anatomizing the micro trend
Fast fashion is a machine that hungers for trends.
Today, fast fashion has quickly risen as the infamous underbelly of the fashion industry. A necessary evil to some, a repugnant hyper-consumerist machine to others, one that spits out cheaply made garments from unethical sources. If fast fashion is the machine, then micro trends are the fuel. A micro trend is a fashion fad that surges in popularity extremely quickly, usually thanks to social media platforms like TikTok, then burns out just as quickly, usually right as fast fashion labels begin to release cheap imitations of the trend. These trends can last anywhere from a few months to a few weeks, some even burning out in days. While micro trends impact on the environment is undeniably harmful, here, I will be focusing more on its negative impact on the fashion cycle and its unique relationship with style tribes and subculture.
Today more than ever, being fashionable is a signals an understanding of culture. Being a part of the prominent fashion signals to others that you’ve made the effort to analyze the current zeitgeist and prominent styles, that you belong with the group, that you’re different enough to stand out but not to eccentric to subscribe to some subversive style tribe. This, of course, is not a new concept. The problem however, is that before social media, putting effort into dressing trendy was a process of analyzing your peers, reading magazines, and investing in the fashion industry on a level others may not. Today, putting effort into staying stylish is as simple as scrolling TikTok, where an algorithm pushes trends and influencers, telling you what to where and how to where it.
In theory, micro trends aren’t harmful; they’re simply a result of the nature of the modern internet, where information and content has homogenised, presented in tiny bit-sized bursts. Gone are the unique, niche websites and blogs dedicated to specific topics or industries, instead, the internet is rules by platforms like TikTok, Youtube, and Instagram, where billions of people all digest the same algorithm, seeing the same trends, and buying the same garments. These trends are usually given names, something like ‘Lolita-core’, ‘Weird-girl’, or ‘Clean-girl’, and while sometimes genuine style tribes will emerge, where a large number of participants are truly invested in the style, experimenting with its origin and intent, often, these ‘aesthetics’ are hollow facsimiles of actual fashion subcultures and style tribes.
Take, for example, the ‘Alt’ micro trend (short for alternative). This trend exploded throughout post-covid TikTok, resulting in numerous fast fashion brands producing a range of similar styles. This trend is an example of subculture appropriation; the Goth subculture watered down and cheapened, sold to the masses as an alternative to an actual style tribe with a storied history, meaning, and intent behind it. The question remains whether microtrends are truly harmful to the average consumer, one that doesn’t necessarily feel compelled to experiment to far from the current fashion.
The answer is complicated. Micro trends make keeping up with the current fashion difficult, yet the inexpensive price points of fast fashion conversely make obtaining the newest trend fairly easy. It allows for a consumer to experiment with their personal style frequently, trying new styles until hopefully they begin to construct a personal style that they feel expresses themselves. On the other hand, if a consumer continues to invest into every single trend that comes across their TikTok feed, they may end up drowning in a closet of forever archaic polyester, just another victim of the machine.
