Image: Instagram @dualipa

Fashion is cyclical, trends go in and out like the tides, and I ask you to keep this in mind while I regretfully inform you that we are now in the midst of a mid-Noughties renaissance. Angelic British songstress Dua Lipa is among the main culprits for this comeback. Last week her ‘exposed thong’ selfie inspired a thousand copycats and this week she is championing the Juicy Couture-esque velour tracksuit, wearing a lime green two-piece in multiple shots in yesterday’s Instagram dump.

Lipa is perhaps paying homage to the original instigators of the trend, Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian, who reprised their velour tracksuits last weekend. Promoting Kim’s new shapewear line, Skims, Kardashian and Hilton recreated one of their most iconic ’04 paparazzi moments, wearing metallic oversized Louis Vuitton totes, sneakers, oversized shades and tonally matching trackies. (This time they were meeting on equal ground: back in ’04 Kim was Hilton’s lowly personal assistant).

This all comes the same week that beloved softboy Timothée Chalamet was photographed for GQ wearing his own Juicy Couture pink sweater, solidifying (as if we needed anymore convincing) that velour outerwear is back for good.

Granted, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen a half-hearted Juicy Couture comeback. Vetements launched a collaboration with the brand on a range of rhinestoned velour pieces in 2018, around the time creative director Demna Gvasalia was collaborating with iconic brands (Manolo Blahnik, Levis et al.) en masse. I would argue that those pieces didn’t really strike a chord—perhaps 2020 will be their time. Given how awful this year has been already, I wouldn’t put it past us.