This year marks 20 years since the release of the first “Twilight” novel. The franchise quickly took the world by storm, becoming a global cultural phenomenon of the 2000s and early 2010s.
Twilight is widely beloved, not only for its brooding love triangle and unforgettable characters, but also because of the aesthetic it cultivated. Unique and daring, it encapsulated everything about 2000s fashion trends and vampire-inspired grunge.
The “Twilight”-esque look is defined by dark-wash boot cut jeans, long sleeve henley tops, layering, wired earbuds, Uggs, smoky makeup, high-top converse, simple hairstyles, cable-knit sweaters and a palette of dark, muted colors.
Bella Swan, the main character in the Twilight franchise, embodies this understated, somber style which has since become synonymous with cozy fall fashion. Today on Tiktok, users often curate “Bella Swan-inspired outfits” and treat her style as a blueprint for autumn looks.
Other characters in the franchise also provide their own unique sense of style. Alice Cullen contributed to the pixie cut and short hair trend, as well as vests and sweater vests. Similarly, Edward Cullen defined 2000s fashion for men. The spiked hair, sunglasses and collared jacket were truly a staple in this 2000s franchise.
This vampire-inspired aesthetic is not only unique to “Twilight,” but also appears in other popular 2000s vampire media, such as “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (1997-2003) and “The Vampire Diaries” (2009-2017). These series, like “Twilight,” were largely inspired by the aesthetic of 90s grunge, which was similarly rooted in layering, dark, muted tones and minimal styling.
The immense popularity of 2000s vampire media helped catapult this style into mainstream culture and has since cemented itself as a memorable and distinct aesthetic that embodies fall fashion.
