In 2015 nightlife, you have a galaxy of bold and exciting choices for wardrobe, like black jeans, black T-shirts, black dress shirts, black shoes, black boots and black hats. Get the idea? Long gone are the days of stumbling to a club in a neon baggy chained pant, a skin-tight iridescent button up and carnival-style face paint. You just don’t see it anymore. Nobody is making their 4 a.m. commute from some underground event thrown by someone with an inaudible sound as their name... right? RIGHT? Wrong. Although the first part was true, in the typical, more reserved scene, straight and gay patrons alike are hitting the town dressed like a solar eclipse, based on their single stream media-induced notion of ‘chic’. (You can thank Kim and Kanye for that.) But if you delve a little deeper, you’ll find this fun-loving, social, artistic expression has been slowly making a comeback since the minute it went away.

If you’re thinking EDC, Ultra, and Tomorrowland – the popular electronic dance music festivals known for loud music, loud fashion and loud personalities – to put it bluntly, you’re still wrong. While certainly getting warmer, you have a way to go. This crowd – although many indeed artists and individuals,with bold looks including fur legwarmers, metallic bikinis, and 100+ beaded bracelets – is still a subculture all their own. The music is at the forefront of their mind at these events, and the looks come second. They see these festivals as an opportunity to experience a DJs’ artistic expression, letting their own take the back seat, whereas major metropolitan city kids attend weekly parties, frequently dancing to the same lesser-known DJ as both the stars and the spectators of the show.

The 1980s and 1990s were a colorful time of Peter Gatien’s reign over the NYC drug-infused club scene where these unique looks came about. To narrow it down to any one specific style would be impossible. Today, the same is to be said. As fashion-conscious 20-somethings roam the city, they make themselves visible in the sea of equally competent and demographically identical individuals with their standout expressions several nights a week. We’ve seen seemingly every era, culture, idea,and design appropriated, repurposed, reduced, reused and recycled to the point where occasionally it feels as though it’s all been done to death – for approximately 24 hours. Then you look around the next night at 2 a.m. and discover the young creatives have taken it further. They’re doing it better, making it new, trying it over and succeeding wonderfully.

It is not a matter of whether or not the club kid aesthetic is here to stay, because it truly never left. Gaining attention through social media and articles (such as this one) just puts this tribe of forward-thinkers in the confused squinting eye of the general public. Rightfully claiming attention from mainstream media and fashion professionals, the kids are now in control. They’re more influential than you think, and you’ll slowly start noticing the impact of this unique style filter into to several everyday wear collections. If this raises concern for you, we’re sorry. But as the saying goes, if you can’t beat them, join them – in VIP with bottle service.

Photos: Papermag, Gayletter