These Women Inspired the Trends You Love, From Y2K Style to Maximalist Nails

With the revival of Y2K fashion (think low-rise jeans, bedazzled accessories, multicolor shades) in present-day wardrobes, white celebrities are often the only ones credited for pioneering late '90s-to-early-2000s fashion. But as Gen Zers re-create outfits on their social media accounts, it's easy to spot the fashion contributions from Black women.

Missy Elliott's "Supa Dupa Fly" space suit, Janet Jackson's futuristic fashion in the music video for "Scream," and red carpet looks from Destiny's Child are all examples of 2000s style mixed with Black influence — which continued on for decades, including in Raven-Symoné's hit Disney Channel series "That's So Raven." Although many tout Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan as the faces of Y2K fashion, it's necessary to recognise these equally influential trendsetters.

The menstrual cup has had many aliases since its creation: the Diva Cup, June, and Cora, among others. As people increasingly swap out their disposable period products for sustainable alternatives, we should note where the idea originally came from.

And that leads us to Leona Chalmers. In 1937, the actress and author patented the first design of the menstrual cup, which used latex rubber. Following the shortage of the material during World War II, Chalmers rebranded the menstrual cup as the Tassette. However, it didn't achieve success back then, partially because of the rising popularity of the tampon combined with the hesitation around inserting a reusable menstrual product. In the late 1950s, the Tassette transformed into the disposable Tassaway cup to compete with similar products, but the company ended its business in the '70s. Although Chalmers's product didn't make it to the 21st century, her original design influenced brands that created similar products in the 1980s and beyond.

Today, Korean pop is often synonymous with groups like BTS and Blackpink and their dedicated ARMYs and Blinks. But back in the middle of the 20th century, the Kim Sisters paved a path for today's K-pop groups. With the help of their mother, the trio formed in the 1950s and consisted of non-English-speaking sisters Kim Ai-ja (Aija) and Kim Sook-ja (Sue as well their cousin Kim Min-ja (Mia). Their journey started at American military camps during the Korean War and landed them a residency in Las Vegas, which resulted in three more residencies and talk-show appearances.

Playing instruments ranging from the bass guitar to the drums, the trio had an overwhelming amount of talent that assisted their career longevity. The group, which disbanded in the mid-1970s, also became the first Korean musicians with a song on the Billboard chart.

It seems like every iOS update features more inclusive emoji. But Katrina Parrott, a Black mother in Texas, is still fighting to get recognised for inventing skin-tone emoji in 2013. That year, Parrott's daughter expressed her disappointment in the lack of Black emojis, so Parrott did what any mother would do — created a solution. She hired a team to create an app called iDiversicons, which offered emoji in five skin colours and was available for download in Apple's App Store. However, Apple released its own skin-tone emoji (which had five skin tones similar to Parrott's original creation) in 2015. For the next several years, Parrott attempted to get a patent, and she filed a lawsuit against Apple for copyright infringement in 2020.

A US district judge tossed the case last year, and Parrott is still fighting for her patent. Many others are fighting to get her work recognised too, including Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee. According to Buzzfeed News, the lawmakers wrote a letter of concern to the US Patent Office in regards to "the disproportionate challenges that small businesses, women, people of colour, and other underrepresented minorities face in the patent approval process."

It's not up for debate that all-black attire has been in for decades; take the simple fact that a "little black dress" will suffice for practically any dress code. The popularity of that closet staple can be traced to Coco Chanel in the 1920s. (Before that, black clothing was relegated to grief and mourning.) For years afterwards, though, the neutral shade couldn't keep up with colourful fashion, and it didn't receive acknowledgement from high-fashion brands for decades — that is, until Paris Fashion Week in 1981. That was when Japanese fashion designer Rei Kawakubo reinvented the colour as she debuted her cutting-edge brand, Comme des Garçons. The versatile colour has clinched popularity in both the high-fashion world and everyday consumers' closets since.

Earlier this year, you might've come across the controversy surrounding Mielle Organics's Rosemary Mint Scalp and Hair Strengthening Oil after influencer Alix Earle recommended the product to her millions of followers. The Black-founded hair-care company creates products specifically catering to Black hair, and the oil has been applauded for promoting hair growth and retention. So when Earle's followers — primarily white women — started raiding the minimal Black hair-care sections at stores, Black women voiced their fear. The company, which was recently acquired by P&G, led to a larger online discussion about Black-owned hair-care companies.

It's a conversation that has been raging for years. In the early 1900s, Madam C.J. Walker earned her title as America's first Black woman millionaire after creating a line of hair-care products, including a scalp-conditioning and -healing formula, that were created specifically for Black women — and they led to Walker's great success. Decades after her death, Madam by Madam C.J. Walker was relaunched in 2022 by Sundial Lever, a subsidiary of Unilever. Although some longtime supporters are hesitant to support these brands post-acquisition, Walker's great-great-granddaughter serves as the brand historian for Madam to ensure that the revived brand keeps Walker's mission intact.

You can't talk about the history of house music — and honestly, most of the dance genre — without paying homage to 1980s ballroom culture and Black queer trailblazers of the time. Before its association with white male DJs, the genre originated with queer communities during the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and the sound and culture heavily influenced Beyoncé's latest album, "Renaissance."

The album's hit single, "Break My Soul," featured vocals from New Orleans bounce artist Big Freedia that derived from their 2014 song "Explode." The artist is largely credited with popularising bounce music, which is heard throughout "Renaissance." But the album wasn't the rapper's first time working with Queen Bey. If their voice sounds familiar, you've probably also listened to them exclaim that they are here to slay in Beyoncé's empowerment anthem "Formation."

Other queer Black women, including Syd, Honey Dijon, Grace Jones, and Ts Madison, were also involved in "Renaissance"'s creation. In Beyoncé's speech at the 2023 Grammys — accepting the award for best dance/electronic music album and making history in the process — she said, "I'd like to thank the queer community for your love and for inventing this genre."

You've more than likely scrolled past popular Korean-beauty skin-care routines on TikTok. You can thank Alicia Yoon, the founder of e-commerce site Peach & Lily, for helping to bring K-beauty to the American masses. Her popular process for achieving "glass skin" includes hydrating, toning, and cleansing the face and includes 10 steps: oil-based cleanser, water-based cleanser, exfoliant, toner, essence, treatment, sheet mask, eye cream, moisturiser, and a layer of sunscreen.

After suffering from severe eczema in her youth, the beauty entrepreneur studied Korean-beauty techniques to help others achieve an effective skin-care routine. In an interview with Shondaland, Yoon noted that she takes a holistic approach to maintaining healthy skin. As she put it: "Instead of focusing on what skin looks like, I think of the skin holistically and how it is connected to the rest of our systems, like our endocrine system, the digestive system — it's a window into how the rest of your body is doing."

As one of the fastest women in the world, Florence "Flo-Jo" Griffith-Joyner broke several barriers as a Black athlete — but her exceptional taste in an acrylic set will always be just as memorable. In the 1980s, she wore various styles — from a USA diamond-studded set to bubblegum-pink nails — at her Olympic appearances, where she also set records in the 100- and 200-meter races.

Similar to hair, nails hold a lot of history in the Black community, and Flo-Jo's long, curved nails set a precedent for Black women expressing themselves via nail art. The unapologetic behaviour by Griffith-Joyner has been compared to that of American sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson, who donned a stiletto set and fiery orange hair at the 2020 Olympic trials. In an interview with the Associated Press, Richardson said that if the graceful Flo-Jo could do it, "there was no excuse why [she] couldn't have long nails."