MESSY IS BACK in 2025: CLEAN GIRL IS OUT
2025 is the year of messiness. Take out your slick back bun and go out with two-day-old hair. Wear those old ripped black tights instead of the new ones. Keep on last night's smudged eyeliner and wear it out the next day. With the debut of artists like The Dare and Snow Strippers, Tiktok in the US has seen the rise of messiness and Indie Sleaze era trends and style content throughout mid-late 2024 and early 2025 (In Europe these trends were already huge in 2021-2022).
This popularity is also due to the dismissal of the “clean girl” aesthetic that became a huge phenomenon on Tiktok on COVID-19 and never really left. Personally, this mid-2000s - 2010s aesthetic has always felt more real to me than the cookie-cutter influencer who probably wishes she could stay out till 4 and skip her morning green juice.
Some smaller trends that we have seen since the clean girl aesthetic have been “Copenhagen style”, “coquette”, and “coastal granddaughter” whose bows and floral patterns drastically contrast with the sequins, furs, smokey eyes, and skinny jeans that define 90s grunge and 2000s indie outfit trends. Mark Hunter, a photographer who gained popularity in the early 2000s for photographing celebrities like Sky Ferreira and Alex Turner (Arctic Monkeys’ lead singer), has more recently
Photographed Charli XCX consistently as well as Rachel Sennot and Billie Eilish.
Charli XCX’s looks have always had an effortless party-girl feel, but the success of Brat this past summer made not only her but her style as well, much more mainstream.
Others whose style has long embraced messiness are Sky Ferreira, the Olsen Twins, Courtney Love, and of course Kate Moss.
Mary-Kates wine-stained city bag she wore from 2004-2016.
Zara released this mini dress in their recent Kate Moss collection and let’s just say……the polyester dupe could never.
I think the rise in popularity of the messy girl (not only due to the sound: “Cus I’m too messy, then I’m too ****** clean”), is a reaction to the clean girls you are so sick of watching on your For You Page. However, Indie sleaze is defined by its accessibility and room for creativity. It is a dismissal of looking like everyone else, of wearing what everyone else is wearing, and is less focused on designer names and more on individuality and over-accessorizing. It is rooted in music and art and cannot be understood unless you have Tumblr.
So, although indie sleaze revival may be lost on your social media as fast as the Chloe Ting Ab Challenge, it will always be a huge source of style inspiration for many (or maybe even a mindset).
xoxo
Leah