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In a way, the \u201990s never really left us. But for fashion and beauty brands in 2024, the decade\u2014and the women who helped define it\u2014are undeniably back.<\/p>\n
In March, Monica Lewinsky was revealed as the\u00a0face<\/a>\u00a0of a campaign for clothing brand Reformation and Fran Drescher starred in fashion brand AMI Paris\u2019s\u00a0spring 2024 campaign<\/a>. In the last year, Pamela Anderson has starred in campaigns for brands like\u00a0Proenza Schouler<\/a>,\u00a0Smashbox<\/a>, and\u00a0Artizia<\/a>, while Jenny McCarthy and Carmen Electra modeled for\u00a0Skims<\/a>.<\/p>\n Alicia Silverstone, who reprised her role from\u00a0Clueless<\/em>\u00a0in a campaign for\u00a0Rakuten<\/a>\u00a0in last year\u2019s Super Bowl, was one of the celebrities included in skin-care brand Osea Malibu\u2019s Leap Day campaign outreach last month, along with other celebs who were big in the \u201990s, like Alyson Hannigan, Busy Philipps, and Drew Barrymore, Melissa Palmer, co-founder and CEO of Osea Malibu, told us. The campaign also included a temporarily \u201990s-looking\u00a0website<\/a>\u00a0and \u201990s-inspired\u00a0merchandise<\/a>\u00a0in celebration of its founding leap year, 1996.<\/p>\n Palmer said the Leap Day campaign was the \u201chighest-performing campaign [Osea has] had in the history of the company\u201d across both conversions and influencer posts. She said the positive response to the gifted merch, which included a vintage-looking sweatshirt, only demonstrated to her that the \u201990s enthusiasm is real.<\/p>\n As more brands start capitalizing on this decade-specific trend, we looked into what\u2019s making these throwbacks resonate.<\/p>\n For Osea Malibu, the \u201990s homage boils down to honoring its heritage and getting the message out about its 28-year history of \u201cliving the exact same truth\u201d as a clean beauty brand, even though the term hadn\u2019t been coined at the time of the brand\u2019s founding, Palmer said.<\/p>\n Since 2016, the brand has run a Leap Day promotion where products are priced as they were in 1996, but this marked the first year it went all-in on the \u201990s look. According to Palmer, \u201cthe reaction to the aesthetic and graphics was wild.\u201d<\/p>\n The sweatshirt in particular was \u201csuch a strong tool visually for influencers,\u201d she said, and has given her hope for long-term impact as people continue wearing them.<\/p>\n As Skims, which was founded just five years ago, has shown, a brand doesn\u2019t have to have been born in the \u201990s to embrace the decade and its stars. The brand has leaned into the aesthetics of different decades, including\u00a0\u201960s apr\u00e9s ski<\/a>,\u00a0pinups<\/a>\u00a0like those popularized in the \u201940s, and a \u201990s car wash featuring McCarthy and Electra.<\/p>\n When Wieden+Kennedy worked with Skims on its\u00a0first TV ad<\/a>, which debuted on the same day as the Oscars last month, W+K Chief Creative Officer Azsa West told Marketing Brew that the agency was briefed by Skims\u2019s creative director Kim Schraub on \u201cthe importance of timelessness as one of the key attributes to this brand.\u201d That directive was what inspired the decision to shoot on film and use Gary Wright\u2019s 1975 song \u201cDream Weaver\u201d against futuristic outer-space visuals, West told us.<\/p>\n Last year, when the campaign with McCarthy and Electra was released, a Skims press release noted \u201cthe impact these women had on pop culture and their timeless appeal.\u201d<\/p>\n While some styles may be timeless, the framing around certain topics has certainly changed, and a throwback campaign can sometimes serve as an opportunity for a brand to shift cultural narratives.<\/p>\n Juliann Kane, influencer and content marketing lead at payment company Klarna and co-writer of the Saved Drafts newsletter, told us in an email that the Monica Lewinsky x Reformation team-up is an example of \u201cpublic figures from the \u201990s\u2026reclaiming their power,\u201d with Lewinsky projecting confidence and empowerment in her poses while simultaneously conveying the campaign\u2019s message of getting out the vote.<\/p>\n \u201cThe campaign\u2019s nod to \u201990s suiting trends, coupled with its alignment with current events and societal issues and deep understanding of Gen Z\u2019s pursuit of purpose, sets it apart,\u201d Kane said.<\/p>\n The campaign seems to have been well-received, at least online, where many people\u00a0praised<\/a>\u00a0Reformation\u2019s decision to work with Lewinsky, with\u00a0one poster<\/a>\u00a0noting that \u201cMonica was simply born in the wrong generation.\u201d<\/p>\n Will the cultural or brand obsession with the \u201990s end? Over the last 15 years or so, the decade has been declared \u201cback\u201d in\u00a0style<\/a>,\u00a0music<\/a>, and other\u00a0cultural trends, and f<\/a>or some brands, the current surge in interest around the decade could have long-lasting effects on their strategies.<\/p>\n For Osea Malibu, Palmer said the success of this year\u2019s campaign has inspired the brand to look into creating a permanent merch store, as well as incorporate some of the \u201990s-inspired colors it experimented with in places like retail endcaps. While a full \u201990s rebrand isn\u2019t likely, considering the brand has kept much of its look the same over the past 28 years, Palmer said it has her thinking about new aesthetic options for the brand.<\/p>\n \u201cI will be shocked if this doesn\u2019t continue to influence us over the coming years,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Additional reporting by Jasmine Sheena.<\/em><\/p>\n This article was initially published<\/a> by Marketing Brew<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\nIt\u2019s in the history<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Timeless appeal<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Reshaping history<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\u201990s forever<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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