The Fashion Trends That Defined the 2010s

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 21 May 2020

We're fresh into a new decade, but who doesn't love to reminisce about old trends? The 2010s are a critical time in fashion history: Thanks to one app, the industry underwent a major cultural shift. Instagram was born in 2010 and our world hasn't been the same since. Along with Instagram came influencers, wellness culture, and the idea of "pics or it didn't happen." Meanwhile, the industry resurrected trends from the past, like '90s-inspired dad sneakers and festival fashion that paid homage to the Woodstock era. But this decade also gave us totally new ideas, like athleisure and Instagram-approved must-have accessories. Take a trip down memory lane with us.

PUMA

Speedcat Og Women's Sneakers

Alexander Wang Rocco

The Alexander Wang Rocco bag became a downtown It-girl staple. Retailing under $1,000, cool chicks everywhere loved this edgy studded duffle.

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Emma Childs is the fashion features editor at Marie Claire, where she explores the intersection of style and human interest storytelling. She covers viral, zeitgeist-y moments—like TikTok's "Olsen Tuck" and Substack's "Shirt Sandwiches"—and has written hundreds of runway-researched trend reports. Above all, Emma enjoys connecting with real people about style, from picking a designer's brain to speaking with athlete stylists, politicians, and C-suite executives.

Emma previously wrote for The Zoe Report, Editorialist, Elite Daily, and Bustle and studied Fashion Studies and New Media at Fordham University Lincoln Center. When Emma isn't writing about niche fashion discourse on the internet, you'll find her stalking eBay for designer vintage, doing hot yoga, and "psspsspssp"-ing at bodega cats.