on social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok.[1]

Style

Described by Daniel Rodgers of Dazed as "grubby, maximalist, and performatively vintage" and by NME's El Hunt as being defined by a sense of "chaotic spontaneity",[2] indie sleaze was inspired both by 1980s fashion and grunge fashion.[3] Indie sleaze has been called equivalent to the hipster aesthetic.[4][5][6][7] Vice's Arielle Richards described indie sleaze as a combination of other trends and styles, such as twee, scene, and fashion donned by electropop artists.[8]

Clothes including metallic bodysuits, studded "Lita" boots manufactured by shoe company Jeffrey Campbell, lamé leggings, chokers, shutter shades, ballet flats,[9] chunky gold jewelry, striped shirts, lensless glasses,[4] sheer tops, big belts, plaid pants,[10] cardigans, A-line skirts, tennis skirts, high-top Converse sneakers,[6] long or layered necklaces,[11] cropped leather jackets,[12] fedoras, the Balenciaga Motorcycle Bag, stockings with shorts, wired headphones,[13] band T-shirts, and skinny jeans,[3] as well as other elements such as galaxy prints, "Aztec" prints,[9] side-swept bangs,[6] "waif-thin" bodies,[12] "recession roots",[4] smudged eyeliner and mascara, amateur flash photography, torn clothing, Polaroid cameras, cigarettes, and drug use have all been listed as hallmarks of indie sleaze.[10] American Apparel was influential on the development of indie sleaze.[9][11][14]

Music

The Noisettes performing live in 2006

American and Canadian musical acts like MGMT, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the Strokes, the Rapture, Peaches, LCD Soundsystem, Crystal Castles, Sky Ferreira, the Walkmen, the Faint, Kings of Leon, and Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti,[15] British, Australian and European musical acts like Klaxons, Late of the Pier, M.I.A., Cut Copy, Pnau, Justice, Digitalism, Arctic Monkeys, Razorlight, the Kooks, the Noisettes and the Libertines and their respective genres like electroclash and the post-punk revival have been retroactively considered key musical aspects of the indie sleaze era.[2][16]

History

The term "indie sleaze" was coined in 2021, the same year that the style became popular again through TikTok, by an Instagram account dedicated to the aesthetic, @indiesleaze, launched by a woman named Olivia V.[7] The term was inspired by indie music, the 2000s magazine Sleaze, and the Uffie lyric "I'll make your sleazy dreams come true."[17] Indie sleaze's popularity coincided with the rise and peak of MySpace and the early days of Tumblr, from about 2006 to 2012.[9] Samantha Maxwell of Paste wrote that indie sleaze "feels like a reaction to the early years of Obama's presidency: The economy may have crashed, but there was still a sense of sparkling optimism in the air."[18] Olivia V similarly stated that indie sleaze began before the Great Recession, allowing for a sense of optimism.[2] Welsh singer Gwenno stated that the indie sleaze period was "very debauched, and probably the last moment where kids had been able to do whatever they want."[19]

Various celebrities and public figures, including singers Pete Doherty,[3][5] M.I.A.,[20] Sky Ferreira,[21][22] and Beth Ditto;[9] photographers The Cobrasnake and Terry Richardson,[23][10] blogger Alexa Chung; actresses Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen;[13] designers Henry Holland and Jeremy Scott; and models Cory Kennedy,[4] Agyness Deyn, Pixie Geldof[12] have been called progenitors of indie sleaze.[9] L'Officiel USA named the character Effy Stonem from the British television series Skins "the perfect representative for [indie sleaze]."[11]

Searches on Google for "indie sleaze" spiked in early 2022.[24][25] The resurgence of indie sleaze in the early 2020s has been attributed to its affordability, its carefree nature, and post-pandemic partying.[9][10]

Criticism

Arielle Richards of Vice criticized the alleged resurgence of indie sleaze as fake, writing that it was "created by a bunch of overworked millennials trawling Instagram, TikTok, and Google, in a bid to provide the winning take on something that isn't really happening."[8] Stylist's Naomi May similarly wrote in 2022 that the resurgence of indie sleaze as a trend was a "myth", pointing to the retirement of key figures such as Deyn, Holland, Chung, and Doherty, and the body positivity movement as evidence.[12] Daniel Dylan Wray of The Quietus wrote that indie sleaze itself was "contrived into existence as a genre/label" despite having "never existed to begin with", polemically adding that "[w]ith indie sleaze, there appears to be little else going on other than some people wallowing in the past while trying to convince themselves that it, or maybe even them, possesses some sort of contemporary relevance."[26]

See also

References

  1. ^ Indie revival (BBC News)
  2. ^ a b c Hunt, El (February 15, 2022). ""There was a sense of optimism": how '00s indie sleaze made a massive comeback". NME. Archived from the original on August 10, 2022. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c Kessler, Alex (January 17, 2022). "Are You Ready For The Return Of Indie Sleaze?". British Vogue. Archived from the original on June 10, 2022. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d George, Cassidy (June 2, 2022). "Revisiting Indie Sleaze, as It Happened". Vogue. Archived from the original on August 15, 2022. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  5. ^ a b Renwick, Finlay (January 21, 2022). "Here's what the rise of "Indie Sleaze" means for your wardrobe". British GQ. Archived from the original on June 10, 2022. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
  6. ^ a b c Roby, India (October 26, 2021). "The Late-2000s Hipster Era Is Due For A Fashion Comeback". Nylon. Archived from the original on August 28, 2022. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
  7. ^ a b Slone, Isabel (January 12, 2022). "The Return of Indie Sleaze Style". Harper's Bazaar. Archived from the original on August 7, 2022. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
  8. ^ a b Richards, Arielle (March 7, 2022). "The Indie Sleaze 'Revival' Isn't Real – It's Just An Echo Chamber". Vice. Archived from the original on August 9, 2022. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g Rodgers, Daniel (October 29, 2021). "WTF is Indie Sleaze and is it actually making a comeback?". Dazed. Archived from the original on December 5, 2021. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
  10. ^ a b c d Hyland, Véronique (May 5, 2022). "How Indie Sleaze Went High Fashion". Elle. Archived from the original on August 9, 2022. Retrieved August 9, 2022.
  11. ^ a b c Lee, Sophie (November 4, 2021). "The Return Of Early 2010s Indie Sleaze". L'Officiel USA. Archived from the original on August 10, 2022. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
  12. ^ a b c d May, Naomi (April 20, 2022). "TikTok, Indie Sleaze is a myth, stop trying to make it happen". Stylist. Archived from the original on August 10, 2022. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
  13. ^ a b Gilchrist, Ava (June 28, 2022). "Allow Us To Reacquaint You With 2008's Most Questionable Trend, Indie Sleaze". Marie Claire Australia. Archived from the original on April 22, 2022. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
  14. ^ Scarabelli, Taylore (February 8, 2022). "The Indie Sleaze Revival Is a Hot Mess". Interview. Archived from the original on May 31, 2022. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  15. ^ Atkinson, Jessie (April 6, 2022). "What Indie Sleaze looks—and sounds—like in 2022". Gigwise. Archived from the original on August 10, 2022. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
  16. ^ Lavoipierre, Ange (July 14, 2022). "The trends of the mid-aughts are back. But why?". ABC. Archived from the original on August 15, 2022. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  17. ^ Kraus, Rachel (February 18, 2022). "The creator of @indiesleaze shares her vision for the 'vibe shift'". Mashable. Archived from the original on August 15, 2022. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  18. ^ Maxwell, Samantha (April 27, 2022). "Nostalgia for the Mid-2010s Froyo Shop in the Midst of the Indie Sleaze Revival". Paste. Archived from the original on August 15, 2022. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
  19. ^ Trendell, Andrew (July 28, 2022). "Gwenno on working with Manics and the "debauchery" of "indie sleaze"". NME. Archived from the original on August 15, 2022. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  20. ^ Kendall, Zoë (July 15, 2022). "7 of M.I.A.'s most iconic outfits". i-D. Archived from the original on August 15, 2022. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  21. ^ Pauly, Alexandra (May 5, 2022). "Sky Ferreira? At the Met Gala? Indie Sleaze Is About to Go High Fashion". Highsnobiety. Archived from the original on September 12, 2022. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  22. ^ Russell, Kim (January 28, 2022). "How to get the indie sleaze look". The Face. Archived from the original on January 28, 2022. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  23. ^ Wickes, Jade (May 17, 2022). "The Cobrasnake's Mark Hunter on indie sleaze and his new photobook". The Face. Archived from the original on August 10, 2022. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
  24. ^ Czajka, Wiktoria (May 4, 2022). "Crack out your old CDs: indie sleaze is back". Shift London. Archived from the original on September 12, 2022. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
  25. ^ Manso, James (March 4, 2022). "Why 'Indie Sleaze,' 'That Girl' Aesthetics Are Taking Over TikTok". Women's Wear Daily. Archived from the original on August 15, 2022. Retrieved August 15, 2022.
  26. ^ Wray, Daniel Dylan (February 21, 2022). "Myths Of The Near Past: Why The Indie Sleaze Revival Is A Lie". The Quietus. Archived from the original on September 12, 2022. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
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