A trend is a prevailing tendency that is gradually gaining momentum and might have long-term implications. It’s different from a fad, which is a short-term burst of interest or way of being. – NPR
Hello Lovelies!!
We are all familiar with the word “trend” – whether we are reading the trending page of Twitter or watching Miranda Presley decide that cerulean blue has been done and gone – but do we ever stop and ask the bigger questions of why or how? Maybe this is the philosophy major in me speaking but whatever LISTEN UP!
Prime Examples
Trends come in all forms, whether your friends convince you to consume Tide Pods or you really want some Hunter boots because EVERYONE is wearing them, there are so many different ways that a mass group of people can do or follow the same thing. The types of trends I intend to focus on are primarily in the fashion industry.
Some big things I am noticing throughout the late summer, autumn, and early fall periods are:
Snakeskin – particularly snake skirts, shoes, and jeans
Square-toed strappy heels
The color olive (also burgundy, but this is a repeat from last year) particularly with warm pieces like sweaters
White booties – another repeat from last year
and the list could go on! Now the point I want to make is to answer why and how these “are a thing” (for those who care about this sort of thing).
BUT HOW
So in some ways, yes people like Miranda Presley propel trends into existence, but the industry is so much more than that – even more than influencers. The biggest influence on trends in the fashion industry is the follower. The person (or really many people) viewing a celebrity’s story who makes the conscious choice to buy those shoes for whatever reason (maybe they just like them) is the real reason why a trend exists in the first place. It is never really the celebrity or the first person to wear olive who makes its a thing but the person or people who approve of it and decide it’s cool.
Possibly my favorite example is biker shorts – over a year ago we saw them on Kim K with confusion flooding our minds, but now with so many micro-influencers creating their own biker short looks, it is somehow so much less weird.
AND WHY
Now why is all this important? Because so many times we are intimidated by trends. Take the hipster movement for example: the idea of going against the norm grew a following and became the thing it avoided in the first place. Sure, sometimes we desire to be like everyone else, but then we build a similar desire for originality and unique creativity.
As a content creator I follow the trends that attract me but I also posses a specific drive to invent my own design or style – and the balance between following trends and creating original content is simply difficult.
Just something to think about!
xx,
A