As a professional Tiktok lurker (a self-designated position I am quite good at), I get exposed to a lot of fashion trends. The latest I caught on my radar? Acubi fashion. Yes, the aesthetic is still alive even though its roots have closed down — more on that later.
Scroll through your Tiktok (and maybe even Instagram) feed and you’re bound to come across this trend too. Or you may have already — you just didn’t know what it was. Let’s uncover it together.
What is Acubi fashion?
Think of it as the love child of Y2K fashion and minimalism. While most of the trends in Y2K veered towards bright and fun colors, Acubi fashion recommends neutrals. To put simply, the silhouettes are the same — low rise jeans and skirts, tank tops and cardigans — but the color palettes are different (polar opposites, to be exact). A neutral (close-to-goth) take on Y2K? You may not have seen it coming, but it’s here.
Where did Acubi fashion come from?
While many Y2K fashion trends came from the West, Acubi fashion hails from South Korea. In fact, it was borne out of the popularity of one store: Acubi Club. Yup, kinda like how the Igari makeup look was popularized by one makeup artist.
The brand does carry a lot of colored items but it’s the neutral-colored offerings that appeal to its patrons the most (and, well, those are the ones that go viral on TikTok).
Should you try the aesthetic?
It’s quite interesting to see this trend emerge and be given that name especially as someone who grew up in the Y2K era! Too bad you can no longer peruse Acubi’s website. The brand folded in October 2024. But when it was live, it was somewhat familiar even though I’d only really seen it while researching for this story.
Wide-legged pants, bedazzled long-sleeved tops, denim maxi skirts, bucket hats — these were all staples in my closet during that time. It’s amusing and funny to see them back in circulation. I mean, I know that fashion trends get recycled after some time but perhaps I just didn’t envision the trends from my teenhood being back on the scene in my early 30s. (I need to remind myself that all the clothes I wore then are now technically vintage. gasp sigh)
So if you have an older sister or cousin around my age, rummage their closet for pieces to build your own take on Acubi fashion with! Thrift shops are great options too.
