Sprinkled throughout the mega-pop-y aesthetics were the ... and (you guessed it) indie sleaze. This throwback fashion trend is inherently alternative (even if it has gone mainstream).

The essence of the trend was to challenge alternative subcultures like “Mass Indie.” As K-HOLE put it, “When the fringes get more and more crowded, Mass Indie turns toward the middle.

Emerging in the late aughts, indie sleaze evolved into the 2014 Tumblr girl aesthetic, which was quieter but still alternative. With trends now circling through 5- to 10-year cycles, the Tumblr ...

Indie sleaze as an aesthetic, she believes, also lacks mass appeal. Given how niche it is, the alternative style is unlikely to influence most people. “Although the media has made great strides ...

she went viral in 2017 with a folky home-recorded indie-pop number called “Coffee,” and by the time of her 2020 debut album, “Fake It Flowers,” she was channeling the alternative-rock ...