How Indie Sleaze went to high fashion

Style Points is a weekly column on how fashion intersects with the rest of the world.

"It feels like 2007 all over again," Mark Hunter, the photographer known as The Cobrasnake, tells me. It's the second time in our conversation that he's said those exact words, but his enthusiasm is understandable. "Indie sleaze", AKA sweaty excess, assisted by Four Loko, chronicled on his blog in the 2000s, is not only back in fashion, it has found its place in high fashion.
Hunter and I talk about Rizzoli's monograph on his work coming out next month, The Cobrasnake: Y2K's Archive. He combed through footage dating back to 2004, finding gems like a young Kim Kardashian attending a Nickelodeon party at Marquee, carrying her sidekick and "dressed like she's going to the ball", or Kanye West in her day. "Everyone survived the 2000s, and I was there to document them," he says. Lately, Hunter has worked on projects for major brands like Chrome Hearts and Adidas who are drawn to his more relaxed take on party photography. "Basically," he says, "it's a Renaissance for me."

The Cobrasnake – Y2ks Archive
bookstore.org
$37.15

Hunter isn't the only one upping the indie sleaze up a rung of the trail. Two It-girls of the time, Sky Ferreira and Lily Allen, showed up at the Met Gala on Monday night. (Allen was at Chanel, while Ferreira wore a look by young designer Conner Ives.) Aught staple Cory Kennedy appeared on the Collina Strada fall 2022 show with current scenes Tommy Dorfman and Rowan Blanchard. And the trend emerged during fashion month, from Francesco Risso's DIY at Marni (notably, a shredded satin top worn over plaid pants) to Gucci's sheer tops paired with big belts.

To get to the heart of the craze, I spoke with the creator of the @indiesleaze Instagram account, who is called Olivia V. She launched the account in January of the year last (after pondering and dismissing names like “indie trash” and “landfill indie”) as a way to channel his nostalgia for his time on the indie music scene. After losing her job at the start of the pandemic, she had plenty of time to reflect on those times. The following October, when TikTok fashion commentator Mandy Lee made a

Fashion Jul 7, 2022 0 106 Add to Reading List

Style Points is a weekly column on how fashion intersects with the rest of the world.

"It feels like 2007 all over again," Mark Hunter, the photographer known as The Cobrasnake, tells me. It's the second time in our conversation that he's said those exact words, but his enthusiasm is understandable. "Indie sleaze", AKA sweaty excess, assisted by Four Loko, chronicled on his blog in the 2000s, is not only back in fashion, it has found its place in high fashion.

Hunter and I talk about Rizzoli's monograph on his work coming out next month, The Cobrasnake: Y2K's Archive. He combed through footage dating back to 2004, finding gems like a young Kim Kardashian attending a Nickelodeon party at Marquee, carrying her sidekick and "dressed like she's going to the ball", or Kanye West in her day. "Everyone survived the 2000s, and I was there to document them," he says. Lately, Hunter has worked on projects for major brands like Chrome Hearts and Adidas who are drawn to his more relaxed take on party photography. "Basically," he says, "it's a Renaissance for me."

The Cobrasnake – Y2ks Archive

bookstore.org

$37.15

Hunter isn't the only one upping the indie sleaze up a rung of the trail. Two It-girls of the time, Sky Ferreira and Lily Allen, showed up at the Met Gala on Monday night. (Allen was at Chanel, while Ferreira wore a look by young designer Conner Ives.) Aught staple Cory Kennedy appeared on the Collina Strada fall 2022 show with current scenes Tommy Dorfman and Rowan Blanchard. And the trend emerged during fashion month, from Francesco Risso's DIY at Marni (notably, a shredded satin top worn over plaid pants) to Gucci's sheer tops paired with big belts.

To get to the heart of the craze, I spoke with the creator of the @indiesleaze Instagram account, who is called Olivia V. She launched the account in January of the year last (after pondering and dismissing names like “indie trash” and “landfill indie”) as a way to channel his nostalgia for his time on the indie music scene. After losing her job at the start of the pandemic, she had plenty of time to reflect on those times. The following October, when TikTok fashion commentator Mandy Lee made a