Adolescence in the 90s: Style, Emotions, and Forgotten Battles

Two legendary inventions of the 90s: the audio cassette and the ballpoint pen, inseparable for rewinding our favorite mix-tapes.

Far from smartphones and social media, the generation of 90s middle schoolers grew up with raw emotions, unique style, and committed struggles rarely discussed today. This article offers a nostalgic journey into the daily life of a nineties teen: from oversized fashion to cassette music, from first crushes without texting to forgotten environmental commitments. We'll also explore how this 90s heritage influences today's ethical fashion – notably through iné's Vibes collection, vegan unisex sneakers with a retro style designed for durability. Get ready to dive back into adolescence, where every day at middle school was an adventure filled with style, friendship, passions… and convictions.

 

Teen Style: 90s Fashion Makes a Comeback

A key accessory in 90s schoolyards: the fluorescent "snap" bracelet you snapped onto your wrist. 

 

Baggy or high-waisted jeans, XXL denim jackets, band t-shirts or flashy logo sweatshirts: 90s middle school fashion was anything but discreet. In France, every teen expressed their personality through comfortable and often oversized outfits – long before the term streetwear became common. "Dad shoes" (chunky sneakers with thick soles), fluorescent fanny packs worn at the waist, and pins on Eastpak bags were all the rage. The goal wasn't necessarily to be at the forefront of high fashion, but to adopt the codes of your crew: rock fans sporting grunge plaid shirts, rap enthusiasts in tracksuits and backward caps, or middle school girls inspired by the Spice Girls' style (platform boots and vinyl mini-backpacks, sound familiar?).

 

Iconic 90s bands like the mythical Spice Girls inspired youth looks! Source: Top Music

 

Funnily enough, many of these 90s trends are making a comeback today. Young people (and not so young) are once again passionate about high-waisted "mom" jeans, oversized leather jackets, and even hair scrunchies! This revival comes with a treasure hunt in thrift stores to unearth THAT authentic vintage piece. Nostalgia is at play: wearing flared pants or a flashy K-way is proudly displaying your belonging to the Club Dorothée era. 

Club Dorothée, the show that shaped the childhood of many! Source: Club Dorothée

Brands have understood this well by reissuing cult vintage sneaker models or three-stripe tracksuits. Others draw inspiration from them to update them. This is the case for iné, for example, whose Vibes collection directly draws inspiration from this inimitable 90s silhouette: retro-running lines, pop colors, and a confident unisex spirit, updated responsibly.

iné updates 90s sports sneakers, with less carbon emissions (divided by 3 compared to a sneaker made in China!). Source: iné

 

Beyond clothing, 90s style was a state of mind: that of a more carefree era, where one could dare improbable combinations without fear of Instagram's verdict. Every morning at middle school, getting dressed was a ritual – and woe betide if you forgot your tattoo choker necklace or your favorite badges.

 

Tattoo Choker. Source: eBay

 

What really mattered was asserting one's nascent identity. And while some pieces make us smile in retrospect (the famous oversized sweaters worn over neon biker shorts…), it's clear that 90s retro style continues to inspire current responsible fashion – proof that authentic fashion transcends ages.

Soundtrack & Pop Culture: Music, Sports, and Laughter

The original Nintendo Game Boy (1989) shaped 90s teens' breaks – here displaying Tetris, a cult game of the era.

 

The Game Boy. Source: Pexels

 

No TikTok or YouTube in the 90s – but our middle schoolers certainly weren't short on entertainment! The day often began with a cassette Walkman on their ears on the school bus, listening to the compilation recorded the night before on NRJ. Music held a central place: we exchanged cassettes with friends, collected posters of boy bands (Alliage, 2Be3) or rock stars in the school locker.

 

Cassette tapes, far from modern Spotify but so special in the eyes of us millennials! Source: Pexels

 

Each friend group had its own sound universe: from Nirvana's grunge to the first steps of French rap (IAM, NTM) to the sugary pop of the Spice Girls, the musical diversity of the 90s forged identities. Without streaming, discovering a new album was done the old-fashioned way – on the radio, on TV (thanks Top 50!) or via a CD a friend got for their birthday. And what about the ritual of giving a mix-tape to your best friend with the song list written in pen… A secret language made of shared tracks.

 

An iconic logo. Source: Cosmopolitan

 

90s teen leisure also meant sports and outdoors. During recess, we improvised basketball games on the school court, dreaming of being Michael Jordan, whose number 23 for the Chicago Bulls was on every jersey. The NBA's Dream Team phenomenon and, in France, the 98 World Cup victory with Zidane left a mark on this generation. Magazines of the time (like Five or Star Club) were full of sports star posters to hang in your room. Between classes, we traded Pogs or played hopscotch, and Wednesday afternoons were dedicated to rollerblading or cycling in the neighborhood. Let's not forget the fever of the first portable video games: the Game Boy – and later the Game Boy Color – saw hours of Tetris and Pokémon on its small greenish screen. This was the era when game tips were shared in notebooks, long before Google.

 

Pogs, the recess ally. Source: eBay

 

Finally, 90s pop culture meant unmissable TV appointments: we rushed home not to miss Le Club Dorothée (Dragon Ball Z at exactly 5:30 p.m.), we secretly stayed up late to watch Friends or X-Files in original version on Canal+, and we cut out photos of our favorite actors from Téléstar. Cult films like Titanic or Jurassic Park made the whole class cry or shiver. Without social media, the schoolyard and the family landline (with parents listening in on the other receiver…) were enough to spread the latest rumors about our idols or organize Saturday's movie outing. In short, teen life in the 90s was punctuated by a multitude of simple, shared pleasures IRL (as we didn't yet say) and etched in our memories.

Unfiltered Emotions: Growing Up Without a Smartphone

Being a teenager is synonymous with emotional rollercoasters – and 90s teens were no exception, quite the opposite. But they experienced their emotions intensely offline, without digital filters to smooth out experiences. The shyness to ask someone to the prom was overcome face-to-face, heart pounding. Declarations of love fit into a few lines scribbled on a notebook corner, discreetly passed in class, or a meaningful song choice on a gifted compilation. When "grounded" by parents, anger and sorrow were written in a diary hidden under the mattress, with a small padlock as confidant. These diaries, decorated with stickers and quotes, are indeed true time capsules of thoughts from that time: "Dear diary, today Kevin looked at me in science class, I think I'm still blushing…" – so many confessions put on paper, far from virtual eyes.

 

 

In the 90s, no likes to validate an outfit of the day or Instagram filters to feel beautiful. We went through adolescence with our insecurities, of course, but we learned to tame them in the real world. The look we adopted in the morning in front of the mirror, we owned all day under the gaze of our peers – a real test of self-confidence. Harassment certainly existed, but it (most often) stopped at the school gates. No cruel 24/7 notifications: once home, we found a safe sanctuary, filled with comforting posters and music in the Walkman to relieve stress. Friendships were built patiently, with plenty of sleepovers, endless landline phone calls (making sure no one was listening on the other receiver), and photo albums where we glued memories of outings.

Some emotions could feel overwhelming – first loves, jealousies, fear of the future – but we lived them fully, without immediately seeking refuge on Chat GPT or social media. A heartbreak was healed with your best friend and a tub of ice cream in front of Heartbreak High. Exam stress kept us awake all night rereading our flashcards, until the explosion of joy when discovering the results on the school bulletin board. This raw emotional intensity forged the resilience of an entire generation. Today, we realize how lucky we were to grow up at our own pace, without the constant pressure of a hyperconnected world. 90s adolescents were certainly sometimes awkward, excessive, or doubtful, but they learned to decode their feelings by directly confronting real life – an authentic experience whose value we now measure.

 

Yesterday's Causes: The (Forgotten) Struggles of the 90s

Less publicized than today, the commitments of 90s teenagers were nonetheless real. Long before Greta Thunberg, middle schoolers were already planting trees on Earth Day or participating in beach cleanups with their science teachers. Environmental awareness was emerging: we remember the hole in the ozone layer making headlines, the "Reduce Waste" campaign where we learned to timidly sort papers and plastics at school. Certainly, few young people were vegetarian at the time – being vegan was even considered a social UFO – but some refused fur after seeing shocking reports on animal cruelty. High school associations were formed to support causes: Amnesty International to write to prisoners worldwide, or collections for the Telethon and the fight against AIDS (a scourge widely discussed in the 90s). These 90s struggles, sometimes forgotten, nevertheless sowed important seeds.

 

"On November 5, 1990, high school students protested in Paris against the lack of funding for National Education, at the very moment deputies were voting on the 1991 budget." Source: CineArchives

 

A striking example of a "forgotten battle": the rebellion against sweatshops in fashion. In the 90s, media revealed scandals of major sports brands having their clothes made by children in Asia. Even young teens were shocked and began discussing it in English or economics class. We saw high school students boycotting certain brands, writing essays on the nascent fair trade movement. These were the beginnings of ethical fashion – long before the rise of organic and fair trade labels today. Similarly, the concept of gender equality was slowly taking root: wearing the same uniform in some middle schools, or simply asserting that girls could play soccer during recess like boys, was already a small act of commitment.

If we call them "forgotten battles," it's because these 90s teenage initiatives have sometimes been overshadowed by the scale of current movements. Yet, they constitute a valuable legacy. Yesterday's middle schoolers have become today's adults who champion vegan fashion, fight against global warming, or advocate for diversity. The spirit of commitment was there, less globalized without the Internet, but sincere. For example, iné's founder, Audrey Delanoë, recalls being impacted in her 90s childhood by the proliferation of green algae on Breton beaches, a sign of agricultural pollution.

The progression of green algae, an environmental scourge, triggering an awareness of the ecological urgency on (among others) our territories. Source: Unsplash

This early awareness shaped her desire to later create a vegan sneaker brand that respects the planet. Yesterday's struggles thus directly fuel today's commitments. And by revisiting the 90s, we realize that this decade passed on much more than just style: a thirst for authenticity and progress, which current responsible fashion passionately perpetuates.

 

Spotlight: iné's Vibes, the 90s Legacy, Ethical Edition

Retro style, unisex spirit, and sustainable design – iné's Vibes sneaker reinterprets the 90s for today's generation. 

 

 

How to combine 90s nostalgia with present-day values? The answer lies at the feet of responsible fashion enthusiasts: iné's Vibes sneaker. This unique model, available in several vintage colorways (pink/green, beige/black, blue/camel, etc.), proudly claims its old school DNA: design inspired by 90s running shoes and a very nineties pop color palette. But beneath its retro appearance, the Vibes conceals cutting-edge ethical innovation. Unlike the sneakers of our adolescence, often made on the other side of the world under opaque conditions, iné produces its sneakers in Portugal, combining short supply chains and ecological materials.

 

The Vibes is thus 100% vegan and eco-designed. Animal leather is out: the upper is made of corn bioplastic and recycled fibers, giving a suede or smooth finish as beautiful as nubuck. The outsole incorporates recycled rubber, and the insole is made of recycled foam for lasting comfort. Result: no animal-derived materials, and a majority of recycled or natural components. This innovative design drastically reduces the product's carbon footprint – 2.5 times lower than that of a standard sneaker made in Asia from petroleum. The Vibes sneaker even reaches 75% biomass (vegetable or recycled materials) in its total composition, an impressive proportion that sets it apart in the market.

Beyond the numbers, iné carries a philosophy: "a single unisex model available in 9 colors, without any animal materials." This choice – not to multiply designs – is part of a slow fashion approach and waste reduction. Fewer models mean less superfluous production and a strong identity built around a timeless sneaker.

Last but not least: iné plays the transparency card by having its commitments certified. The Vibes displays the PETA Approved Vegan and Global Recycled Standard labels and uses FSC certified materials for rubber, among others. These reliable labels guarantee consumers that environmental and ethical promises are kept – a crucial criterion when too many brands engage in "greenwashing." Wearing the Vibes is therefore much more than a nod to our middle school style: it's supporting a progressive vision of fashion, where nostalgia rhymes with responsibility. The circle is complete between the 90s and today: the idealistic teen who listened to their Walkman dreaming of changing the world can now walk into the future with ethical sneakers on their feet, without denying their inner teen!

FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is a vegan sneaker?
A: It's a sneaker made without any animal-derived materials. Specifically, leather is replaced by plant-based or synthetic alternatives (e.g., corn leather, pineapple leather, or recycled materials), and the adhesive used is animal-free. A vegan sneaker adheres to the principle of cruelty-free (zero animal suffering). At iné, for example, the Vibes collection is PETA Approved Vegan certified, guaranteeing that no animal components are used in its composition. Choosing vegan sneakers means adopting a cool style without harming our animal friends.

Q: What sustainable materials are found in ethical sneakers?
A: Responsible fashion brands innovate with eco-friendly materials. You often find recycled textiles (polyester from plastic bottles, recycled nylon), natural fibers like organic cotton or hemp, and new high-tech plant-based materials. For example, some sneakers use corn leather or apple leather (made from agricultural waste), FSC-certified natural rubber for soles, or even cork for linings. The goal: reduce the ecological footprint at every stage. iné uses non-food corn, agricultural waste, and recycled plastics in its sneakers, making them both lightweight and durable.

Q: What does "circular fashion" mean and how does it apply to sneakers?
A: Circular fashion is a model where nothing is wasted, everything is transformed. Instead of the linear "produce, consume, dispose" model, products are designed to be reused, recycled, or composted at the end of their life. Applied to sneakers, circular fashion involves several things: designing durable and repairable sneakers to extend their use, using recycled (and recyclable) materials in manufacturing, and planning for recovery channels. For example, some brands collect your old sneakers to turn them into sole granules or insulation. iné embraces this approach by focusing on durability (a single timeless model) and recycled materials, ensuring its sneakers have the longest possible life and minimal waste.

Q: What are reliable labels to identify ethical fashion?
A: In the face of greenwashing, independent labels are valuable allies. For ethical shoes and clothing, some notable ones include:

• PETA Approved Vegan – guarantees the absence of animal materials (leather, wool, animal glue…).
• Global Recycled Standard (GRS) – certifies the recycled content of a product and adherence to social/environmental criteria during its production.
• Fair Trade or Fair Wear Foundation – ensure respect for decent working conditions and fair wages for workers.
• OEKO-TEX 100 – controls the absence of harmful substances in textiles (important for t-shirts, linings, socks…).
• FSC – guarantees that rubber or cotton comes from sustainably managed forests/plantations.

These "general public" labels are in addition to more specific ones. The essential thing is to check for their presence: for example, iné proudly displays its PETA, FSC, and GRS certifications, guarantees of its seriousness. A good reflex is also to check the brand's "Commitments" page on their website (if there isn't one, be wary!).

 

Q: Are vegan sneakers as sturdy and comfortable as others?
R: Yes, and increasingly so! The first synthetic leathers had a bad reputation, but technology has made enormous progress. Today, high-end vegan materials compete with animal leather in terms of strength and flexibility. For example, corn leather or cactus leather offers excellent durability and water resistance. Additionally, brands often line their vegan sneakers with breathable microfibers, ensuring good interior comfort. iné's customer reviews highlight the great comfort and everyday robustness of the Vibes. Finally, maintenance is often simpler: a quick wipe with a damp cloth is enough, where leather required polishing and precautions. In short, opting for vegan sneakers means getting style and quality without compromise – with a clear conscience to boot.

 

Conclusion – Committed Retro Fashion

Authenticity, creativity, commitment – this is the legacy of 90s adolescence. By exploring the style, emotions, and struggles of this era, we understand why it still holds such seductive power today. It's more than simple nostalgia: it's a deep inspiration to build an ethical fashion in our own image, free and sincere. 90s middle schoolers, with their baggy jeans and idealistic dreams, remind us that every generation has the power to move the needle – whether through a cassette playlist or by choosing durable sneakers over fleeting trends.

The circle is complete: in 2025, we wear retro-look sneakers that would have been all the rage in middle school, but designed with today's values (vegan, unisex, recycled). The iné brand is the perfect example, proving that memory and modernity can be combined. So, ready to revive the 90s middle school spirit while affirming your convictions? One thing is certain, responsible fashion has a bright future ahead, as it knows how to draw strength from the past to invent a desirable future.

Discover the entire collection of unisex & vegan sneakers on the iné website and let yourself be tempted by a style that makes sense. 

Don't hesitate to write to us at contact@ine.fr to share your 90s anecdotes or ask any questions: at iné, we love chatting about responsible fashion and childhood memories. See you soon for new retro-ethical vibes!