The 2000s! Fashion, tech, and culture

It’s 10 seconds to midnight — massive crowds are packed in Times Square, counting down the seconds until the shift from 1999 to the new year. Audiences clustered around their TVs as the Y2K glitch feared to crash power grids, water systems, banking networks, and air traffic control was running high. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1… Of course, when the clock struck midnight, it would not be the end of the world — it would give rise to a vibrant and transitional cultural decade. Y2K fashion captured a cultural zeitgeist of technological optimism with a futuristic aesthetic defined by the dawning of shiny metallic fabrics and futuristic sunglasses. At the same time, Blockbuster was running strong as the golden age of DVD swept the nation — a world caught, both emphasizing the aesthetics of the future while bound by physical media rituals of the past. Yet, the world of tech was preparing a wave of years that would begin changing this world forever.

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