Lately there’s been a lot of discussion, both online and around the Vogue office, about the return of indie sleaze—the grungy, messy, and kind of sexy style of the late 2000s and early 2010s. Some of our colleagues scoff at the idea of such a recent trend making its return, while others are ready to break out their chokers and knee socks.
But post-Brat summer, it seems that the return may be imminent after all. Alexa Chung and Kate Moss were regulars on and off the fall 2025 runways, and the season embraced the return of grungy animal prints, black leather, and the ubiquitous McQueen skull motif.
Vogue fashion writers Christian Allaire and Hannah Jackson got together to debate the so-called return and its longevity.
Hannah Jackson: Thank you for joining me here in this Google Doc, Christian. As we both know, there’s been a lot of chatter about the so-called return of indie sleaze, both around the office and online. Before we get into it, I’d love to know what the original indie-sleaze era was like for you.
Christian Allaire: Well, you’re younger than I am, Hannah, but I was in college during the height of indie sleaze. I was very much in it. I was inspired by what stars like Sky Ferreira, Sienna Miller, Kate Moss, and Pete Doherty were wearing. It was all about skinny jeans (suffocatingly tight) paired with leather jackets and striped shirts and vests—maybe even a little cheesy fedora too. Smudged eyeliner, messy hair—an edgy, perfectly-imperfect vibe. I think of Hedi Slimane’s Saint Laurent. Loads of flannels or bomber jackets or saucy little polka-dot dresses with tights. What’s been your relationship to the trend?
Jackson: Luckily, I experienced the last few years of the trend while I was in high school. It was all about American Apparel tennis skirts, Arctic Monkeys’ AM, and teaching yourself HTML and CSS so you could customize your Tumblr. Sky Ferreira and Charlotte Free made me want to bleach my hair into oblivion just so I could dye it pink, and Alex Turner’s famous love letter to Alexa Chung opened my eyes to ~romance~.
