Indie Sleaze: The aesthetic that's taking over TikTok

As noughties style continues to make a comeback, from Juicy tracksuits to cowboy boots, TikTok trend forecasters say ‘Indie Sleaze’ is the next to be making a comeback. Birthed from Tumblr and MySpace, the i-don’t-give-a-f*ck trend merges a range of 2000s styles. Think moustache finger tattoos, smokey pencil eyeliner and logo tank tops. Do you think the grunge Tumblr phase should stay in the past or take over from the colourful Y2K styles we’ve been surrounded by recently? Here are some elements that make up Indie Sleaze: Grown Out Hair Dye

As someone who recently bleached my entire head of hair, this style is really appealing. The idea of outgrown bleach is a huge foundation of the Indie Sleaze aesthetic as it plays into the idea of young people without enough money to constantly upkeep these hairstyles while acknowledging the innate want for change – often drastic, like bleaching all your hair. This grown-out look also fits in with the idea of a colder winter style as natural, darker hair colours can subtly come through.

Handkerchief Tops

As sustainability continues to become increasingly important to our fashion decisions, recycling and repurposing clothes have become the outcome of that movement. Handkerchief tops allow us to repurpose materials – although, could this create size issues as materials stick to ‘one size fits all’?

Smoking

While not something to promote, smoking tends to be a continuing staple of university culture. Recent rumours that the UK government want to print ‘smoking kills’ on individual straights led to an influx of internet predictions that this would inflate cigarette sales for the sake of the aesthetic. This dirty habit feeds into the Indie Sleaze aesthetic by paralleling the 70s disco nightlife that inspired the movement.

Smudged Eyeliner

As we move away from lockdown life, we continue to pick comfort over style – hence the resurgence of tracksuits and Von Dutch style caps that cover our bad hair days. Imperfect eyeliner allows us to still have fun with makeup, but takes the pressure off it having to be to a professional standard... especially with winter watery eyes impending.

Flash Photography

As disposable cameras continue to take over our Instagram feeds, the idea of high flash, blurry images taken straight from the phones already in our pockets appeals to me in a sustainable way – we're moving away from mass-manufactured plastic cameras that are designed to be thrown in the bin, and it also makes drunk photography much easier.

Edited by Maddy Burgess