Why are we so obsessed with the ’90s?
A new exhibition at London's Tate Britain explores the cultural and aesthetic influence of the 1990s in the UK. Curated by Edward Enninful, the show highlights the era's raw, DIY creative spirit before the ubiquity of smartphones and social media.
Why it matters
The exhibition taps into a growing cultural nostalgia for the pre-digital era, reflecting on how technology has fundamentally altered social interaction and creative expression.
At some point, we’ve bumped our heads and woken in a ’90s fantasia. In this new-old world there are cargo pants, slip dresses and swooning for Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy’s minimalism. Kate Moss is on the runway. Oasis keeps going on tour. Nevermind (in the words of Nirvana) that it’s 2026. The cultural moment appears fixated on the last decade before smartphones, social media and algorithmic feeds took over. A time when IRL was the only life. If the ’80s was bombastic excess, the ’90s United Kingdom was the epicenter of stripped-back rebellion. In 1996, “Trainspotting” spat out “Choose Life” in rejection of middle-class consumerism, and creatives embraced a new, raw aesthetic. You saw it in the decade’s indie mags, hip hop and messy beds of Young British Artists.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in