Alt Style Is Coming Back and Women Are Leading the Charge

Pink hair, smoky eyes and barely-there brows are just some of the ways alt style is popping back into the mainstream. Once a thing of the 90s and 2010s, alt aesthetics are making a comeback, but this time, things are a bit different.

Though previous generations of alternative style waves were centered around men with few women in the spotlight, it’s the girls that are ushering in its comeback this time. While TikTok commenters beg for white boys to get back in their parents’ garages and make alternative-style music and videos again, the women are already doing it. From North West's buzz-worthy style to Julia Wolf’s viral song “In My Room,” they’ve taken over FYPs, making space for themselves and others in the mainstream. And in the process, they’re deviating from the status quo in more ways than one.

BACKGRID

Oftentimes regarded as more of a lifestyle than just a personal style, alternative aesthetics never really went away. Instead, they found new life online, uniting a community that wanted more from it. With figures like Hayley Williams and Meet Me at the Altar nurturing it, it slowly but surely grew. And thanks to the boundlessness of the internet, the subculture developed subcultures of their own—think grunge fairies or hijabi goths, for example.

As a Somali Muslim content creator known for her alt-style makeup, Laylo Qasim gained attention on TikTok for her transformative beauty skills. She went viral for her base makeup in particular. Her transfer-proof finish caught attention and was dubbed the “trust-the-process” routine. But her entire look, complete with ultra thin brows and thick eyeliner, became a trend in itself, with others recreating it on themselves. In the process, Qasim, who was inspired by a fellow goth Somali Muslim at school herself, also became representation for a community online, who aren’t typically spotlighted in the media.

“I'll occasionally get tagged in a video, and it's another Muslim girl, or a Black girl, and she's like, ‘Oh, Laylo convinced me. Laylo made me feel like it's okay to be alternative and be Muslim, and it's okay to be alternative and be a Black girl. It's fine.’ That's all that matters to me,” she tells Teen Vogue on a Zoom call, just a few weeks after her wedding, where she blended her alt style with traditional bridal wear.

Another content creator merging traditional garb with gothic style is TikTok user @crypticmortal. Dressing in dark toned hues and letting her long black hair down, she’s been likened to Morticia Addams, all while repping her own Pakistani culture. Balancing identity and the alt lifestyle is something that Moe Black admires, having dealt with stereotypes herself. “I think the idea that you don't have to sacrifice core parts of your identity to dress the way that you want to. It's what's leading that charge and people understanding that the way you dress doesn't define you,” she tells Teen Vogue. “It's just an extension of your character, and I think it's really cool.”

Dealing with preconceived notions about the aesthetics from both the Black and white sides of her family, Black says she began to tune out the opinions, perhaps because the style came almost inherently to her. “I feel like when you are plus size and you're any genre or style, you're alternative because you're not really the average norm,” she says. Black took inspiration from a variety of things to find her signature style; her mom, Skins UK, One Direction and most notably, Barbie Ferreira’s Tumblr era.

Blending alt with pop, Hannah Bahng first opted for alt beauty aesthetics as a way to ensure she wouldn’t be stereotyped. “I was trying to find different hairstyles that could kind of leave more of an impressionable identity because at the end of day, I am just kind of an East Asian face, but I have personality,” she says. “I've definitely been inspired by Avril Lavigne a lot, just her clothing and even her music style. I think as my music has naturally geared towards this kind of rock-leaning sound, I think the style kind of followed that a little bit." Now, her fans, or Blues as she calls them, emulate her style with clothing and makeup as she tours the country.

Bahng is part of a new generation of women alt singers, each bringing their unique identities to the stage. Olivia Rodrigo has cemented her title of “America’s pop-punk queen,” complete with a spunky aesthetic to match. Wolf’s style—complete with a Twilight-coded wardrobe full of pre-loved gems and her signature bright eyeliner—captures an audience of its own online. Touring with Bring Me The Horizon, Amira Elfeky’s gown of playing cards and grunge makeup is part of the show.

Fashion and beauty are circular, but the resurgence of alt styles have been a long time coming, almost overdue. “I want it to become more mainstream. I'm tired of the donut glass makeup. I'm tired of just a little concealer. I want people to cake their faces,” Qasim says, referring to the aesthetic inspired by Hailey Bieber.

So, its slowly-creeping comeback isn’t shocking, it’s almost fitting. Having seen the previous cycles of alternative styles becoming mainstream, Black says, “In this current socio-political climate, people are interested in alternative ways of thinking and life and dress and all those ways of expressing yourself that are going against this norm that maybe some people are feeling like is being pushed upon us.”

Perhaps the better question in the spirit of the aesthetic is not why it’s becoming popular, but how to find your alt style. The first step is to focus on what you think, and only you think. “Once you realize that no matter what you do, there is going to be somebody out there who has an opinion, it makes you realize very quickly that you really could just do what you're going to do,” Qasim says, reflecting on a time where she tried to assimilate but was still bullied. “Life is short. You only live once. You should have fun while you're here instead of worrying about what the next—Am I allowed to curse?—b*tch has to say.”

Figuring out the rest is not so hard in comparison. You might find inspiration in many different ways, whether that’s seeing a classmate that looks like you, a British TV show, or maybe one of these many alt women leading the movement now.