Low-rise jeans came back. Baby tees came back. Chunky trainers, tiny sunglasses, the lot. So it
was only a matter of time before the loudest accessory of the 2000s slid back into the spotlight— grillz.
If you’ve noticed more shine in people’s smiles lately, you’re not imagining it. Grillz are riding the Y2K wave, and this time they’re styled with a fresh eye.
Why the 2000s look refuses to die
Gen Z grew up scrolling through millennium-era photos and decided the early 2000s actually
had it figured out. The bold, unapologetic, slightly-too-much energy of that era is exactly what feels fun again right now.
Grillz sit right in the centre of that mood. They were never subtle, and that’s the appeal. In a sea of minimalist “quiet luxury,” a flash of gold when you smile says something completely different— it says you came to be seen.
How grillz evolved since the 2000s
The biggest shift is range. Back then, the look leaned heavily maximalist — full sets, fully iced, no notes. Today it’s a spectrum.
You’ve got people wearing a single tooth as a quiet, almost accidental flex. You’ve got open-face designs that frame the teeth instead of covering them. You’ve got matte finishes, mixed metals, and custom shapes that didn’t really exist in the mainstream two decades ago.
The point is, “grillz” no longer means one specific look. It means your look — dialled up or stripped back, however loud you want to be.
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