The Past Is Now: A Letter From Our Editor | Harper’s Bazaar Arabia March 2023
Bazaar Arabia’s Editor in Chief Olivia Phillips reminisces about the Y2K era and how it paved the way for today’s fashion world
As a *cough* elder millennial, I’ve thought at length about nostalgia. And although it’s technically Gen Z who are embracing the halcyon days of Y2K the most, I am cheering them on from the not-quite-sidelines. I may or may not be wearing Ugg boots, but that’s between me and God.
Much has been written about trends re-rearing their heads – however ugly – on a 20-year cycle, and so here we are – bang smack in the middle of an early-aughts revival… apart from this time, it’s a little more self-knowing. Of course, the total lack of irony in our outfit choices back then was all part of the charm. I wore giant hoop earrings with the word ‘bling’ in rhinestones through the middle, shrunken, cropped tank tops that proudly displayed my neon bra straps underneath, and Juicy tracksuit bottoms slung deliberately, dangerously low on the hips to show off my Xtina-level orange tan (surreptitiously procured in the middle of an English winter through a questionable combination of sunbeds and Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse). I was, at any given moment, half-woman, half-fake tan. It was bad taste at its best and, quite frankly, it was utterly glorious. Legendary, even. A love letter to more-is-more; unashamedly free and flashy and feelgood. And isn’t that what fashion is really meant to be? A party?
The current Y2K redux has swept ashore many other rose-tinted relics, too. Logomania. Corsets. Existential dread. Indie sleaze. At Celine’s past A/W23 show in December, not only did Hedi Slimane appear to have mined Kate Moss’ entire wardobe circa Pete Doherty for inspo, but even had The Strokes and The Kills play the afterparty. Front row? The queen of Y2K herself, Paris Hilton, having recently given everyone a dose of throwback noughties glamour in Milan, closing the Versace S/S23 show in a cowl-neck, fully crystallised pink number reminiscent of her iconic 21st birthday dress from 2002.
Whilst Paris never really ‘went away’, the multihyphenate (which she certainly is), is undeniably enjoying a remarkable renaissance, fuelled not only by an avalanche of TikTok trends, but by multiple TV shows, a podcast, perfume launches, a rerelease of Stars are Blind, an upcoming album… not to mention an ongoing crusade against child abuse inspired by her own harrowing experiences at a ‘troubled teen’ boarding school. To date, Paris has helped pass seven state laws to protect children in similar facilities. And in the midst of all of this, our March cover star also found time to have a baby. A life’s work, seemingly condensed into the past couple of years.
An icon then and an icon now, there really is no better cover girl to not only pay homage to those beautiful, blinged-up days of yore, but to also represent the seismic sea change that has happened since. The Paris Hilton of 2023 is filled with wider purpose, is speaking truth to power and is totally set on reclaiming damaging female narratives – including her own. If you ask me, that’s pretty hot.
From Olivia’s Desk…
My extremely talented pal and former London colleague Anita Bhagwandas has just released her debut book, Ugly: Giving Us Back Our Beauty Standards in which she unpicks how, why and where beauty ideals came from and architects a brilliant manifesto to interrogate them.
Editor’s Picks
Lead image credits: Photography: Greg Swales. Fashion Director: Anna Castan.
Editor in Chief: Olivia Phillips. Art Director: Oscar Yáñez. Senior Producer: Steff Hawker. On-Ground Producer: Alexey Galetskiy at AGPNYC. Set Designer: Lucy Holt. Make-Up: Steven Tabimba. Hair: Eduardo Ponce. Digital Technician: Amanda Yanez. Lighting Assistants: Yolanda Leaney and Juliet Lambert. Stylist’s Assistants: Odessa Nikolic and Christian Marchesich. Set Assistants: Alejandro Garcia and Christina Cotton. Production Assistant: Sasha Milostnova
From Harper’s Bazaar Arabia’s March 2023 issue.
