Maybe Vanessa Hudgens is just as nostalgic for her High School Musical days as I am (I mean, costar Zac Efron did just tell E! News that he would be down for another movie). Because if her current style is any indication, the 2000s are back, baby!
The Tick…Tick…Boom! actor wore the New York uniform (read: all black) to the opening of the Hard Rock Hotel in Manhattan, opting for a long-sleeve minidress with a pleated skirt. The star of the outfit, though, is the massive, blinged-out, waist-cinching belt—a.k.a. the accessory of the years between 2004 and 2009. If she had added one of her Coachella flower crowns and rimless shades, honestly, we wouldn’t be able to tell in what year the photo was taken.
The entire look, from last year’s Fendi and Versace collaboration, screams 2000s, down to the logo-printed tights. Hudgens’s bag also hails from the Fendace collection, and mixes iconic elements—Fendi’s F print, Versace’s gilded baroque signature—from both Italian brands.
See photos of Hudgens’s full Y2K-inspired look, below.
It looks like the actor is sticking to her goth-chic aesthetic. She wore another black ensemble for her first Met Gala livestream cohosting gig alongside La La Anthony and Hamish Bowles. Instead of an outfit seemingly pulled from her HSM days, though, her look at the Met Gala 2022 was an elevated Moschino sheer lace gown with a dramatic train that stole the show.
It was very much giving “me at my sugar daddy’s funeral” vibes and I love that for her. All in all, the verdict is in: Wide belts and emo realness is all anyone will be talking about this summer.