Featured in print in Lippy Magazine's 'The Lunar Issue', A/W 2021. Image credit: Ilusionism (Instagram)
Editor: Jessica Dunn Photographer: Jessica Plunkett
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Fashion, like many things in our society, falls into a cycle. Each year sees different styles à la mode and consequently out again. This year saw the resurgence of the Y2K aesthetic; pink baby tees and low-waisted jeans were plastered all over social media. Much to the shock, excitement, or disdain of millennial and Gen Z generations, searches for Y2K on Lyst were up by 450% during the pandemic.
Recently, this cycle has accelerated tenfold, and styles have gone in and out of fashion in the blink of an eye. How does this fit into sustainability?
Despite reports of rapid growth in the sustainable fashion market, why are fast fashion brands, such as ASOS, managing to triple their profits to record highs? According to a 2020 report by First Insight, 73% of Gen Z consumers surveyed were willing to pay more for sustainable products, more than every other generation. Many report that Gen Z may just be the most conscious consumers out there, often opting for vintage or second-hand buys above new items. With the average UK consumer purchasing 27.6kg of clothing a year (10kg more than any other nationality) the amount of waste generated continues to increase exponentially. How can this slow fashion model work in tandem with this rapid trend cycle, and is fashion even sustainable when microtrends leave as fast as they appear? In this digital age, social media creates the perfect recipe for overconsumption. Gen Z is the most digitally advanced generation yet. With more information at their fingertips than ever before comes the chance to show- off and explore self-expression. Fashion is one way to do this that millions have turned to.
In 2019 and 2020, publications such as Dazed and Teen Vogue were suggesting the end of the influencer age. However, thanks to the popularity of platforms such as TikTok during lockdown, fashion influencers have become more prevalent than ever. Anyone can be inspired by creativity, post their outfits and respond to trends at the touch of a button. Social media has evolved to make buying garments easier, with the ability to purchase in-app only further speeding up the buying process. This, coupled with the rapid fashion trend cycle is where the popularity of ‘microtrends’, ‘must-have’ specific items of clothing have come in.
Perhaps the most recognisable example of a fashion microtrend, popularised mainly by TikTok, is House of Sunny’s famous Hockney dress. The green knitted dress, once part of a small London-based boutique, blew up during lockdown in 2020 where it appeared behind every corner on our daily scroll. Retailing for £98, the dress was inaccessible to many. Here came the cheap knockoffs and dupes from the likes of Shein and other controversial fast fashion mass producers. Thousands of the dresses were bought, only never to be seen again, or at least that is what today’s social media algorithms would have you believe. Microtrends aren’t always necessarily specific items either, but particular styles such as ‘coconut girl’ or ‘avant basic’ have also flooded search bars in Pinterest and Depop, only to also be forgotten a month or so later.
So is this simply consumers following harmless trends, or does it unknowingly fall into a much larger problem in fashion that needs to be addressed? According to Forbes, “the pandemic didn’t start the sustainability revolution, but it has put it into hyperdrive, and Gen Z is in the driver’s seat”, so how have Gen Z fallen victim to this hyper-accelerated trend cycle fuelling mass consumption?
With increased external perception felt through digital presences, last-season items become ‘cheugy’ and unwearable faster than ever. This is a ploy consumer culture loves and keeps buyers spending their disposable income all year, when in fact, there is no real need for new cheaply produced clothes. Keeping up with trends takes buyers money and is often at the cost of the environment and garment workers, but with societal pressures, greenwashing and advertising everywhere you look, following these trends and making that purchase becomes unavoidable. Microtrends are a manifestation of our society’s obsession with overconsumption and this cycle needs to be slowed down desperately.
Overconsumption, not to be blamed on consumers themselves, but the society which forces participation in this model, is responsible for the majority of the UK’s clothes waste. According to the Ellen McArthur Foundation, a staggering $500 billion is lost each year due to under-use of garments and the lack of recycling. Acknowledgement of this cycle when purchasing new clothes can prompt us to consider whether something is really worth the money, or whether we may just be being influenced by marketing campaigns and influencers. We should be able to admire and acknowledge the cycle whilst working to slow it down. We must use our power as consumers to challenge brands and question their greenwashing. Only then will we be able to advocate for sustainable and ethical conditions in fashion.
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