Is grunge back? Yes it is, but as with all fashion trends that reappear, there are differences. Jude Hathaway takes a look.
While young trendies are excited about the arrival of neo-grunge style, many who were there the first time around are looking askance at the fashion development.
''But the '90s were 'my time'. If grunge is back I suddenly feel depressingly old,'' said one.
But as with any reboot of a trend, grunge's latest metamorphosis has taken a different path with the aesthetic.
Wind back to when the '90s grunge looks were cobbled together.
The layering of flannel, ripped jeans, checked bush-style plaid shirts, over-sized T-shirts and boots or a mish-mash of big hand-knitted jerseys teamed with long cotton skirts and obligatory boots was at the heart of it.
This was op shop ''picked up off the floor'' dressing where true followers gave the impression they were catching a bus to nowhere.
It had germinated in 1991 when Kurt Cobain and his band Nirvana released their album Nevermind.
They were then four young musicians in their early 20s from Washington state on the rural US west coast.
The album had a huge influence on the music and fashion scenes, including Dunedin designer Margarita Robertson, who established an international name through her love of deconstruction and layering.
''The music scene of the late '80s, early '90s definitely was a consideration in the way we dressed. Anti-establishment was everywhere, punks and grunge became so acceptable, especially in the environment in Dunedin where homegrown music was having its heyday.
"We could dress individually, the more customised the garments were the better.''
At the time, the Seattle grunge aesthetic prompted some fashion critics to write that with grunge all about not making a statement, it was crazy that it should be making any sort of fashion statement at all.
''Grunge,'' said James Truman, editor in chief of Details, ''is unlike punk in that, this did have a strong anti-fashion message.''
Many who dressed in grunge style were adolescents.
One of those was English actress Sophie Dahl who later, in an interview with Vogue said ''the style was perfect for that awkward stage of adolescence, layers that one could shrug off and hide behind - an armour of sorts''.
Notable Belgium designer Jean Paul Gaultier saw it from a different viewpoint, telling Vogue that grunge was nothing more than ''the way we dress when we have no money''.
But that was the ''grunge-grunge'' of the '90s from which layering and a mix-up of fabrics was born. Its first re-emergence was seen about 2003 with a return in popularity of grunge music.
Then last year, the 2013 northern hemisphere autumn shows saw design houses, including Dries van Noten, House of Holland, Hedi Slimane for Saint Laurent and Marc Jacobs, send models down the runway in expensive floaty dresses worn with oversized check jackets and home-knitted-style cardis.
This was a nod to the grunge movement, while presenting their own sophisticated, contemporary take on the era.
And so ''neo-grunge'' or ''fashion-grunge'' (the latter has been described more than once as an oxymoron), is here.
Local store owners are taking the new style in their stride.
Amy Henderson at Slick Willy's loves the new grunge look coming through.
''I've always been a fan of denim and now that chambray is also back I'm taking up the motto 'chambray every day','' she said.
Carlson store manager Debbie Lundy, a lover of op shops and the original grunge aesthetic, believes that today the style is more about clever layering and styling.
On Saturday, she looked the model of a fashion shop manager in black sleek Carlson pants teamed with a short blue waist-hugging jacket under which was a pink silk blouse.
The latter garments came from an op shop at a cost of $6.
''Today it's about the startling looks that can be developed by wearing a luxurious Carlson dress of a light fabric, under an oversized hand-knitted cardi or jersey and heavy boots.
"There's a tension and quirkiness that when done well is pretty compelling.''
Quickly she showed how neo-grunge can be all about the styling of a raft of new spring garments.
She pulled singlets, jerseys and cardigans off the racks.
These she teamed with Carlson's casual merino Vespa pants.
The completed outfit had all the hallmarks of insouciant grunge styling for those who keep their wardrobes pristine through regular clean-outs and abhor old threads hanging around.
''It's a matter of layering and learning how to get a look together,'' Debbie said.
Some New Zealand designers have included grunge-inspired pieces in their latest collections.
Both plaid and chambray, which were two prominent features of the '90s grunge wardrobe, are included in Moochi's Nevermind spring range, but with inevitable adaptations.
''We've taken our cue from '90s grunge style, but with the use of soft feminine checks, soft chambrays and modern digital floral prints our Nevermind look is a grown-up, dressed up and wearable take on the original signature styles,'' creative director Kellie Taylor said.
One of the most recognisable symbols of the era was the plaid button-down shirt, often in dark red, blues or greys and defined by masculine, oversized shapes.
Moochi has designed its Prize Shirt button-down with a softer, more feminine look bringing in both cotton plaid and chambray fabrics.
Denim manufacturers are also recognising the trend.
The leading-edge Australia design team for Lee, which incidentally includes two Kiwis - Nicholas Driver, originally from Moeraki (men's denim designer) and Cerese Campbell, of Wanganui (women's denim designer) - has just launched its We Were There spring and summer range that returns to the '90s with its distressed denim shorts, jeans and overalls and the chambray shirts reflecting the ''rough around the edges'' looks of the era.
The range takes a retrospective look at a landmark era and the leading music festival of its time, Lollapalooza in 1994, ''where ripped up blues and cut-off shorts were all thrown into the arena at once''.
With the emergence of its new fashion edge, grunge has taken an interesting turn.
The question is will this also stimulate a resurgence of the original, raw rag-bag grunge that some fashion authorities say has never really gone away.
