Gen Z, millennials bring back ’90s belly button rings

Hot, young adults are blinging out their belly buttons again.

Navel piercings are back in yet another revival of a 1990s and Y2K fashion trend.

Some of Gen Z’s favorite celebrities — including Billie Eilish, Doja Cat, Ice Spice, Addison Rae, Tyla and more — have been seen sporting a piercing in their midriff, though it’s not just the Zoomers bringing it back. Millennial favorites Julia Fox and Vanessa Hudgens have also been seen leaning into the trend of their youth.

And while our human Barbie Margot Robbie might not have an actual piercing, she’s been seen on the red carpet wearing a custom Schiaparelli look that featured a fitted corset gown with a navel ring on the bodice, giving an illusion of a belly button piercing.

The “clean girl” aesthetic is gone and its early 2000s grunge glamour cousin is in: enter the indie sleaze revival, low-rise jeans and midriffs galore. A lot of this can be attributed to the latest “it girl,” Charli XCX.

Inspired by Charli’s newest album, Gen Z is embracing “trashy” fashion in the name of “brat summer,” which the hitmaker declared in a viral video is “a pack of cigs, a Bic lighter and a strappy white top with no bra.”

Belly button piercings fall right into this cultural movement of alt-rock fashion. Wear your pants low, show off your midriff, and add some bling while you’re at it.

“It’s kind of like a love letter to the Y2K era I grew up in,” 33-year-old host and TikTok star Tefi Pessoa, who first got her belly button pierced at 18 and has kept it ever since, told Marie Claire.

Software engineer Lex Spirtes got her belly button pierced last year at the age of 28 and told the outlet that it’s “a bit of a slutty sparkle to finish off any outfit.”

She added, “I’m happy that the 2000s bling and levity is here to stay.”

Though belly button piercings are trending and are super cute, it’s important to realize there is quite a bit of upkeep, and a lengthy healing process — and it can be painful.

“I would say [the pain level is] around a four or five [out of 10] with my clients based on their feedback; I would rate my own at a four or so,” Kristina Outland, a body piercer at Fiat Lux and Rose Gold in San Francisco, told Byrdie. “It’s a super quick process, which makes it very manageable.”

The healing time for a belly button piercing is six to eight months, and it’s fully healed by the 12-month mark.

However, timeframes are dependent on day-to-day lifestyle and how you’re caring for it.

Cozmo Faris, an Atlanta-based professional piercer who teaches for the Association of Professional Piercers (APP), explained to Byrdie that “timeframes will vary drastically based on body shape, activity level, and overall health.”

“Simply put, healthy people will heal faster, but piercings that are constantly moving during activities will heal slower. If I had to make a numerical estimate, I would say anywhere from six to 12 months.”