Nostalgia for the 90s without having lived them?

How teens are making a decade they never knew about trend

There's nothing like a good dose of nostalgia... or rather, false nostalgia. Because, let's face it: most teenagers who are reliving the 90s today have no idea what it was like to live without Wi-Fi. But there they are! With their baggy sweatshirts, their Walkmans that don't play anything, and that insatiable desire to live in the past of a time they never knew. Of course, the 90s were something else: the fashion, the music, the movies, even the cereal commercials were iconic (and a little absurd, but that's part of the charm).

Fashion: When baggy was king

The first thing that jumps out at you with this trend is, without a doubt, the fashion. Sweatshirts that could be used as a sleeping bag, high-waisted trousers that could easily reach your armpits and jackets in such bright colours that they could be used as road signs. And what about the famous fanny packs? They're back, and with a vengeance, because of course, who doesn't need a bag on their waist to carry that latest generation smartphone that weighs more than a brick?

It's almost ironic, but kids today look back at the '90s and say, "Ah, yes, true style." And there they are, happy as a clam, wearing what their parents have probably already thrown away.

Technology: Before “likes”, there were rewound cassettes

What's most surprising is how the 90s technology boom has come back as if it were museum pieces. There you have teenagers posing with disposable cameras, CDs and, of course, the Walkman they bought at a flea market as if it were a priceless treasure. Today, many kids wear wired headphones and devices that could only play music if they were wound up, as if that were a symbol of resistance against AirPods.

And then there's that nostalgic look every time they discover a Game Boy . It almost makes you cringe. You see them there, with their clear casings and bright colors, with the impression that Pokémon was the true holy grail of childhood. They have no idea what it was like to blow into a cartridge to make it work, but hey, at least they look cool !

Music: Back to grunge and sugary pop

Oh, and we can't leave out the music. Nirvana, Pearl Jam and the Backstreet Boys are back on the speakers as if 2000 never happened. Grunge is now the soundtrack of a generation that couldn't stand a second of concerts from that era. But there they are, worshipping Kurt Cobain as if he were the Dalai Lama, and singing "I Want It That Way" as if their lives depended on it.

90s cinema: When Jurassic Park was the closest we got to a T-Rex

And then we get to the movies. Today, Jurassic Park is still more realistic than some of the effects in new movies, don't you think? Because '90s movies have that nostalgic quality that trumps anything in 3D. Even today's teenagers binge-watch Friends , as if Rachel and Ross's struggle for love were as relevant as the dramas they're experiencing in their own chat rooms .

The return of the authentic… or so they say

The funny thing is how all of this, for them, represents a return to the “authentic.” And you can’t blame them, because after all that Instagram filtering, sometimes you just want a pair of jeans and a landline that you can’t easily lose.

Many people probably don't even know what dial-up Internet was like or how horrible it was to run out of minutes on their Nokia, but at least they have a good time. Fashion, music, cinema, everything is coming back with a touch of modernity, but it's still like that warm embrace from times that will never return.

In the end, the 90s are like that memory that you didn't live through, but that makes you sigh. And those of us who were there can't help but smile and think, "How lucky they are not to have had to rewind cassettes with a pen."