From the button pin accessorized punk leather jacket to the long polish inspired cottagecore dresses, subcultures have been known to have distinctive fashion choices. During the infamous three month quarantine, many subcultures have risen in popularity along with their respective clothing styles. The indie aesthetic initially got its first wave of popularity in august of 2020, and has only gotten more mainstream from there!

Since it gained fame, the brightly saturated colors, oversized denim jeans, and the various odd accessories have become commonplace in the Gen Z teenage wardrobe. It’s nicknamed “little shirt big pants” silhouette, now among the trendiest of outfits. The community has received massive growth from the app TikTok which has been nicknamed by the App Store as “where trends are born.” But the indie aesthetic is more than a trend as the community is offended by the term. The indie subculture is more than a TikTok trend to be lumped in with the E-girls and VSCO girls. Indie is a bustling community with interesting fashion choices and a newly mainstream subculture.

 If you’re unfamiliar with the word “subculture” it means a part of society that differentiates itself from the mainstream normality with their own beliefs and style. However, a trend is something very popular for a set amount of time. If we look at these two terms we can draw the conclusion that Indie is a subculture and not a trend. Indie is a subculture based on individuality. The clothes prove it usually involving crop tops in all sorts of bright colors and unique prints. Paired with baggy jeans, and large hoodies. A blend of 2000s skaters attire with heavy eyeliner and funky accessories are very important to the indie look. Riding the 20-year rule regarding fashion, indie pulls from the recent 2000s craze involving low waisted jeans, animal print, and tiny purses. But a subculture is more than clothes. Indie has many values as part of their culture. New to Captial High School, freshman Sitka Hecht explains that Indie involves, “Thrifting, skateboarding, and being creative.” 

Indie’s rise in popularity is both odd and unsurprising. It takes many ideas from early 2000s fashion which is also on the rise as mentioned before. But there has to be more to this phenomenon. Kylee Gruhn, a CHS cougarette, recently joined the indie community and was eager to share her thoughts.  “I honestly think the people are so kind and the style of clothing is something I can really express myself with. I have been so lucky to have a platform so I can express my style.” Sitka agreed with Kylee’s statement saying, “I think that it is fun to be creative with what you have and make the most of it.”

When asked about the popularity surge both girls replied saying that the recent exposure didn’t influence them at all! Sitka goes on to say, “It did not because I already liked those concepts to begin with and when I learned about indie it said that all the concepts I like were major parts of the indie community.” Even newcomer to the indie scene Kylee comments, “Even before I got Tik Tok I would see indie sometimes and always thought it was cool.” While these girls didn’t ride the wave of popularity they do not discourage others too! Kylee says, “Most people are changing and I think some of it is because of quarantine, you have a ton of time to think to yourself, that’s why I think indie grew so much.” to elaborate she continues to say, “it’s not really for me to gatekeep an aesthetic! It’s so beautiful and definitely, I hope it gets more popular here. The boom in popularity is something that is amazing, it means more people are interested!”

But is indie a trend? The word from these two indie girls is no! Newcomer Kylee Gruhn initially conflicted at first ultimately decides, “no, indie has been around for a while but (while) I know some girls would consider it a trend, I wouldn’t.” While both have gone on record saying they are trendy people they both agree that indie is most definitely NOT a trend!