Why Spice Girls is still relevant for every girl in their 20s

Once upon a time, five girls became friends... and the rest, quite literally, became history. 

David Beckham’s docu-series on Netflix, spanning his personal and professional life, brought a smile to our faces for many reasons; one of them was being reminded of another magical moment in history that will eternally inspire us—the formation of Spice Girls.

In 1994, five young girls, Geraldine Estelle Halliwell, Victoria Beckham (née Victoria Adams), Melanie Janine Brown, Melanie Jayne Chisholm, and Emma Lee Bunton responded to an advertisement in a British trade magazine placed by Heart Management to form a 'manufactured' female pop group and were chosen out of hundreds of girls who auditioned. Thus was born the Spice Girls. 

While they were not the most discerning singers or dancers, the Spice Girls worked wonderfully for they were performers. Loud and buoyant, whimsical and fun, sexy and joyous, perhaps even consciously brash—their first single, Wannabe (July 1996), went on to grab the number one spot in over 30 countries. They stopped being five girls who sang together and evolved into icons resonating with their nicknames—Ginger Spice, Posh Spice, Scary Spice, Sporty Spice, and Baby Spice. They became personas that every fan wholesomely fell in love with.

What makes them eternally iconic?

As their debut and second albums Spice and Spiceworld broke records by becoming the fastest-selling albums by a girl group, the Spice Girls became a part of the collective psyche of young 20-something-year-old girls. Spice Girls became an unavoidable visual of the joys of being a young girl—of having fun, being spontaneous, making mistakes and surviving them, and at the very core of it all, living in the moment and not caring about how society thought a girl should live her life. 

With their glamorously chaotic music videos, rambling lyrics, and out-of-the-world fashion choices, they inspired millions of young girls to boldly and magnificently live their lives the way they wanted.  

What makes them eternally relevant?

While they disbanded in 2001, they left behind a message so powerful that it will never go out of style; loving your girlfriends. 

At its core, the Spice Girls were five young girls brought together by fate and they formed a bond that they valued more than anything else. Everything that these girls created was about celebrating sisterhood. In flamboyantly teaching young girls to live their lives loudly and proudly and to honour their female friendships, they introduced girl power at a grassroots level at a time when it was hard for women to place these two words together. 

Spice Girls has left behind a legacy that will forever guide a young 20-something girl through the ups and downs of life.