Why is everyone still obsessed with the ’90s? It was a ‘more hopeful’ time
Nostalgia for the ’90s continues to thrive, especially in the UK, where themed bars, exhibitions and fashion continue to reflect the decade
In London, there is a new bar called Bunga 90 themed on nostalgia, with an entrance through a mock-up Blockbuster-esque video store and bands like The Cranberries blasting over the loudspeakers.
Nostalgia for the 1990s is not new. Experts say that 20 years is the general threshold for trends to cycle back, with two decades being the amount of time required to start feeling wistful about another era rather than seeing it as the recent past. Think about how the Americana musical Grease was released in 1978, but set in 1958.
But 30-something years later, ’90s trends are still dominating pop culture.
“The love for the ’90s is still hanging on, partially because the ’90s was the last gasp of an analogue age, before the internet took hold of every aspect of our lives,” says Lauren Bravo, author of What Would the Spice Girls Do?
Bravo says the decade holds an extra fascination for younger generations who cannot remember a time before everything was permanently online. For those of us who can, it is as if we are yearning for what we remember as simpler times.