Microtrends

Cycling through trends

Microtrends, fast fashion, alternatives have popularity among students

Emerson Elledge elledeme000@hsestudents.org

Gone are the days of eagerly awaiting the new autumnal issue of Vogue, desperate to be informed on what the hottest new fashion pieces are for the season. e season based catalogs are now o en discarded without a second thought. Now, people have access to a 24/7 catalog on phones, yet, as the old advertising style is discarded for a high tech echo of its past self, the same is done to trends as they were previously known. e already fast paced concept of seasonal trends has evolved into its more modern version: microtrends. Microtrends are trends that Microtrends are trends that gain rapid popularity in a short amount of time before short amount of time before becoming oversaturated in becoming oversaturated in culture and are discarded. Some culture and are discarded. Some recent examples of this include recent examples of this include crochet, cow print and corsets. crochet, cow print and corsets. Senior Andromeda Dundore is Senior Andromeda Dundore is a fashion enthusiast who had a fashion enthusiast who had a history of participating in a history of participating in microtrends before they realized microtrends before they realized the harm. “Microtrends are really harmful in a way that people harmful in a way that people who create, make or participate who create, make or participate in microtrends usually tend to in microtrends usually tend to just stop a er a week or two,” just stop a er a week or two,” Dundore said. “[Microtrends] Dundore said. “[Microtrends] really do contribute to fast really do contribute to fast fashion. at’s not sustainable fashion. at’s not sustainable because usually you either because usually you either nd those items [that] were nd those items [that] were a trend either at Goodwill a trend either at Goodwill “I never buy anything unless I’m a hundred percent con dent I would wear it the next day. I would have a lot of items in my hand [when shopping as a kid] and then my mom would say something like, ‘never buy anything that you won’t wear in a year or two.’ That’s how I think about everything that I buy now,” senior Andromeda Dundore said.

two weeks later or in the dumpster on their way out to pollute somewhere.” According to junior Jackson Lusk, who completed a project for AP Seminar about microtrends, buying from fast fashion companies is a simple way to participate in microtrends as they enable sweatshop labor and unsustainable clothing. However, fast fashion is o en the only realistic clothing option for people with lower income. “[Microtrends] are also a class issue,” sophomore Dani Headley said. “People who have plenty of money have the funds to buy more expensive and ethicallymore expensive and ethicallysourced clothing, while poorer sourced clothing, while poorer people may only have access to people may only have access to this cheaper clothing.” this cheaper clothing.” According to Headley, the According to Headley, the e orts that wealthier people e orts that wealthier people could make to prevent fast could make to prevent fast fashion participation, like fashion participation, like driving further to a store with driving further to a store with ethical products or purchasing ethical products or purchasing higher cost ethical products, higher cost ethical products, would be unattainable for lower would be unattainable for lower income people. income people. Lusk believes that the mass Lusk believes that the mass production of fast fashion production of fast fashion pushes out clothes with a short pushes out clothes with a short life span while also employing life span while also employing and extorting underpaid and extorting underpaid workers. workers. “Consumers have some “Consumers have some responsibility for clothing responsibility for clothing waste and unethical labor, but waste and unethical labor, but the main issue is the brands the main issue is the brands

themselves,” Headley said. “Sure, you can vow not to buy from places like Shein again, but that is not going to solve this issue in its entirety. e issues issue in its entirety. e issues are the marketing teams and the are the marketing teams and the CEOs pushing to get all these CEOs pushing to get all these clothes into production because clothes into production because they can turn a very large pro t they can turn a very large pro t for them.” Shein is one of the most prevalent fast fashion companies and rose to prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021 alone, the Shein app had 2021 alone, the Shein app had over 190 million downloads, over 190 million downloads, according to the Marketplace according to the Marketplace Pulse. For reference, the Amazon app only had 148 million downloads in the same million downloads in the same year. “Overall, the term microtrends is always going to be associated with bad things,” Dundore said. “It is associated with the idea that it is unsustainable and that everybody picks it up and then everybody picks it up and then puts it down.” A common theme with microtrends is taking the idea microtrends is taking the idea of repurposing old decades’ clothing styles and repackaging clothing styles and repackaging them into cheaper alternatives them into cheaper alternatives that will have a fraction of the that will have a fraction of the lifespan a quality clothing item lifespan a quality clothing item would. “ e idea of trying to emulate actual vintage clothing emulate actual vintage clothing is kind of silly,” Lusk said. “I understand if you’re trying to understand if you’re trying to make something that’s new a make something that’s new a new microtrend, but I think new microtrend, but I think if you’re emulating vintage if you’re emulating vintage clothing it defeats the purpose.” clothing it defeats the purpose.” e concept of trends used e concept of trends used to be based on a seasonal to be based on a seasonal basis, with trends emerging as basis, with trends emerging as the publications of seasonal the publications of seasonal magazines do, before fading into magazines do, before fading into oblivion. oblivion. “I personally don’t like the “I personally don’t like the idea of trends because what are idea of trends because what are we going to keep up with when we going to keep up with when we are like 50?” Dundore said. we are like 50?” Dundore said. “When trends don’t matter “When trends don’t matter [then], why should they matter [then], why should they matter now…the idea that every single now…the idea that every single new and uprising anything new and uprising anything needs to be a trend, it became a needs to be a trend, it became a toxic sense.” toxic sense.” Some solutions to these Some solutions to these microtrends are developing an individual style not based on others opinions on what is ‘in,’ as well as thri ing as opposed to going into a store at the mall and grabbing the coolest new thing o the rack. “Look on Depop or go onto Pinterest,” Dundore said. “Look around and see what other people are doing [to draw inspiration from],” Dundore said. “Just remember that you are shopping for the long run… When you do get sick and tired of something, go donate it, upcycle it or just use it in another way that doesn’t involve you throwing it in the trash.”