All hail Cool Britannia...the 90s couldn't be more back
Labour are in, Oasis have reunited, could patriotism soar or is this just nostalgia?
One of my many hyper-fixations is what life was like in the 1990s. As a 2000s baby, born 5 years into the millennium, I often fantasise about living during the 1990s in the UK. This is fuelled by some of my favourite films, Notting Hill, Love Actually, Sliding Doors, where Richard Curtis captured this magical time with the help of the dashing Hugh Grant.
The shiny excitement of the 1997 General Election, the Spice Girls, Oasis, Blur, Euro 96 all accumulated in the Cool Britannia movement. Life in the UK appeared to have peaked.
Flashing forward to 2024, Oasis has announced their reunion after 15 years, Keir Starmer’s Labour Government are officially in and the 2000s babies who didn’t experience the 90s are craving some 90s esc patriotism.
During the second half of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown’s tenure and the following 14 years of Tory reign, patriotism has plummeted. The abhorrent Iraq War, Brexit and the mess of COVID lockdown parties have all destroyed trust in the UK government. Unlike the 1997 election, a time full of excitement and hope, the UK couldn’t be more pessimistic. Even during the 2024 Euros, players had to beg England to get behind the team and stop attacking manager Gareth Southgate.
Just this month, riots destroyed areas across the UK. Racist, white supremacists took to the streets, draped in Union Jacks and England red and white, all in the name of patriotism.
We couldn’t be further from Cool Britannia if we tried.
I personally have not felt patriotic since the 2012 Olympics, a time when London and the rest of the UK came together and celebrated everything that was British. Danny Boyles's opening ceremony captured the essence of Britishness. The ceremony included Daniel Craig as British icon James Bond jumping out of a helicopter with Queen Elizabeth, performances from Paul McCartney, One Direction and The Artic Monkeys, Rowan Atkinson as Mr Bean, The Spice Girls on black cabs, Kenneth Branagh doing Kenneth Branagh things…and lots more. It was a three-hour ‘Pandemonium’, that encapsulated the rich and diverse history of Britain.
Sadly, this seems to be the last truly patriotic time in recent history.
Nostalgia fuels the obsession with Cool Britannia and the 90s. This decade is one that often comes up in different areas of culture.
Within the footballing world, the nostalgia for a life before transfer deals being spoiled by Fabrizio Romano, a time when fans could get tickets to the games at reasonable prices and those tickets were paper that could be saved, instead of disappearing barcodes.
The 90s is constantly brought up in the fashion world. Every fashion season, the 90s are referenced in some way. Relating to Cool Britannia, British designer and icon Alexander McQueen was also a prominent figure at this time. His death was a huge loss to the fashion world and many believe his death coincided with the death of true creativity within fashion. Models, collections and designers all seem to have been better during this time.
Television made during the 90s couldn’t be more loved, fan favourites being Sex and The City and Friends. The clothing and characters are constantly being referenced and recreated on social media.
People who lived in the 90s are deemed the chosen ones, the oracles. What was it like to experience this magical decade?
Well, it seems that it wasn’t that big a deal to them. The issue with nostalgia is, it comes to attack every generation. The people who got to experience the magic of Princess Diana, young Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt, didn’t really care or didn’t know what they had before it was gone.
Whilst Oasis and the Gallagher brothers are always in the conversation around Cool Britannia, any fans or observers can see that all they wanted was to be back in the ‘Swinging Sixties’. Liam gave the impression through his music and fashion, he too was yearning for the past. They were always referencing The Beatles and John Lennon, looking back at the band through the rose-coloured glasses of nostalgia and ecstasy.
When looking up Cool Britannia, it says that the era was “inspired by Swinging London from 1960s pop culture”. The era itself was created out of nostalgia for the previous time of optimism, hope and patriotism. Coming off of years of war and destruction across Europe, and then the mending of that during the 50s, the 1960s was a time when Britain could flourish.
The Swinging Sixties was its own Cool Britannia, a time of music, youth culture, fashion and Britishness. However, it was in itself a version of the Roaring Twenties. Every era has its predecessor, a simpler time to admire.
So looking back (not in anger) at Cool Britannia, it is easy to get sucked up in the cheap pints, kitten heels and Tony Blair of it all.
I am a sucker for nostalgia and I believe with the help of Oasis, we can bring the UK back together and reignite the patriotism within us all. A new Labour government, whilst not perfect, does bring new and fresh ideas to the creaking public sectors across Britain. We also have a new England manager at the helm, who too, may bring fresh ideas and carry the patriotism flag.
I definitely won’t be rushing out to buy an England flag but might be swayed by the Union Jack. Gerri Halliwell made that flag chic and I will be inclined to be patriotic if it is fashionable.