Winx Club, Bratz and Monster High are what I like to consider the holy trifecta of every girl’s childhood in the 2000/10s. The 2000s were a golden era for female-targeted animated series including, but not limited to, these shows. While they included badass fighting and unbreakable friendship, the shows introduced fashion trends and aesthetics… and every girl’s style can be categorised according to at least one of these iconic series.
Winx Club:
Starting off with my personal favourite – Winx Club can easily be attributed to the rise of the ethereal fairycore sweeping social media. Often involving pastel colours, frills and glitter to give the Enchantix look (if you know, you know), it basically transforms the wearer into a fairy themselves. The now-cancelled Netflix adaptation of Winx Club called ‘Fate: Winx Saga’, received serious backlash regarding the inaccurate costuming. From colourful outfits and individuality, the girls were styled in dull-coloured, drab outfits, sucking out the flair of the wardrobe. Nevertheless, Winx Club’s whimsical styling that blended fantasy with fashion has been my first influence and I WILL be tuning in for the reboot later this year.
Global girl group, Katseye, had its members dressed up as each Winx member for Halloween, after frequent suggestions online (including me): with Lara Rajagopalan as Aisha, Sophia Laforteza as Musa, Yoonchae Jeong as Tecna, Manon Bannerman dressed as Flora, Megan Skiendiel as Bloom and Daniela Avanzini as Stella. As inspired by K-pop culture, they often post dance practice videos, including an adorable Winx version in their costumes to their addicting song ‘Touch’.
Worn in her ‘ART’ music video, Tyla wears a dark red corset with draped silk fabric and embellishments, with a large bow on the back resembling fairy wings. Tyla’s styling team is undoubtedly one of the best I have seen. Every look she comes out with is as if it was made for her. The frill and sparkles she often wears, whether to award shows or music videos, will not remind me of Winx Club.
Monster High:
Just as Frankie Stein is made up of different body parts, Monster High’s fashion is particularly unique for its blending of gothic and punk elements with a feminine twist. Its influence can be seen in the current Alt(ernative) style today. The series’ characters are inspired or taken from historic monsters such as Draculaura from Dracula, Cleo de Nile from Cleopatra, or Clawdeen Wolf from werewolf myths.
Billie Eilish has been fully dark haired and blonde, yet one her coolest looks has been her dyed roots that is totally giving Monster High. This punk look is not the first time she has tried this. For almost two years from 2019 to 2021, she famously had neon green roots. Although it was speculated she wore a wig to visually maintain the dyed look.
Olivia Rodrigo’s debut album, SOUR, changed every teenage girl’s life in 2021. This post is taken from her concert film named ‘SOUR prom’. Her outfit, on the left, features gothic fishnet leggings and chunky platform boots (totally Monster High) that is contrasted by her soft pink and floral dress. The mix of traditional girly and darker elements is something I can envision the character Draculaura wearing.
Bratz:
The Bratz are known for their edgy style that typically involves low-rise jeans, platform shoes, baby tees, statement hats and more which all can be found in the remerging Y2K style buzzing amongst Gen Z. The makeup often includes smokey eyes, lip-plumping gloss paired with luscious locks. Boldness and glamour define the Bratz and has helped mark their place in most women’s childhood.
Sabrina Carpenter has been around the music industry for years, but boomed in popularity last year with her ‘Short n’ Sweet’ album. Her rise to mainstream fame has spurred attention for not only her music, but her style too. This image specifically could be the blond-haired Bratz Cloe herself. The glowy makeup and the trendy leopard print of her jacket and hat (on the second slide) is a statement in itself that captures the unapologetic vibe and style of the Bratz.
While she tends to be more low-key online, Alexa Demie makes herself and her style known with her few, but striking Instagram posts. Speaking into a recorder of, what we can assume is, the paparazzi, she is glamorous. The strong gaze of her feline eyes and lowered glasses radiate the confidence of Bratz.
(Honourable mention for the holy trifecta includes Totally Spies ofc)