Regardless, the whole point was that the soundand ultimately, the grunge aestheticwasnt squeaky clean.
It was gritty, raw, and distorted; it wasSoundgarden,Pearl Jam, and Alice in Chains.
Kurt Cobain, 1993
When did grunge start?
Penske Media/Getty Images
It was also, of course, Nirvana.
Cobainwhose torn-up jeans,matted hair, and moth-eaten grandpa cardigans belied his handsome looksalso provided endless style inspiration.
He was an avowed feminist and confronted gender politics in his lyrics.
Kurt Cobain, 1993
And I think he still represents a romantic ideal for a lot of women.
Meanwhile, Cobains wifeCourtney Love, was making style waves of her own.
She proudly called her style kinderwhore.
Kurt Cobain, 1992
Kurt Cobain, 1992
Cortney Love and Kurt Cobain, 1993
What is grunge style?
There was an earnestness to grunge; it was not in-your-face like punk.
To that end, wearers of grunge mined thrift stores and workwear shops to curate their looks.
Cortney Love and Kurt Cobain, 1993
The shoes of choice were Birkenstocks,Vans, Converse, or floor-stompingDoc Martencombat boots.
Women wore all of the above, too.
It was an attitude and a lifestyleand, a challenge the status quo.
Drew Barrymore with Eric Erlandson of Hole, 1995
Nineties grunge embodied an intentional rejection of mainstream andmall culture, much like the erasriot grrrlsand slackers.
It wasnt about trends; it wasnt about fitting in.
In fact, the original grunge aesthetic was somewhat antithetical to fashion and consumerism, in general.
Winona Ryder with David Pirner of Soul Asylum, 1993
Critics were not impressed: One model even wore a nose ring,TheNew York Timesnotedin 1993.
They dont understand that theres a glamour there too.
The collection also eventually made it straight into the hands of king and queen of grunge themselves.
Marc Jacobs for Perry Ellis, Spring 1993
Do you know what we did with it?We burned it.
We were punkerswe didnt like that kind of thing.
Regardless, that collection made an indelible and enduring mark.
Dries Van Noten, Spring 2013
Of course, Jacobs wasnt the only designer to put the grunge aesthetic on the catwalk.
Trendsetters like Rihanna, Miley Cyrus, and Gigi Hadid are frequent wearers of 90s-inspired grunge looks.
It brings a new flavor to the parts of our past that we cherish as our wonder years.
Saint Laurent, Fall 2013
Still the original aesthetics angsty roots remain.
Were seeing new iterations of horrendous dressing, but it feels much sexier, adds Sinclair.
But its not about sex.
Bottega Veneta, Spring 2023
Its about having ownership of ones body.
Picture: muddy watercolor pastels: misted mauve, faded fennel, sulking-room pink, andpuddle.
A few brands that have mastered the apocalyptic-teen-angst trend includeBlumarine,No/Faith Studios, andRed September.
Burberry, Fall 2024
Were starting to see this animalistic approach to it and a return to witchy styling.
NYFW, Spring 2023
NYFW, Fall 2023
PFW, Fall 2023
PFW, Fall 2024
