Indie Sleaze: 2010s Fashion Trends Making a Comeback

The past returns with a familiar kind of chaos, pulling old silhouettes and late-night energy back into the present. What once lived in low-res party photos slips easily into 2025. Here is how the 2010s found their way back into the way we dress.

By Aqil Karlzafri

November 27, 2025

Indie Sleaze might sound like a recent buzzword, but the look itself isn’t new. The term only popped up recently, yet the aesthetic traces back to the late 2000s and early 2010s, when style was loud, unfiltered, and a little chaotic on purpose. It mixed punk, rock, new wave, and club kid energy, and never once pretended to be polished. It came from the Myspace and Tumblr era, when Cobrasnake flash photos ruled the internet and style icons like Kate Moss, Peter Doherty, Sky Ferreira, and Alexa Chung shaped the vibe without effort. Ballet flats were scuffed, skinny scarves were pointless, leopard prints were everywhere, and skinny jeans were practically glued on. Makeup smudged, hair flattened, and the result somehow looked better than what you started with.

The renewed interest feels like a natural break from the clean girl uniform. After so much perfected minimalism, people want clothes with personality again. You can see the Hedi Slimane influence all over the comeback, from the return of skinny jeans and striped tees to skinny ties showing up like they never left. Slogan tees are back too, helped along by the loud, playful spirit of Charli XCX’s Brat era. The current music landscape is also dipping back into electroclash and other rough-edged sounds that defined the 2010s, and acts like Snow Strippers, The Hellp, and The Dare are adding their own versions of that attitude. Whether it is a designer piece or an RM10 tee pulled from Family Bundle, the rule stays the same: the less precious it feels, the better it looks.

The revival is most obvious where people actually dress to be seen. Nightlife feels looser with outfits that don’t try so hard. Street style is shifting toward worn-in pieces over crisp basics. Online, people are moving away from soft filters and bringing back the raw, flash-heavy look of the 2010s. It may not recreate the complete chaos of the original era, but the spirit is unmistakable. In that spirit, Men’s Folio Malaysia breaks down a list of 2010s fashion trends that have made a full comeback in 2025.