9 Throwback Brands From the 2000s That Just Made A Fashionable Comeback

For those of us who grew up in the 2000s, our feelings about Y2K fashion are a true love/hate affair. While we will never forget the way we felt when Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake stepped out in his and hers denim, or just how Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie dictated everything we wanted to wear, there is something immediately triggering about seeing the clothes we wore as tweens popping up again today. Cargo pants, butterfly clips, platform trainers, low slung jeans? Yes, nostalgic, but also a reminder of the awkward "in-between" years.

Just when we thought the 2000s had been left firmly in the past and fashion had moved forward, scrolling through Bella Hadid's street style archive proves us wrong. Gilets, halternecks, tracksuits, and plenty of silver, baby blue, and lime green—forget summer, this is a "Brat Girl" year, and celebs are head over heels for the throwback trends we first wore when we were teenagers. While I'm thankful that not everything we wore in the 2000s is making it back into 2024 (I'm looking at you shrug cardigans), there are some iconic Noughties brands enjoying a revival that we just didn't see coming.

If you are old enough to remember buying CDs from Woolworths, watching Top of the Pops, and putting posters of boybands on your bedroom wall, keep scrolling. These are 9 brands popular in the 90s and 2000s that will be working their way back into your wardrobe in 2024. Don't say we didn't warn you.

1. ABERCROMBIE

Style Notes: The arrival of Abercrombie Fitch in the UK in 2007 would cause such a stir that it would change the way teenagers would dress forever. Thanks to our American cousins, preppy chic became the ultimate uniform and anyone who was anyone wanted to be spotted in logo tees, denim skirts and flip flops (despite the Great British weather). Abercrombie has evolved since then, and while you can still get jersey basics and sports apparel from sister brand Gilly Hicks, the mainline collections are more "grown up" take on tailoring and polished separates.

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2. TAMMY GIRL

Style Notes: For anyone who grew up wearing Tammy Girl's logo tees, distressed denim and sparkly accessories, news of the brand's revival in 2023 would have come as a surprise. Just how would the baggy hoodies and tiny tops translate for a modern shopper? Well, in much the same way. Gen-Z's affinity for wacky prints, exaggerated silhouettes and 90s-coded clothing has launched Tammy 2.0, a heady mix of ultra-femme club wear and bohemian festival chic.

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3. UGG

Style Notes: You may have seen UGGs so often lately that you've forgotten their recent disappearance altogether, but after the initial spike in the mid noughties cooled off, you couldn't find a sheepskin boot stocked anywhere for love nor money. Fast forward 15 years and those of us fortunate enough to have a pair first time around remembered just how comfortable these squidgy-soled wonders were, and the off-duty celeb shoe became hot property again thanks to being seen on actors, influencers, and supermodels too. Not bad for a brand that only sold 28 pairs in their first season.

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4. JUICY COUTURE

Style Notes: It's almost impossible to discuss Y2K fashion without mentioning Juicy Couture as one of the decades defining brands. Britney Spears, Kim Kardashian, Beyoncé, and of course, Paris Hilton, were all photographed in JC's instantly recognisable candy coloured tracksuits, establishing a Californian cool-girl aesthetic and making velour a hot commodity in the process. During the pandemic, as sales of loungewear shot up to unprecedented heights, the designer tracksuit was brought back to the forefront, and now you can find Juicy Couture's diamanté studded pieces stocked everywhere from Selfridges to ASOS. Just add flats and frameless sunglasses with tinted lenses.

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5. KOOKAI

Style Notes: There was once a time in the 90's that you couldn't walk down the high street without bumping into a Kookaï shopping bag, but after downsizing operations in the UK, the brand quietly moved abroad to focus on European, Asian and Australian sales. Now back online (but unfortunately not in stores), the revamped Kookaï is a surprisingly chic and affordable take on runway trends with a new minimalist aesthetic that couldn't be further away from former rivals Jane Norman and Morgan De Toi.

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6. DIESEL

Style Notes: If the runways have taught us anything its that fashion trends are cyclical, and just as quickly as Italian denim brand Diesel fell out of favour in the late 2000s, it made its triumphant return to Milan Fashion Week in 2021 under the creative direction of Y/Project alumni Glenn Martens. Several shows, a Met Gala appearance, and one viral handbag later, Diesel is back on the fashion insider's radar as an edgy, experimental brand that sets the tone rather than following trends.

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7. VON DUTCH

Style Notes: It's 2003 and you're getting ready for the weekend. You reach for a tank top (preferably raceback to show your bra straps), a mini skirt (or cargo pants), and most likely a pair of mid-calf boots. The only thing missing? A Von Dutch trucker cap of course, the accessory of choice for Gwen Stefani, Ashton Kutcher, and Missy Elliot. Just like the Juicy Couture tracksuit, these colour pop caps were designed to look effortlessly cool, as if the wearer had rolled out of bed into a perfectly assembled outfit, and after the 2020s obsession with the luxe baseball cap, it's only right that the natural evolution would be cult classic with plenty of Instagrammable appeal.

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8. CALVIN KLEIN

Style Notes: In the early 80s Calvin Klein was best known for its ready-to-wear collections, but by the 90s and early Noughties the focus had moved to underwear and fragrance, meaning that while Obsession and CK One were climbing in popularity, the brands fashion offering had to take a back seat. By 2002 and a quiet rebranding under a new buyer, celebrity fronted campaigns and store openings have redirected us back to Calvin Klein's minimalist approach to capsule wardrobe dressing. Think versatile slip dresses, seasonless separates and anti-trend outerwear and denim that you can happily wear for another 10 years too.

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9. ADIDAS

Style Notes: Okay, Adidas has technically never drifted into obscurity quite like some of the other names on this list, but it's far to say that the brand has undergone a major glow up over the last five years alone. From collaborations with Gucci and Wales Bonner, to internet-breaking reissues (it's still difficult to get your hands on a pair of Sambas or SL72's in certain colourways), what was once a safe and reliable sports brand in the 2000s has because a major player on the high fashion circuit, just ask editors and influencers alike. Nike, who?

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