'90s Designer Vintage Is Hot + Body Splashes Are Cool
Hello WNVM-ers,
A few weeks after the Brats documentary premiered, people are still writing about it. We really liked this, ahem, spirited review from the Fug Girls over at Drinks With Broads. Plus, the Wrap got Anthony Michael Hall on the phone to ask why he wasn’t in it. “I politely declined because I’m always making new stuff and always moving forward and looking ahead,” he said. Savage.
Now it’s time for us to move forward.
First up, Fawnia talks to high-end retro fashion purveyors to the stars, Tab Vintage and Happy Isles, to learn why designer ‘90s fashion is so hot right now. Hint: It could have something to do with who wore it back then, like a supermodel on a game-changing runway or Gwyneth Paltrow.
Then, Cheryl constructs a 50-year timeline of popular body splash brands because yet another one, Sol de Janeiro, is having a moment with the Youngs.
And as per usual, we provide a Gen X-friendly news link round up at the bottom.
Sashay, shantay…and spray!
Supermodel (You Better Work)
Why everyone, including myself, wants ‘90s designer vintage right now
By Fawnia
Whenever I’m upstate in Kingston, NY, I must stop into Capital Vintage to feed my compulsive jacket buying tendencies. (Owner Kathleen finds the best ones and matched sets, another obsession.)
On a visit last month, I copped the most buttery soft, ‘90s black leather blazer by agnès b. Back in the day, I’d gaze longingly into the window of the French label’s boutique on Boston’s Newbury Street. But I could only afford a baby drawstring backpack branded with “LOLITA, agnès b.” (lol, oh ‘90s.) I also had been desperately searching for a grunge-era black leather jacket inspired by Zoe Kravitz’s Matrix-y Banana Republic one in “High Fidelity,” thrifted by costume designers Colleen Atwood and Sarah Laux, and Riley Keough’s circa-1997 style in “Under the Bridge,” by Patricia J. Henderson.
I took a mirror selfie, and realized I was dressed exactly how I wished I could have then, if funds allowed: my new/old agnès b, a cropped tank, slouchy jeans, and big chunky boots. Never too late for a do-over, right? Turns out I’m not the only one.
“I've received some requests from celebrities, who were famous in the ‘90s, and are now wanting to wear ‘90s again,” says Alexis Novak, owner of Tab Vintage, Hollywood’s go-to for rare, high-end designer finds. “I love to see that real circular fashion.” Rare vintage from the period also offers millennials, like Novak (who was still in elementary school then), a first chance to live out glam scenes they saw on pages of Vogue, and the many, long-shuttered tween and teen glossy mags.
“The ‘90s is definitely the sought after decade over any other,” says Lily Kaizer, owner of Happy Isles, a designer vintage bridal atelier with a celeb clientele and locations in Los Angeles and Manhattan. “It was a pivotal moment — a boom of creativity — in fashion when all the influences of the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s were condensed and sex-ified. So all these amazing silhouettes became just sleek and sexy in the ‘90s.”
The time also marked an unprecedented dovetailing of entertainment figures, fashion designers, and stunning models, previously only seen, but not heard. “You had the Supers, who were personalities, like Cindy Crawford hosting ‘House of Style’ on MTV,” says Novak. From 1989 to 1997, the Supe welcomed viewers behind-the-scenes into the exclusive fashion world. Pre-social media, the series also showed models and talent loosening up into relaxed and relatable scenarios, like Naomi Campbell sharing her zit cream regimen and Duran Duran shopping at Sears. (The Spice Girls went to Contempo.)
“It all came together in the ‘90s in a way that there was no difference between pop culture, fashion, music,” adds Novak. “It was fluid between all of them.” Jean Paul Gaultier kicked off the decade designing Madonna’s “Blonde Ambition” tour, while George Michael’s “Freedom! ‘90” video featured the holy trinity of Campbell, Linda Evangelista, and Christy Turlington, plus Tatjana Patitz and Crawford lip syncing. (And directed by David Fincher!) Michael’s 1992 follow up, “Too Funky,” upped the ante with Thierry Mugler designing the costumes, and a cast of runway and screen notables, including Tyra Banks, Eva Herzigova and former Catwoman Julie Newmar.
“Anything that's Tom Ford-era [is in high demand],” says Novak. “The runways hadn't been done in the way that he did them in the ‘90s. Also, he was dressing all the celebrities at that time.” The then-newbie Gucci creative director Ford had a big — and industry game-changing — 1996. The Fall collection, opened and closed by Kate Moss, remains legendary for the catwalk cast, and ensuing celeb placements, like Gwynnie’s red velvet pantsuit to the MTV VMAs. (She resurrected it in 2021, which, I mean, flex. Kingston’s Reracked Vintage also has one in stock, along with a massive circa-‘90s Ford haul, as of last weekend.)
More Ford for Gucci runway notables at Tab Vintage include a Spring 1995 floral top and short-shorts set sported by Kate Moss, a Spring 1996 black lace babydoll dress worn by Evangelista, and a white cut-out and gold-buckle jersey gown, modeled by Kirsty Hume from Fall. In 2022, Bella Hadid walked the Cannes red carpet in a side-slashed version of the latter, from Tom Ford for Gucci and YSL purveyor — and the nicest people — Lab2022.
“Gen Z is coming up and learning about these important runways and designers,” says Kaizer.
Her clientele clamors for Karl Lagerfeld-designed Chanel, some ‘80s, but mostly ‘90s, especially due to viral supermodel runway content on Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest. “Claudia Schiffer in Chanel bride looks,” she adds. (I’m guessing Barbie had some influence, too.) Circa-‘90s Gianni Versace, Roberto Cavalli, Thierry Mugler, Ralph Lauren and John Galliano for Dior are also hot requests, along with Kate Moss looks in the era. Celebrity trifecta example: For the 2022 Grammys, Dua Lipa wore the same gold safety pinned bondage gown from Versace’s Spring 1992 collection that Turlington modeled on the runway, and Crawford wore to the MTV VMAs that year.
“People do ask for specific moments,” says Novak, who keeps an ongoing target list spreadsheet to diligently source, like Carrie Bradshaw’s Dior by Galliano Fall 2000 newsprint dress. Fine, it just missed the ‘90s, but remains an X-er highlight, thanks to “Sex and the City” costume designer Patricia Field. “There are certain cultural moments that stick with us and then when they see that piece pop up, it's almost like getting a piece of their childhood back.” Or young adulthood, in my case.
A Smell of Wine and Cheap Perfume
Every decade brings us a new teen-friendly body splash brand
By Cheryl
A few weeks ago Rachel Strugatz, a beauty journalist and my former colleague, reported for Puck that Sol de Janeiro became Sephora’s best selling beauty brand. It’s known for its Brazilian Bum Bum Cream, but the article also mentioned the rising popularity of its “gourmand body splashes.” I heard a record scratch sound when I read that phrase. My mind instantly went to my childhood bathroom and the yellow bottle of Jean Naté After Bath Splash my mom kept under the vanity and only used on special occasions.
I started thinking about it, and while we’ve called them splashes, sprays, and mists through the years, they’re all the same thing. Different brands of inexpensive, accessible scents that tend to be popular with younger consumers and are meant to be sprayed diffusely over the body have emerged pretty much every decade.
Allow me to be your Mistorian as I explore the body spray brands that rose to the heights of olfactory fandom over the last 50 years. (And if anyone has any thoughts or I forgot a beloved brand, leave a comment!)
1970s: Jean Naté
It launched as a perfume in the 1930s but became a popular body care brand in the ‘70s. (The exact history is hard to trace, but Revlon owns it now.) The After Bath Splash was always a really confusing delivery system to me. Old commercials show women stepping out of the shower, pouring some into their hands, and basically tossing it all over themselves. Out of curiosity, I bought a bottle from Amazon. It has the same citrusy scent with that top note of rubbing alcohol that I distinctly remember.
1980s: Impulse Body Spray
“Be warned. Men just can’t help acting on impulse.” This was the stalkery tagline for the butterfly-adorned aerosol cans of Impulse Body Spray. The ads featured men chasing after much-younger women to give them flowers. I liked the blue one. (This might be controversial, but I’m giving runner-up instead of top billing to Love’s Baby Soft, which popped up in the mid-70s and was popular through the mid-‘80s. It sort of straddled both decades. It also featured extremely WTF ads and commercials.)
1990s: Bath & Body Works
It was founded in 1990 as a beauty line to be sold at Express. Freestanding stores followed, and I think we can agree its scents dominated the latter half of the decade. Had you ever heard of a plumeria or seen cucumber in a fragrance before Bath & Body Works? Don’t lie; none of us had. Long live Sun-Ripened Raspberry! I think the lotions were probably more popular than the sprays, but Bath & Body Works ruled bathrooms during this decade. And good for them for still having a stranglehold on the culture, except now it’s the candles.
2000s: Victoria’s Secret Love Spell
The early aughts are a blur to me, because I had two small kids at home and wasn’t working in beauty yet. So I reached out to Kirbie Johnson, a beauty expert who writes the newsletter Ahead of the Kirb and is the co-host of the popular podcast, Gloss Angeles. She confirmed its dominance. The lingerie giant (fun fact: owned by the same parent company as Bath & Body Works) launched Love Spell in 1999. It quickly captivated a generation of pubertal Millennials, becoming a best seller by 2001. “I tell people if I could ever make my own fragrance, it would be an elevated version of Love Spell,” she says. “In fact, I bought it again recently and I’ll mix it with my high-end fragrances. I get nonstop compliments.” (She thinks the Mean Girls line about smelling like a baby prostitute was representative of Love Spell.)
2010s: Celebrity fragrances
This decade was a bit of a dead zone for body spray brands specifically, though maybe there is a case to be made for VS Pink mists. Celeb scents filled the void. Many of Paris Hilton’s and Britney Spears’ combined 900 (I’m estimating here) fragrances launched during the 2010s. I can remember my cousin’s then-tween being delighted when I gave her a sample of Taylor Swift’s first perfume. Johnson posits that the fragrances were a “commodity for fanbases” that people weren’t necessarily wearing.
2020s: Sol de Janeiro
Which brings us to the present. Body sprays have come roaring back. A quick internet scan shows me tons of “Best Body Spray” affiliate link stories, so I popped into Sephora to try out the Sol de Janeiro sprays. They smell like surprisingly chic flowery cupcakes, but in more sophisticated bottles than those of yore. I reached out to a Gen Z expert, my 18-year-old niece. She uses “the yellow one,” but says the brand is more popular among “middle schoolers and freshmen,” who tend to own all of them. Marketers, you’re welcome for that insight.
You Oughta Know
VH1’s “I Love the ‘80s” alum, sitcom MVP, and “Joyful Recollections of Trauma” author Paul Scheer gives his spicy take on Brats. “It seems like every core thesis this doc makes is flawed.” (Also, can “How Did This Get Made” podcast please do Fresh Horses?!) [3 Things]
Naomi Campbell’s incredible career is memorialized in the retrospective “Naomi: In Fashion” at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum. It opened this week and runs through April 6, 2025. [Vogue]
Leading up to the July 5 premiere of A24’s 1985-set Maxxxine, “Euphoria” makeup artist Donni Davy releases a three-piece makeup collab between her line, Half Magic, and the slasher flick. The glittery pink lip gloss — very ‘80s — is aptly named VHS Vixen. [WNVM inbox]
The story of the discovery of the model behind Duran Duran’s “Rio” album cover, by Patrick Nagel, riveted us. (She now owns a winery in Napa.) The inevitable conclusion? The image is now a “new” and “trending” t-shirt at Pac Sun. [The internet]
The Pet Shop Boys’ Neil Tennant is probably happy to have the Swifties’ evil eye directed at another Gen X musician who dared to diss Taylor. Ex-Nirvana drummer and current Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl recently (maybe) suggested that Swift doesn’t perform live. She then Swiftly (possibly) responded. [CNN]
After shuttering MTV News last year, Paramount Global has now shut down MTVNews.com and pulled it offline. The site’s archives of music journalism, dating back to 1996, are now lost to the ether. [Variety]
I think Love's Baby Soft was an eau de toilette vs a body spray. Body sprays are lighter concentrations of fragrance, usually in a bigger bottle.
And yes, my mother had a giant bottle of Jean Nate perched on the side of her bathtub ;)
I was a Bath and Body Works body mists teen and the Sol de Janeiro sprays feel so nostalgic to me, I have a few haha