The Beginning
It began with the puka shell necklace in 2019, a status symbol sure to mark you as a “VSCO” girl. Scrunchies lined wrists, and hallways worldwide squeaked with the sound of Crocs. Brands involved in this trend, such as Pura Vida, Crocs, and Fjallraven, experienced significant boosts in sales. However, as 2020 approached, the VSCO girl style became obsolete, and “Cottagecore” made its way into the lives of trend followers. That meant bright colors and flamboyant lifestyles were out, and wholesome, more reserved pieces were in. This is one of the many trend cycles churning out items that don’t stay in style for more than a year. And the trend timeline is only getting shorter…
How does it work?
“Fast Fashion.” It’s quite the buzzword these days, but what does it really mean?
Merriam-Webster defines “Fast Fashion” as “an approach to the design, creation, and marketing of clothing fashions that emphasizes making fashion trends quickly and cheaply available to consumers.” While having new clothes for affordable prices seems like an ideal situation, the environmental impact is disastrous. Fast fashion brands such as Shein and H&M constantly produce low-quality clothes that align with microtrends, trends that have extremely short lifespans. Once society, particularly on social media, decides these microtrends are over, clothes are thrown out, never to be worn again.
Where does it come from?
But what is the source of these microtrends, and why do we follow them?
Of course, the answer is social media, and most predominantly, TikTok. Influencers constantly post content about the hot new product or cutest viral top, and people place their orders right away. For example, you might be familiar with names like Demetra Dias, Katie Fang, and Alix Earle. Videos are uploaded discussing either products they genuinely like or possible brand deals they’ve received and been paid to post about. A Wall Street Journal article writes about Demetra, “When the teen influencer posted about Amaré’s Valentine’s Day leggings and tops, the collection sold out in an hour, grossing about $90,000 in sales.”
How it becomes bad
Consumers are bound to be influenced on what to purchase by the internet, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It can inspire people to explore new styles and share ideas with different groups. The story takes a turn for the worse, though, when purchases are made for the sole reason that the item is trending, and the shopper doesn’t like the item for what it is. This is what leads to the short wear time and generates the most waste.
But wait! It’s not too late
Alas, there is hope for the future. When people shop mindfully, with the intention of re-wearing their pieces for years to come, the cycle begins to slow down. Longer-lasting trends, too, can expand the lifetime of clothes and halt waste production.
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