Fashion became a question of "which designer?" with extremely varied styles. In the early 1990s, the Belgian designers Anne Demeulemeester and Martin Margiela started a new style direction with the advent of the grunge and poor-boy look, making Antwerp, which housed designers Dries Van Noten, Dirk Bikkembergs, and Walter Van Beirendock as well, the new fashion center. The English designer Vivianne Westwood finally received international recognition for her daring reinterpretations of historical styles. London newcomers John Galliano and Alexander McQueen established themselves as chief designers at, respectively, Christian Dior and Givenchy in Paris. Jean-Paul Gaultier continued to be very successful with his underwear fashions, particularly with Madonna at its center. The fashion palette of the Italian designer Gianni Versace spanned from neo-baroque patterns to bondage style, while the house of Gucci, under the direction of the Texan Tom Ford, combined purism and eroticism. Miuccia Prada caught on, with her "bad taste" style, and a successful relaunching of past styles. Giorgio Armani remained the master of purism, while Dolce & Gabbana celebrated women's eroticism with black lingerie and animal prints. Jill Sanders, of Hamburg, perfected her minimalism to international acclaim. The Austrian designer Helmut Lang established himself in New York; his transparent layer look and his mini-malistic lines gave new stimulus to fashion. Alongside the designers, supermodels, like Claudia Schiffer, Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, and Cindy Crawford, were central to all fashion events.

In everyday fashion, leggings, in all colors and patterns, dominated at the beginning of the decade. Worn under stylishly transparent, calf-length skirts and long blazers in multi-colored blockings, leggings covered the legs discretely. The transparent look appeared somewhat in mainstream fashion, layered over lace bodysuits, bustiers, and bras. Towards the end of the decade, crinkled shirts, ragged hems, and inside-out seams were accepted. The baguette bag, publicized by Fendi, brought the handbag, after two decades of backpacks, into fashion's center stage.

The marketing of brand names became increasingly important: adults favoring Louis Vuitton, Hermes, or Escada, and teenagers of both sexes favoring sportswear brands like Diesel, Chiemsee, Burton, Nike, Adidas, or Levis. The Italian fashion manufacturer Benetton stimulated heated controversies over its advertising.

Men's fashion was also increasingly determined by designers with clearly differentiated styles, ranging from Giorgio Armani's loosely cut suits to Hemut Lang's body-conscious, relatively high-necked suits and narrow trousers with a satin band on their outward-facing leg seams. Baggy pants and extra-large shirts remained popular with the younger generation. Cargo pants were introduced in 1999 as sportswear.