Those who grew up in the Nineties will have fond memories of Tamagotchis, flip phones and collecting VHS tapes. All of that is about to be revived this week with the reboot of That ’70s Show. The coming-of-age sitcom set in Seventies Wisconsin – and which made stars of Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis – is now Netflix’s That ’90s Show, a spin-off slash sequel. Set two decades later – and following the children of the original cast – the show takes viewers on a nostalgia trip back to the Nineties, complete with denim flares, plaid and pagers.
It couldn’t arrive at a most nostalgic time. But despite Gen Z’s efforts to resurrect Nineties fashion trends – see the many video compilations on TikTok of “outfits inspired by Nineties icons” – the decade is firmly left in the past when it comes to how we spend our time. Monumental shifts in technology have changed how we communicate with our friends, families and even strangers, and no fondness for lava lamps and inflatable furniture is going to convince people to go fully backwards.
