By Ingrid Schmidt
Kate Moss closed the Fall/ Winter 2026 Gucci show in a gown and logo thong that paid homage to Tom Ford’s 1997 collection; courtesy of Gucci.
Yearning for some saucy, old-school fun? A wave of ‘90s nostalgia continues to ripple across fall runways and the broader pop-culture stratosphere. Think Demna’s revival of Tom Ford–era looks at Gucci (including a revisit of the iconic 1997 exposed G-string) and Marc Jacobs’ self-referential nod to his 1993 grunge revolution at Perry Ellis. Chemena Kamali evoked early-’90s grunge at Chloé, while a bevy of designers threw it back with over-the-knee boots, slip dressing and riffs on ballgown skirts. Minimalist styles collectively crushed on the period’s It girl, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, reignited by Ryan Murphy’s FX series Love Story. Another ‘90s style icon, Chloë Sevigny, rocked the runway at Miu Miu, as did zigzag headbands and pared-down sportswear.
Ah, the simple pleasures of cigarettes and a bubble bath gossip sesh on a curly-cord telephone! Leave it to OG Isaac Mizrahi to capture the vibe of ‘90s fabulosity in Douglas Keeve’s 1995 documentary Unzipped, scheduled for a Sept. 25 re-release. Offering an intimate, behind-the-scenes glimpse into the creation of Mizrahi’s Nanook of the North–inspired Fall 1994 collection, the film features a who’s who of one-name Supers: Naomi, Kate, Linda, Cindy, Christy. Eartha Kitt sashays in for a fitting. Sandra Bernhard flits in and out. Crawford’s then-husband Richard Gere even makes a cameo. Polly Mellen, Allure’s creative director at the time, sums up the era’s aesthetic: “Fussy? Finished!”
Juergen Teller’s Young Pink Kate London 1998 © Juergen Teller.
London-born Supers Naomi and Kate make another splash in the exhibition “The 90s: Art and Fashion,” on October 8 at Tate Britain in London. Curated by former British Vogue Editor-in-Chief Edward Enninful, the show delves into the decade’s cheeky optimism with a lens on influential, emerging creatives in Britain. The opening act? Early imagery from edgy, street-style fanzines i-D and Dazed and Confused, which disrupted high fashion and defined the raw spirit of the era. The displays span from paintings and sculptures to photos, films, and garments.
Throughout the ‘90s, journalist-turned–fashion stylist Elizabeth Stewart—who counts Julia Roberts, Cate Blanchett, Amanda Seyfried, and Viola Davis as clients—worked in the throes of the scene as a fashion editor for Women’s Wear Daily, W, and the New York Times Magazine. “There is no ‘90s fashion core memory stronger than a thong peeping out from low-rise pants any time anyone bent over at a photo shoot,” says Stewart. “It was just a given! And a stroke of genius for Gucci to put ‘90s icon Kate Moss in the ‘thong’ gown this year.”
Here, Stewart weighs in on the signs of the times.
Peek-a-Boo
“Sheer worked so well in the ’90s, because it paired beautifully with the minimalist vibe of the era. It made sensuality both delicate and rebellious at the same time.”
Mad for Plaid
“Plaid did double duty in the ’90s. It was grunge and alternative, but also preppy/school girls! Icons ranged from Kurt Cobain to Cher Horowitz in Clueless.”
Ballroom Blitz
“Linda Evangelista in a Mizrahi ball skirt in Unzipped is one of the most iconic images of the era. It was the mix of architecture with ease that made it so ’90s—taking the ‘pouf’ Lacroix popularized in the ’80s and pairing it with combat boots and Converse!”
Stills from the 1995 documentary Unzipped; Courtesy of Janus Films.
Higher Power
“The ideal way to make a statement was over-the-knee boots—nothing subtle about them! Shoutout to Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman for kicking the era off in them.”
Stills from the 1995 documentary Unzipped; courtesy of Janus Films.
