As I was scrolling through Twitter the other day, enjoying making my way through the haystack of WAP tweets, I found an extremley sharp needle.
https://twitter.com/jinpaynus/status/1282591889473056769?s=20
It was just the kind of nostalgic food for thought I was craving to numb the pain of existence. So indeed, what WAS up with that 2000s carnival burlesque aesthetic, and why?
But first: A short chronology.
2001
In 2001 ‘Moulin Rouge’ was released to the unprepared world. It was the crucial ‘big bang’ to this whole new era.
The movie was fucking yuuge, Nicole Kidman looked hot AF in all of her outfits and of course ‘Lady Marmalade’ was recorded for the soundtrack – bleeding the aesthetic into the music world seamlessly. Lil’ Kim, Mya, P!nk and Xtina smashed that song and clip out of the park. They put the 20s in the 2000s. My friends and I did the rendition at the talent show in kindy, I was Lil’ Kim with my light blonde hair, outlandish personality and natural rap flow.
2001 was also the year that burlesque queen Dita Von Teese and goth-metal icon Marilyn Manson starting dating. They were the IT couple for many years and their union undoubtedly influenced that moment in fashion. Her Victorian burlesque style meeting with his scary circus ringmaster vibe offered a much darker spin on what Lady Marmalade / Moulin Rouge! could offer.
2002
Next came two-hit wonder Big Brovaz, whose two hits ‘Nu Flow’ and ‘Favourite Things’ were wreaking of a similar aesthetic Burlesquey but mixed with spooky night at the carnival / circus. Take away the visuals and both these songs are bubblegum pop, but I love and respect the edgy clips.
Pop Quiz! Do you remember her name?
Clue: Her lyric is : “It’s _, I bet you won’t forget my name, I’m probably maybe gonna live inside your brain”. Answer to be revealed at the end of the article.
2003
The Dresden Dolls released their first album in 2003. According to Wikipedia, the Dresden Dolls were part of an underground dark cabaret movement that started gaining momentum in the early 2000s. Aha! A lead. I don’t even have to Google this to know said movement started in Seattle or Portland.
‘Coin Operated Boy’ is still a banger today. My mum was super into them. The Dresden Dolls weren’t gothic or emo, not pop either, they were dark cabaret, darling!
In 2003, Tim Burton, who is essentially the Beyoncé to this style, directs ‘Big Fish’, a movie starring Ewan McGregor (right off the back of Moulin Rouge) and Danny Dovito. I won’t need to say much, just look to the image below as to why it’s on the timeline.
Additionally, HBO jumped on the bandwagon (literally) with their series ‘Carnivale’.
See, this shit was everywhere! You were just too young and naive to notice. I’ve never seen either Carnivale or Big Fish, predominatley becasue I fear the villian from ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ will make a guest appearance and I’m not ready to face that kind of direct trauma from my childhood.
2004
In 2004 we were blessed with Mr. Brightside. I didn’t remember this being a Victorian burlesque wonderland but it really is.
Same goes for ‘Float On’ by Modest Mouse.
The film ‘A Series Of Unfortunate Events’ was released in 2004, it’s not right on the nose because the movie lacked the burlesque element, but hey, it’s a kids film.
2005
An exact combo of Victorian / burlesque / circus aesthetic hits the emo scene in 2005. I have also seen that it hit the ‘scene’ scene too. Perhaps this is why a good corset was always part of a good goth / emo / scene kid wardrobe. Panic! At The Disco were not the only ones of this genre to use this sort of aesthetic, my ex emo friend tells me My Chemical Romance, AFI and more adopted the style too.
2006
2006 sees Xtina coming back for more of the very circus / burlesque vibe she helped drive back in 2001. It was off her album ‘Back To Basics’ as part of her rebrand after ‘Stripped’. This whole album had a burlesque / retro / pin up girl vibe but this clip is circus burlesque all the way baby, with a sad spin :(.
This Fratellis song was a big hit in 2006, with serious Victorian burlesque imagery.
2007
Britney stans do not speak of 2007. It no longer exists, like the thirteenth floor.
2008
All bets are off. Britney did it, and she did it right. ‘Circus’ was a great success for our girl and it still slaps front to back. The ‘Circus’ clip sees Britney dressed as the ringleader that she is, singing about the ringleader she is. Go off queen!
Of course there are more examples after, but once Britney does it, it doesn’t get any bigger. In fact, all styles and genres are in a race and Britney is the finishing line. Afterward, the Victorian Burlesque Carnival vibe had officially jumped the shark. Which brings me to…
The Theories
Now that we have a road map of sorts of Carnival / Burlesque / Victorian throwback vibe we frothed so hard in the 00s, it’s time to look into why.
I have some of my own theories, and some that I have pulled out of the thread.
Theory #1: Moulin Rouge was just that popular.
It makes sense. You can trace direct influences from all parts of the timeline back to Moulin Rouge. Take Mr. Brightside for example:
See also, Modest Mouse.
If those are not a direct influences, I don’t know what is. Moulin Rouge just really was that good. I’m going to re-watch it tonight and check out for the influence it will have on my outfit tomorrow.
Theory #2 : 2000s fashion was just that bad.
We craved the fancy & ornate as antidote to the era’s predominant aesthetic of sweatpants with writing on the butt, stick-straight hair, trucker caps & jeans low-rise enough to show your pussy mound
— Hot Take Appreciator (@IHateNYT) July 13, 2020
This theory also holds up, if everyone around you was dressing in Von Dutch trucker hats with Juicy Couture track pants maybe you would dress up like a scary clown also.
Theory #3: Pop culture was being influenced by ‘Steampunk’
It was steampunk-adjacent
— Member of D.S.A. – “Drinkin’ Some Ale!” (@90sSlowJamz) July 13, 2020
I’m not going to pretend I knew what Steampunk was before I wrote this article but apparently it was a sub culture of wearing aesthetic designs inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery, go figure. Steampunk was the unofficial look for the festival Burning Man (the hottest festival at the time), sort of what flowery gowns are to Coachella.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CDopK1Ajgip/?igshid=zew75ajdefr2
Theory #4 White people strike again.
I think it came out of Lolita Fashion: https://t.co/6fDzJeBQfC
— Out of Atlantis (@o_gipson) July 14, 2020
Ahh, yes. White people love to steal a bit of culture, it’s just our culture. This is ‘Lolita Fashion’ from Japan.
As you can see, it is suspiciously close to the vibe this very atricle is based on. The forefathers of Lolita fashion must have been as mad as the East Compton Clovers when they saw us in this shit. This would also explain Gwen Stefani‘s ‘Love Angel Music Baby’ album from 2003.
Theory #5: It never really began or ended.
It’s true, as my nanna says “fashion is a cycle”. I found a Smashing Pumpkins clip from the 90s with the same vibe, and also ‘The Greatest Showman’ with Zendaya and Byron Bay local Zac Effron smashed it at the box office in 2017. Plus we all pass someone in Newtown every now and then who never moved on from this era.
Yes, this look is eternal. But why so prevelent in the 00s more than other decades? It doesn’t quite answer the question.
Theory #6: ‘Batman Returns’ kids all grown up.
The maturing of kids who grew up w Batman returns
— Daniel Dresden (@tinytacotown) July 13, 2020
TRUE. Theory winner!
Well there we have it. I’m not mad at the dark circus burlesque vibe becasue it transcends genders and races, it celebrates outcasts and individuality with a bit of a perfomative theatre element, a touch of classniess and a hint of mystery. And who knows? We might all be keen to dress up like this once we come out of the coronatimes since we have been living so normcore for the past however many months.
A: Dion was her name.
