Hot, young adults are blinging out their belly buttons again. Navel piercings are back in yet another revival of a 1990s and Y2K fashion trend. Some of Gen Z’s favorite celebrities — including Billie Eilish , Doja Cat, Ice Spice, Addison Rae , Tyla and more — have been seen sporting a piercing in their midriff, though it’s not just the Zoomers bringing it back.
Millennial favorites Julia Fox and Vanessa Hudgens have also been seen leaning into the trend of their youth. And while our human Barbie Margot Robbie might not have an actual piercing, she’s been seen on the red carpet wearing a custom Schiaparelli look that featured a fitted corset gown with a navel ring on the bodice, giving an illusion of a belly button piercing. The “clean girl” aesthetic is gone and its early 2000s grunge glamour cousin is in: enter the indie sleaze revival, low-rise jeans and midriffs galore .
A lot of this can be attributed to the latest “it girl,” Charli XCX. Inspired by Charli’s newest album, Gen Z is embracing “trashy” fashion in the name of “brat summer,” which the hitmaker declared in a viral video is “a pack of cigs, a Bic lighter and a strappy white top with no bra.” Belly button piercings fall right into this cultural movement of alt-rock fashion.
Wear your pants low, show off your midriff, and add some bling while you’re at it. “It’s kind of like a love letter to the Y2K era I grew up in,” 33-year-old host and TikTok star Tefi Pessoa, who first g.
