Is a 2016 Fashion Trend Revival in 2026 Real? Or Is the Internet Overhyping It?

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. We wore choker necklaces and as much Anastasia Dipbrow as possible. We were existentially hopeful about the future, only for those #Girlboss dreams to be snuffed out come November. The year was 2016, and it was a wild ride—one that is, supposedly, gearing up for a revival in 2026.

Around the holidays, the internet at large grew nostalgic for the good old days of ten years ago, and adopted “2026 is the new 2016” as its new motto. Users started spelunking through their camera rolls to reshare Snapchat dog filter selfies and #OOTDs set to Drake’s “Hotline Bling”. Kylie Jenner revived “King Kylie”, changing her Instagram profile photo to her with Millennial-pink hair, in a Supreme hoodie and a Candy K lip kit-coated lips.

Soon, outlets across the globe, from Vogue to Marie Claire UK to Elle India, were declaring that the 2016 fashion revival was sweeping 2026’s top trends. But is that true, or is it just another internet trend born in a bubble? Are we all about to be wearing skinny jeans and “We Should All Be Feminists” slogan tees again?

In some sense, yes—but mostly no.

“Right now, fashion feels like it’s finding its balance between comfort and cool again,” says Julie Sariñana, the founder of Sincerely Jules, one of the most popular sites during the 2010s blogging boom. “People are craving easy, confident style that isn’t overly curated—which is what 2016 was. We mixed high and low, masculine and feminine, vintage and modern. It was less about perfection and more about personality; it felt real, wearable, expressive, attainable, and lived-in.”

It’s the same impulse that made a strong, singular style such a hot commodity in 2026. “2016 was the first time personal style went truly global thanks to social media,” says Noelle Sciacca, head of fashion and strategic partnerships at The RealReal and a former fashion editor at Lucky, Cosmopolitan, and Seventeen. “You could discover new designers, mix luxury with vintage, and make it your own; that spirit of experimentation feels fresh again in 2026 after a period of capsule wardrobes and uniform dressing."

In 2016, Instagram was only six years old, and TikTok was just the sound a clock made. “That era encouraged people to dress for themselves, not just for trends or algorithms,” says Sariñana. “It feels refreshing to revisit a time when getting dressed was about how something made you feel, not just how it photographed."

Think of it as another "touch grass" trend, like when It girls wore garden clocks and burly barn jackets like a farmer from the English countryside last year. The people yearn to feel as free with their fashion as they did when they shared #candid mirror selfies and wore flower crowns and moto boots to Coachella.

That said, a resurgence of 2016-era silhouettes wasn’t entirely pulled from thin air. Cigarette jeans walked all over the Spring 2026 runways. Rihanna is wearing lace slip dresses with army green bomber jackets, just like she did when “Work” was the top track of the year. Ten years is also pretty par for the course for a bout of style nostalgia—just enough time for fashion girls to feel fondly for velvet ribbon chokers and DIY denim cut-offs. What's more, to reiterate Sciacca, today's shopper wants to walk out the door in an outfit that's personalized to them.

“What I love most about the 2016 revival is that it reminds us that style is repetitive, but personal style is forever,” says Sariñana. “The pieces may come back, but the way you wear them should always feel true to who you are now. If there’s one takeaway, it’s to trust your fashion instincts."

If you’d prefer some guidance on reclaiming the free-spirited style you had ten years ago, keep scrolling for a breakdown on the 2016 trends and themes actually making a 2026 comeback.

Cult Products and Hype Culture

Katy Lubin, the VP of brand and communications at Lyst and the brain behind the fashion search engine's quarterly indexes, links the modern fever for It bags, shoes, and any item at all, really, to the phenomenon of lining up multiple New York City blocks for the new Supreme drop a decade ago.

“2016 proved how one cult product could define a year, from Gucci’s Princetown loafers to the J.W. Anderson Pierce bag driving a three-times spike in brand traffic,” says the fashion expert, who has been at Lyst since pre-2016 and seen these industry shifts in real time. “In 2026, fashion is even more product-led, with consumers more frequently searching for ‘the item’ rather than the brand behind it.” Think: a Carhartt barn jacket, that one Cos sweater, and that Miu Miu x New Balance sneaker that's nearly impossible to find in stock.

Denim Dominates

“As we eased out of the stretchy skinny jeans era, 2016 had us embracing a slightly looser, slim-cut denim, cropped at the ankle, with extra style points for a lightly frayed hem,” explains Sciacca. Cut to 2026, and we’re observing a similar pattern.

“After seasons of ultra–wide-leg silhouettes, there’s renewed interest in slimmer, straight styles," she continues. "On The RealReal, sales for straight-leg jeans are up 10 percent since last year, and, to my surprise, cropped jeans have surged by an incredible 1,787 percent.”

Lubin substantiates the parallels with 2026’s denim trends: “2016 marked the return of normcore staples, with straight-leg jeans becoming a fashion statement. Levi’s 501s were the most viewed jeans on Lyst that year. In 2026, we’re seeing the same demand for timeless, recognizable pieces, now reframed as premium investments."

Slim Sneakers

You know this one already: From the Adidas Tokyo, Puma Speedcat, and Prada’s best-selling close-to-the-foot trainers, slim sneakers are at the tip-top of 2026’s shoe trends. Today's slender sneakers call back to 2016, when looks were “often finished with a pair of crisp white Adidas Stan Smiths or Common Projects sneakers,” Sciacca says. “While Stan Smiths may no longer be the go-to, retro-inspired sneakers from Dries Van Noten and Wales Bonner x Adidas collaborations—up 123 percent in demand year over year on the RealReal—are leading the charge.”

Bold Colors

"In 2016, bold crayon colors were everywhere—it was practically a style requirement,” Sciacca remembers. “Vetements was shaking up the industry with green sock boots and asymmetrical yellow dresses; buzzy newcomer Sies Marjan made its debut with a palette defined by vibrant shades and a notable absence of black; and even the Philophiles were getting in on the action, with Celine’s bold pops of color to its minimalist looks.”

The 2026 color palette is proving to be just as vibrant. “Cobalt blue—a standout on the Spring 2026 runways at Loewe and Jil Sander—has seen a 342 percent increase in searches on The RealReal since last year," Sciacca says. "Canary yellow also made a strong return at Bottega Veneta, Prada, and Miu Miu—a shade once beloved by Sies Marjan." (Although the eclectic and colorful NYC-based brand has since closed, she notes that demand for it increased by 31 percent year over year on The RealReal.)

Subcultures and Social Media

This last trend is a bit more heady, but bear with us. "Back in 2016, we saw broad subcultures like 'skater' and ‘emo’ style go mainstream via Instagram, with choker sales rising 120 percent and Vans Old Skools becoming the United Kingdom’s most searched sneaker,” Lupin recalls.

As the chronically online will tell you, the last few years have seen a surplus of hyper-niche aesthetics hit the mainstream, too—from the office siren to the tomato girl. “But,” Lupin says, “the landscape is now far more fragmented, and feels a little darker; where we once had thriving, cohesive communities online, we now see meaningful fashion pieces appropriated, diluted, and exploited by brands mining for relevance before the algorithm moves on.” Remember when TikTok tried to rebrand dupattas, a centuries-old South Asian garment, as “Scandinavian summer staple to wear to Euro weddings"? Yeah—like that.

“Looking ahead, we'll see more shoppers curating highly personal aesthetics that resist easy categorization or commodification,” Lupin continues.

Imagine subcultural pieces paired with unrelated items, like a military Hussar jacket styled with a denim skirt or a boho-coded lace dress with a business-y blazer—outfits that have traces of niche trends, but don't belong squarely in an easily identifiable box.

Why Trust Us

Emma Childs is Marie Claire’s fashion features editor with nearly a decade of experience in the fashion industry. She focuses on in-depth trend reports and stories covering the intersection of style and human-interest storytelling. She spoke with one fashion blogger, an expert at Lyst, and a fashion strategist at The RealReal to compile this breakdown on the 2016 fashion trend revival in 2026.

For more than 30 years, Marie Claire has been an internationally recognized destination for news, fashion, and beauty trends, investigative packages, and more. When it comes to the products Marie Claire recommends, we take your faith in us seriously. Every product that we feature comes personally recommended by a Marie Claire writer or editor, or by an expert we’ve spoken to firsthand.