Noughties Babies

by Elizabeth Marchetti

So, here we are. It’s almost the end of an era, our era – the Noughties. In ten years, so many changes have taken place which have defined our way of living and dictated our style, our choices and our projection onto the outer world. That’s only normal. But there is a puzzling dilemma.

Looking back, the Noughties seem to have brought a wave of nostalgia for all things vintage: we are now witnessing the Eighties’ revival in full bloom, with the main collections at Marc Jacobs, H&M and Topshop favouring shocking colors and strong shoulder pads. Vintage has been a favorite choice of A-list celebrities, with Sienna, Kate, MK and Ashley flaunting old school silhouttes.

Music also had a rock/garage withdrawal, with The Strokes’ Is This It topping NME’s best albums of the decade list and the Libertines’ Up the Bracket following. Both bands have a seventies rock’n’roll attitude and a raw, analogue, worn-out sound to boot: the acoustic kind you hear at a live bar.

Also, the comeback of mediums like film photography – with Polaroid camera being rescued from the gutter and lomography cameras flying off virtual shelves (ironic much?) – has enabled us to recreate the Woodstock imagery of Generation X.

We definately haven’t lost the sixties’ joie de vivre. Yet - why have the Noughties seen us lusting for old school glamour? Is it because we are slaves of the digital era trying to break free? Are we looking for ideals that seem to have been lost and replaced by new technologies? It seems we are happy to have nostalgia for a period of time we haven’t even lived in.