In recent years we have seen the trend cycle get shorter and shorter, with the introduction of new fads on the daily and consumers buying into them.
In the spring, we were bombarded with the House of Sunny Hockney dress; you could not open a social media platform without seeing this dress. Just a month later, this dress was discarded to thrift stores and landfills.
So many other microtrends popped onto social media over the summer, from the “coconut girl” aesthetic to the “Avant-basic” popularizing zebra and cow print pieces and plastic jewelry. All these pieces can now be found for dirt cheap at fast-fashion retailers or in the bottom of a landfill. With many items coming in and out of trend on the daily, one begs the question, Why is the trend cycle so short?
The trend cycle consists of five stages: introduction, rise, acceptance, decline, and obsolescence. According to trend forecast analyzers, this cycle used to last anywhere between 10 to 20 years. Still, with the rise of social media and its plastering of the latest trends on every surface, this cycle has shortened drastically.
Tiktok significantly promotes fast fashion; often, the TikTok FYP (for you page) will be saturated with $500 plus hauls from retailers such as Shein. Not only is this retailer problematic, but videos like these are glamorizing overconsumption and encouraging people to spend hundreds of dollars on hundreds of items of clothing that they will never wear.
It is wishful thinking to put an end to fast fashion, and it’s classist to think everyone has the means to shop outside of companies like Shein and Romwe, whose prices and size inclusivity make it easier for people to participate in fashion. However, Buying into trends is not the biggest issue here; it’s not a problem at all to partake in trends. The problem arises when people buy too much. Purchasing 20 zebra-printed items, half of which you will never wear, and donating them all to goodwill a month later is the problem. Overconsumption of fast fashion trends is the bigger issue. A wardrobe with longevity and versatility is the goal; a good rule of thumb is the seventy-thirty rule. This means that 70% of your closet is basics and timeless pieces, with the other 30% being trendier pieces.
It is essential that we as a generation put an end to the overconsumption of clothing and attempt to mend the shortened trend cycle, if not for the planet, then for our poor wallets hanging on for dear life with every online purchase.