Fashion has been a master at creating hyperventilating moments and multimillion-pound spectacles, but this season, leading creatives have pared back presentations to usher in sustainable fashion. There are different terms that connect fashion and sustainability, such as ecological fashion and ethical fashion. As 2020 draws to a close, the participants in a grassroots effort and petition to slow down the fashion system say its more than 600 signatories — an array of independent fashion industry participants. Fashion trends are cyclical, coming and going in five stages: introduction, increase, peak, decline, and obsolescence.
The biggest trends in fashion today are ones no one wants to be seen in, such as vastly increased clothing production and declining use, massive levels of social media influencers, and the talent deficit. The fashion industry is currently facing significant economic and geopolitical challenges, and suppliers and brands can adapt and thrive by adapting and embracing new rules across jurisdictions. Challengers, led by Shein and Temu, are changing tactics around price, customer experience, and speed.
The rapid turnover contributes to a culture of overconsumption and waste, and the pandemic amplified consumer desire for slow fashion. Brands that follow the patterns of the past are losing momentum. The lack of sustainability in fashion creates a cycle of decade trends spinning faster than ever before. Slow fashion is about more than taking time and making clothing last; it represents a philosophy that emphasizes sustainable sourcing, manufacturing, and sales. The slow fashion model is gaining momentum, and fashion trends can be seen in terms of needs, available resources, new value exchanges, and lifestyles.
📹 Fast Fashion Trends: Why We Have To Change Our Fashion Habits | Francisca Niemeyer | TEDxYouth@TBSRJ
From a consumerist’s perspective, Francisca Niemeyer explores the dangers of fast fashion and how to develop your own style.
Why is fast fashion bad in 2024?
Fast fashion is a significant contributor to environmental pollution, with clothing made from poor materials like polyester, plastic, and fossil fuels, which do not decompose and end up in landfills or waterways. These clothes can break down into microplastics, further polluting the planet. The carbon footprint of fast fashion is intense, with most production occurring in the United States, Canada, and Europe.
It is important to recognize the desire to buy unnecessary items and instead opt for second-hand or high-quality materials like cotton when shopping. This is not about shaming those who cannot afford sustainable clothing but about promoting sustainable shopping habits.
Is the fashion industry declining or growing?
The US fashion industry is expected to reach $358. 7 billion in 2024, a 2. 1 growth rate from 2023. This is a slowdown from the previous year, which saw a 7. 8-fold expansion in 2023. The industry’s growth rate has fluctuated over the past few years, with 2019’s growth rate of 1. 7 and 2020’s 7. 8-fold decline due to the coronavirus pandemic. The closure of brick-and-mortar stores due to local regulations led to a decline in visitors and sales, making 2024 the only time the industry is projected to shrink between 2019 and 2028.
Why switch to slow fashion?
Slow fashion is a movement advocating for environmental and social justice in the fashion industry, focusing on the issue of overproduction and overconsumption. It emerged after the “slow food” movement, which focused on selling more and making more money. Kate Fletcher, a fashion and sustainability journalist, first introduced the term in a 2007 article for The Ecologist. Slow fashion aims to create a more conscious approach where designers, buyers, retailers, and consumers are aware of the impacts of products on workers, communities, and ecosystems. Supporting the unsustainable model of fast fashion production only worsens the problem.
What is the 20-year rule trend?
The 20-year rule is a fashion trend cycle that occurs every 20 years. It is the time it takes for a trend to die and reemerge. This rule is exemplified by the recent resurgence of Y2K trends, such as the tracksuit from the Noughties and 20th-century punk, glam rock, and goth. Trends are introduced on catwalks, red carpets, or television shows, and eventually become popular mainstream clothing. Eventually, the original trend is reintroduced, reaffirming its popularity.
Why are fashion trends getting shorter?
As we emerge from the pandemic, we are rediscovering our love for fashion and taking the opportunity to reinvent ourselves. Some trends that are homogenizing our current trend cycles include neutral athleisure-wear, the North Face jacket, and Y2K pieces pushed by fast fashion retailers. One emerging trend in the past half decade is dopamine dressing, which involves vibrant colors, exaggerated silhouettes, and humorous details.
We will also see a return of old-school glamour, emphasizing femininity and sex appeal. The upcycling style will become more high-end with decadent patchworks, strategically placed applique patches, and Japanese-inspired visible mending.
For timeless dressing, Rogers recommends blending eras to create something new, while Harman recommends shopping your wardrobe to re-discover gems and avoid falling into the fast fashion cycle. In the end, trends are something you wear for a limited amount of time before they fall into obsolescence. Opting for a wardrobe that transcends the current trends is the best way to beat the trend cycles.
Why is clothing such bad quality now?
The rise of mass production and synthetic materials has made it difficult to buy well-made clothes, despite their high cost. Fast fashion has normalized cheaper methods and fabrics, risking the loss of dressmaking and tailoring skills. Susan Dimasi, founder and designer of Material By Product, believes that quality pieces exist but are rare. She emphasizes the importance of fine cloth, which starts with the cloth itself, from the weave to the yarn to the dyeing process.
Quality materials should have an even finish, substantial weight, and bounce back when rubbed between fingers or stretched apart. As we enter a third decade of ultra-fast production, it is crucial to know what you’re looking for to ensure the best quality and craftsmanship.
Why has fashion not changed over the years?
The aesthetic differences between the 60s and 80s, or the 70s and 90s, are so strong that it is difficult to tell a movie’s time period based solely on what someone is wearing. This may be due to the relatively little change in societal structures and power dynamics during this time. comedian Brendon Lemon suggests that fashion and art haven’t changed in almost 30 years because we have been trapped in the same neoliberal, late capitalist system since the early 90s.
The 20th century was a more tumultuous time with significant changes in politics, art, and culture. Over the last two decades, advancing technology has disrupted our attention spans and consumerism has infiltrated our daily lives, leading to a mind-numbing, amnesiac loop. Popular culture has become more derivative, relying more on nostalgia and being less able to imagine anything different.
The ubiquity of fashion and beauty trends in the past is another factor to consider. In the 80s, everyone had a “trendy” haircut, even parents and grandparents. Today, middle-aged people are less likely to engage with trends as they did in past decades. As a result, the younger generation of 2023 is following microtrends on TikTok, while older people and those outside large cities are less likely to engage with trends.
Is slow fashion becoming more popular?
Sustainable fashion has gained popularity due to growing awareness of environmental and social issues in the industry. Consumers are becoming more conscious of their purchasing decisions and seeking brands that align with their values. Examples of sustainable fashion practices include using organic and recycled materials, implementing fair labor practices, reducing carbon emissions and water usage, and promoting transparency in the supply chain.
Why are old trends coming back?
Fashion trends often repeat due to generational changes, with designers influenced by their parents’ styles. In the coming decade, we can expect to see styles from the 1990s and 2000s, such as bare midriffs, chunky highlights, headbands, chokers, cargo pants, boot-cut jeans, layered tank tops, and halter tops. Some styles, like denim jackets, never go out of fashion, and can be styled in various ways. The fashion cycle, which includes the five stages of a style’s life, helps maintain its popularity and relevance in the industry.
How long does it take for fashion trends to change?
The 20-year rule refers to the fashion cycle that repeats every 20 years, with trends ranging from “love it” to “hate it” and back to “love it”. This cycle is influenced by nostalgia, but trends often first appear on people too young to have nostalgic associations. This is because every two decades, a new generation of young adults emerges, experimenting and defining their styles. They often lean towards clothing styles that feel “new” and “retro”, which leads them to watch older series and films, which provide them with a better understanding of the culture and its style. This leads to them wearing trends of the past, which is considered overshooting and not long enough.
📹 Why Did Fashion Stop Changing?
Malcolm and Simone have an insightful discussion about why fashion has changed so little since the 1990s, unlike the dramatic …
I also think it’s related to people living longer. The older gen are still very much in power in their 70s while their kids are entering 50 with no sign of getting that spot for another 10 years. I think the Queen of England passing is a great example, she lived so long in power that her replacement was also old because he has been waiting for so long. Before an upstart for the next gen was their parents inheritance (whether through will or life insurance) but now, on average, you’re not gonna see that money until your already fairly old yourself. So no real changes can happen until the oldest gen fully retires. Most mainstream fashion, entertainment, tech, are pushing nostalgia. “Everything was better in the 90s” because we never left. We’re like a muddy pond that was once pretty but no longer flowing and started to bog down from our own achievements.
I think the huge corporations are to blame. There is less and less space for the young entrepreneurs to succeed. Especially in the creative sector. That means even those who do succeed are playing it safe without trying too many new things. Everything is becoming more automated and more uniformed as the time progresses.
regarding the new stars thing. i think there are lots of new people around, its just that they emerge out of social media platforms and mostly stay within their layers of influence. there are masses of minecraft youtube people that could be considered stars from the perspective of their audience. Maybe there are less “superstars”, but even then there are people like Zendaya, tom holland, timothée chalamet, billie eilish etc..
Reflecting on my experiences in fashion, particularly from my days as a shoe designer and through discussions with my wife, who’s a designer of luxury bespoke womenswear, I’ve seen a big shift in how fashion evolves. I was born in London in 1969, and was surrounded by the sounds of the music of my parents which was reggae, calypso, soul, funk but also glam rock, and later, genres like punk, new wave, and early hip-hop. This range of music was mirrored in the fashions, with each style unique to its region and time. However, with globalization and the internet, fashion trends now spread worldwide in the blink of an eye, I reckon! This rapid dissemination leads to a uniformity, a ‘global style’ that contrasts sharply with the distinct regional trends of the past, like I used to see in India, Hong Kong and Thailand. The rise of fast fashion has made so called ‘trendy’ clothing accessible, but it also quickens the pace at which trends come and go, leading to a homogenization of styles, a real shame in my opinion!
Trad-wife used to be called a house wife or stay-at-home mother and universally piled on and discriminated against.As for the changes in fashion, what I noticed is that what became fashionable is the recycling fashions from previous historical periods as a function of nostalgia for the past currently seen in Gen Z, especially for the 80s and 90s, which is great for me as I can still wear what Iiked to wear in my teens and be cool. 😀
I totally disagree with this article. Textiles and clothing were like the first things that were subject to industrialization and globalization. The American south literally thought they could get Britain to support them during the civil war sense they were their main supplier of cotton for their textile factories and the British said no thanks and started importing cotton from India. If you look at actual photos of everyday life from like the 1950s to present, and not pictures from music articles or fashion adds or present day exaggerations of what we think exemplifies fashion from a particular time period, fashion doesn’t change nearly as much as you think it does.
I have the answer to “when” but not “why.” We could debate all we want as to when fashion, meaning clothing, has stopped having major changes, but at a sufficient minimum, I would say at least late 1946, which was after World War 2. But to be more practical, I would say late 1986 would be the point when major changes in fashion has stopped. When compared to the 80s and before, the 90s (starting with late 1992) ARE the same as today for the most part. But to be fair, I would say early 2003 and mid 1993 are essentially identical.
So you’re saying . . . as the production of something becomes ‘optimised’ the possibilities for variation from the optimum plummet. ie Optimising cars for minimal wind resistance comes to mind. Another analogy I recall is Brachiopod fossils. There was a tendency for a persistent (10M’s to 100M years) (root) species occupying a given ocean niche to spin off short lived species with wildly different shell ornamentation that evolve to occupy nearby niches (say muddier or stonier). Ultimately, though, the root species didn’t have the genetic potential (constrained by path dependence) for a new species derived from it to optimally exploit such niches and eventually a different animal family (Gastropoda bivalvia) has taken over. So, if you want to gather social influence, there is maybe 2 paths: 1) become an excellent Youtube (or Tiktok) influencer, who accidentally optimises for the selection algorthim (say “Primitive Technology”) or who deliberately optimises for the selection algorthim (say “Mr Beast”) 2) think differently about social influence (ie how do bivalves differ from brachiopods? Physiologically, life strategy, ?) My thought for you (@SimoneandMalcolm), in looking at current North American society post covid is to focus towards both the current pre-K and homeschooling (pro-family/anti-orthodoxy) move and towards the emergence of AI ie build a trial AI tutor. I expect lots of other people are thinking this, so maybe seek them out. An AI is the way to get away from the Baumol effect of needing human teachers (ie to industrial scale personalised teaching).
Fun to listen! The pajama-uniform of Starfleet was the first thing I thought of, particulary how it could represent some kind of utopian end goal in the ever increasing pursuit (worship?) of comfort. Comfort somehow considered a defacto measure of embracing individual freedoms (no longer felt otherwise?). Wearing actual pajamas to college classes is now arguably on the verge of passe… perhaps knowing continued relevance only as a statement of anti-establishment tribal/clique alliance… a one-size-fits-all protest by fuzzy slippers. The internet celebrating its spread to Walmart customers as prized entertainment. I feel fashion has reached a similarity to the “indicator species” of biology, as establishes local environmental expectations, in this case including behavior and politics, even emphasizing the differences of rural vs urban ideologies. I imagine the internet both homoginizes and celebrates distinction (I’ll not say diversity). Interesting to consider how many decades the attire of sports fans has reflected stagnation. I’m curious how the forces of manufacting have influenced the sporadic popularity of unisex clothing. Fascinating to consider fashion moving from changing outfits to changing biologcal identities… the wearing of (I’ll call it) designer skins. Great discussion! Left asking: Just how much does the monoculture exploit the compound power of these influences?
Being married and stable prior to having children is just the responsible thing to do. Single mother rates continue to climb. The single biggest predictor of violence in a community, to say nothing to the disadvantages for the mother and children especially later in their lives. I wouldn’t be surprised if clothing gets 3D printed at home in the future and things come full circle with a blending of at home DIY and modern technology manufacturing processes. Animated tattoos sound interesting. Would love to hear your thoughts on cyborgs/transhumanism relating to fashion trends. I hate to think that fashion is moving towards a sameness for everyone like a human uniform, that sounds boring.
We lost our cultural energy. Unwin has great writings on this. He discovered that the condition of any society is conditioned by its past and present methods of regulating sex. A decrease in sexual opportunity always leads to greater social energy; conversely, an increase in sexual opportunity always leads to less social energy. The full effect of a change in sexual opportunity is not seen overnight. It takes three generations, or about a century, for the full implications to manifest themselves. This is because the habits and attitudes formed by the previous regime are maintained in the first generation and passed on in diluted form to the second. It is only the third generation that is wholly formed under the new rules. High culture and sexual freedom can coexist, but only for one generation. A female emancipating movement is a cultural phenomenon of unfailing regularity; it appears to be the necessary outcome of absolute monogamy. The process by which absolute monogamy is first modified, then abolished is the same in every society, recurring again and again with “unrelieved monotony.” First, women are emancipated from their husbands and granted co-equal status. Then, marriage is altered from a lifelong commitment to a “temporary union made and broken by mutual consent,” transitioning from absolute to modified monogamy. In most cases, societies cease to demand prenuptial chastity. After three generations, societies cease to display energy, becoming inert, and are often conquered by more energetic neighbors.
I think your incorrect about no new stars and content. I would agree movies have stagnated, but think that’s because of changing technology. Due to streaming, television series are taking over from movies as the best thing for actors to be in and you’ve had lots of new success such as Game of Thrones, Stranger Things etc. In addition with Social Media and online platforms like Youtube you’ve had lots of new influencers and other Internet celebrities like PewDiePie. As you said changing technology has changed what is emphasized
To change your gender, you would have to swap every cell in your body for one with the other chromosome, not to mention all the skeletal and musculature rearrangement, and neurological rearrangement. Completely stupid concept in any way you look at it. You know what doing all these changes is, it makes you a different thing/ human being. Aka, you are literally a different person, your brain is different.
20-25 years ago baggy oversized clothing was the norm. Then there was a shift to slim fit and skinny jeans, along with the rise of emo culture, and indie/hipster was big for a while. Now it seems to be shorter shorts on guys and high-waisted jeans and crop tops on girls, with the mustache and middle part replacing the beard and side part respectively. Urban/hip-hop culture has also had a growing influence on fashion and pop culture in general over the past two decades. I wonder if the body-positivity movement has had an impact on things like mom jeans, because i’m over here waiting for the low-rise jeans/thong combo to become popular again 😆