2000Archives: The Label Archiving a Y2K Mood

2000Archives was created by two designers captivated by the retro mood of the 2000s who wanted to hold on to the era they remembered. The number 2000 went into the brand name as the most direct way to signal that sensibility. Born in the 1990s and raised through their teenage years in the culture of the 2000s, the pair describe the label as one that expresses free-spirited, individual women through collections rooted in 2000s vintage.

Their focus on the 2000s took shape while they were studying in London. In the vintage shops they visited often, they kept returning to the idea of one day expressing the millennium mood of the 2000s in a mysterious and playful way. They describe the early 2000s as an era of upheaval and an explosion of cool: somewhat more polished than the 1990s, yet more colorful and bold, a decade the word “hip” fits exactly.

The autumn collection they recently released is called Road Trip. It began with memories of London streets crowded with people of unusual style, and takes as its concept a woman finding her own look the way those people expressed their individuality without worrying about anyone’s gaze.

Asked why so many prints run through the collection, the two said prints are one of the core strands of the brand’s DNA. Both studied fashion photography on the fashion communication course at Central Saint Martins, so they wanted prints to be more visible. They began by testing images they shot themselves or produced through collaborations on garments, and have applied prints aggressively to their products since. Working scanned images piece by piece to fit patterns also led them to design a wider range of stockings based on those prints, and they plan to keep trying new approaches to print.

For 2000s archives that inspire them, they named designer accounts such as @dior_galliano, @jeanpaulgaultier, @tomfordforgucci and @prada. They added that Diesel’s 2000s archive, another source of inspiration for the brand, cannot be left out: it carries a fond, fantastical nostalgia that could not be imitated today.

They attribute the Y2K trend’s hold on the MZ generation to a taste for adventurous, distinctive individuality. Because this is the era of social media, trends are absorbed faster, so young consumers fall naturally for the refined, vintage appeal particular to Y2K fashion and reinterpret it in their own ways.

Instagram, they said, is the platform that made 2000Archives what it is. Because they want a natural atmosphere rather than finely polished images, they work to capture something unstable and experimental, and put effort into talking with the people who like the brand’s mood.

Among accounts they enjoy at the moment, they pointed to stylists. They take inspiration from the free styling and use of color at @lottavolkova, @airtomyearth and @sakspotts, and said @airtomyearth, run by the stylist Jamie, often shows styling that uses 2000Archives stockings, which is a pleasure every time. They also keep up with @claire_barrow, whom they call the eternal queen of punk in their hearts, the brand @jennyfax.official, and @another___kind, run by James Chester.

Asked for three items for a Y2K look, they chose a low-waist skirt or trousers, a vintage baseball cap and a double-layered top, adding that tights with vintage, grungy prints and western boots cannot be left out either.

On the shift to living with COVID-19, they recalled a pandemic period in which reduced face-to-face activity left a shrinking mood visible in fashion, and said they expect pent-up appetite for fashion to come out in many forms. They are also cautiously hoping for collaborations with designers whose sensibility suits the brand.

Looking ahead, they want to try different sides of 2000Archives, the kind only their brand can show. They are working to expand offline in earnest and are preparing a new project aimed at February next year that will include a performance element.