1998 - the way we were
Two important things happened to the internet in 1998 – Google launched its search engine and WGSN was born. Little did we know what an impact both of them would have! The internet wasn’t high on everyone’s priority list back then, so just what was the world obsessed with?
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Casual is cool
Cargo pants, cargo pants, cargo pants, Nike Air Max, Prada Sport sneakers, Louis Vuitton slides, plus a messenger bag (in Velcro-fastened microfibre) or low-slung belt bag. The colour grey was huge.
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Style tribes
Harajuku girls loved the craziest shoe trend – sky-high mega-platforms – worn with over-the-knee socks and a must-have camisole. For youth it was skate and surf fashion with Volcom, Rip Curl, Quiksilver, Mambo and Billabong the icon brands. Mainstream men took the dress-down Friday look to their hearts and helped create a world where casualwear ruled, while women aged anywhere between 20 and 50 embraced cardigans, A-line skirts and the hipster waistline.
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Fashion gods
Helmut Lang was the hottest new star of New York Fashion Week and made minimalism uber-cool. For maximalists, Tom Ford ruled and designed the jeans that launched a million copies - remember that beading?
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Skin
Celebrities and designers sent us all into leather and, after years out in the cold, were making us think about fur again. Some of us eased our consciences with the vintage variety, or convinced ourselves that collars and cuffs were OK. The debate still rages today.
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Mobile phones and cameras
Chunky mobile phones simply made calls and few of us had worked out how to send a text message, but we bought them in the millions. Nokia ruled, but there was no email or cameras, and the BlackBerry had only just been launched as little more than a two-way pager. Early adopters could enjoy 1million pixel digital cameras and could even save around 10 pictures on to a floppy disc!
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Playtime
Sega launched Dreamcast to try (unsuccessfully) to compete with Sony’s PlayStation in the pre-Wii, pre-DS days when gaming was all about teen boys. Kids played with Pokémon, Teletubbies, Furbies, light-up yo-yos or Beanie Babies, while adult games were transformed by the launch of Viagra.
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Lifestyle
We sipped Starbucks coffee, read Harry Potter, drove Smart cars (Europe), Hummers (the US) or the new Toyota Prius (Japan). Some of us strayed on to the internet, booking travel online. Food was a focus, as new star Jamie Oliver made cookery fun for those who had been kitchen-phobic, while Jacques Torres waved the flag for traditional French pastries.
