Why We Long for Indie Sleaze

Chloe Hild ‘26

‘Indie Sleaze’ cannot be curated; it must be earned. 

As Brat summer fades into Brat autumn, I was finding myself reflecting on the fashion cycle. I’ve come to the conclusion that Charli xcx is responsible for keeping the heart of Indie Sleaze beating. Thank God. 

In our post-COVID-19 haze, there is a resurrected longing for being crammed and sweaty and glittery. Indie Sleaze is that beautiful grimy space that occupies the gaps between ‘clubbing,’ ‘hipster,’ ‘grunge,’ ‘twee,’ and sometimes even ‘business casual.’ Alexa Chung in tights, Chelsea boots, a military jacket and statement necklace while her bangs stuck to her forehead due to sweat and spilled alcohol. The goal was always, always, Effy Stonem from “Skins.”  The look of Indie Sleaze represents an out-of-body experience, one where you enter the night looking disheveled and leave disheveled. It cannot be curated; it must be earned. The core of Indie Sleaze is the experience around the look, one that cannot be complete without the aesthetic ramifications of ‘moshing’ at a Strokes concert. 

Why do we want this back? Why do we want peter-pan collars, pleasers, vintage minis, and graphic tees? People are wearing skinny jeans again? Seriously? Noel Gallagher is returning as hair inspiration? Didn’t we want to leave this behind at one point?

The Indie Sleaze appeal lies in the perceived disinterest of your appearance. Freedom and comfort are the unspoken ideals. There's a fully intentional nonchalance that becomes intensified as you live your life nonchalantly. Today, our constant onslaught of social media leads to our constant submission to the photo and video. Knowing, in the back of our minds, we may be photographed, we will try mightily to maintain the veneer we go in with. We touch up our red lip, maybe we bring a spare brush; we can’t let it ourselves get too out of hand. However, the aesthetic necessitates it. 

As Gen-Zers, we weren’t able to fully participate in the height of this trend, so part of this draw to the days of Indie Sleaze likely comes from a place like nostalgia or FOMO. Yet, I feel the undercurrent is this instinct emerging within our generation to just let it all go. To dance, eyes closed, glitter and sweat and tequila pooling underneath your Doc Martens, Gorillaz in your bones. Charli xcx, The Dare and Troye Sivan plugged in their dusty turntables to deliver this space to us. 

The Indie Sleaze aesthetic was directly influenced by the music of the moment. The techno dance beat was meant to produce the often mentioned and ever-important sweat factor, while the grunge rock, talk-sing vocals spoke to the angst and the edge. The original angst came out of the 2008 recession; our modern angst has a few more layers and an added intensity. 

This modern angst comes from a pandemic, a string of turbulent presidencies (to say the least), the total gut punch of a certain someone's reelection, the impending fear of what the future holds, and genocide across the ocean. I want to shut up about all of this as much as you want me to; however, the sociological fallout of, well, everything, is, unfortunately, necessary in this conversation. With that said, now back to the fun stuff!

Charli xcx has offered us a path to return to this heaven just as we needed it. She and Troye Sivan birthed the Sweat tour at the apex of our social regression back to our Tumblr days. She has provided a space for us to fulfill our growing instincts to be 365 party girls, gays, and theys. The offbeat simplicity of Brat packs a punch. It’s honest, straight to the point, pop music with feeling. It’s the woes of female relationships and the struggles of being pitted against one another and also doing poppers. It’s awesome. Charli has always been an Indie Sleaze icon; it is just simply a core part of her personality, which inevitably bleeds into her image. Deeply honest in her work, and with a newfound bluntness in Brat, she’s helping us to strip back the bullshit by lighting our cigarettes and taking our hands.

In a day and age where we have to wade through the muck and the mire that is simply existing in America today, we deserve our day in a grimy club. So don your tights, cut some side bangs, light a cigarette, get on the dance floor and earn it!