Remember back when you were young, when your mom would take you to amusement parks like Disney World? She would wear a fanny pack clipped around her waist to store small trip essentials. She was always prepared for anything with granola bars, Band-Aids, a small bottle of sunscreen, sani-wipes for sticky fingers, and camera batteries stored in that imitation kangaroo pouch. She probably thought she was stylish and practical, but fashion soon would disagree. The fanny pack had rocketed onto the fashion scene in the 80s along with other questionable trends like perms and shoulder pads, but was eventually relegated to moms and tourists in the nineties. A humorous photograph of Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson sporting a fanny pack in 1994 has surfaced in many popular Internet memes poking fun at the outdated fashion. The once popular fanny packs have been the butt of jokes for the last twenty years.
Now, the rebirth of the fanny pack into fashion is upon us. According to Vogue fashion writer Bob Hoste, fashion moguls and popular female celebrities including Kim Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid, and Rihanna have been seen bringing the old hip pack back from the grave. Fanny packs also made an appearance on the runway at New York Fashion Week in 2017. As seen in last weekend’s Justin Timberlake Super Bowl LII Half Time Show, the fanny pack is alive and well as a back up dancer for Timberlake sported a vibrant orange fanny pack on national television. High-end designers including Gucci, Michael Kors, Kate Spade, Fenty, Chanel, Prada, and Versace have all come out with various styles of fanny packs. Rather than refer to their fashion fanny packs as “fanny packs”, these high-end designers have labeled their fanny packs as “belt bags” to avoid the age-old stigma of the fanny pack. Disney Style is ready for the return of the fanny pack with a cute collection of character themed packs, according to Disney Style Contributor Ilana Gelfand. Moms can again wear fanny packs to parks like Disney World and be considered fashion forward.
The new love for fanny packs extends even beyond the fashion industry into regular use. In eBay’s News Team’s “Top Shopped 17 for ’17” report, throwback streetwear, including old 80s and 90s trends like fanny packs, Champion sweatshirts, Adidas Superstar, the Reebok Classic, and the Nike Cortez, asserted its number nine spot on the list. According to the report, more than 57 thousand fanny packs were purchased in 2017. They are back, and they are better than ever. So what has made the once mocked accessory a new fashion go to? Rachel Aschenbrand-Robinson,a writer from The Fashion Spot, attributes the revival of this old fashion faux pas to athleisure trends and a move towards functional fashion. Robinson also says that the new love for the fanny pack follows along with the recent love for mini bags. The trend seems practical considering the shift to leggings and other pocket-less pants in women’s fashion. Soon we’ll be seeing fanny packs all around campus in every day life.
Senior Bloomsburg University student and fanny pack trendsetter, Mary McGonigle, has been proudly supporting the fanny pack for years. Mary was the historian for the Orientation Workshop Leaders, and could frequently be seen rocking her fanny pack during move-in weekend and orientation. When asked why she chooses to wear a fanny pack, Mary replied, “I wear a fanny pack because they are a great way to carry all of your essentials, without having the hassle of straps from purses or backpacks that constantly slide down your arms. And since they are in front of you, everything is so much easier and faster to grab when you need them. Not to mention some of them are super cute since they are coming back in style!”
How long will we have to wait before the University store will start selling husky fanny packs?