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TikTok’s Effect on Fashion Trends As We Move To A Post Pandemic World
By Sarah Cortina
Over the summer, the anticipation of returning to in person classes filled many with curiosity. How is in-person school going to feel? What are social gatherings going to look like? Overall, how will we return to normalcy, and what will we look like while doing it? Among many others, a thought that continuously ran across my mind was one in particular: What the hell am I going to wear? After a year and a half of rarely opting to wear something without a stretchy waistband, outfits would be seen by the masses once again. So, through the months of June, July and August, I pondered what that meant for not just my personal fashion choices, but for everyone else’s as well.
Almost every facet of people’s lives changed during the pandemic, and that includes what they wore. There was nowhere to go. Thus, no thoughts were put into outfits, no money was spent, and no clothing piece reigned more supreme than the classic sweatpant. There was no people-watching at school or work to gain inspiration of how to style various pieces. Rather, the prevalence of trends being created through social media, particularly TikTok, rose immensely.
TikTok’s viral content having an effect on consumer behavior is far from news. The “sleeper hit”, a song that did not chart immediately after release but later rises on the charts, has become an everyday phenomenon with TikTok trends lifting songs from the past into the present incessantly. Aside from auditory experiences, TikTok trends have appealed to our other senses as well. Stores were sold out of feta cheese in February as people rushed to make a pasta dish the platform popularized. These two examples are far from being the only examples of TikTok’s power. The app’s algorithm and innate promotion to recreate what others are doing has created a prevalence of unyielding virality unlike one ever seen before.
Along with pasta and old songs, the use of TikTok as a means of expression for fashion blossomed during the pandemic. Influencers and individuals alike turned to the app to showcase their outfits. The app also had an effect on the fashion industry by influencing the products individuals would buy, with a massive rise in a search for the phrase ‘TikTok fashion’ on Google Trends.
This effect has become visible in what people have been wearing. In August, we returned to reality, and with one glance across a classroom, one can spot multiple people that are dressed the same. Claw clips galore, bootcut pants from Zara, trucker hats, and more. It’s too easy. I myself can admit to purchasing a few items because I have admired the way they looked in social media posts by celebrities, friends, and acquaintances alike. Through social media, we have gained an idea of what is right, what is wrong and what is on trend.
Sourcing social media for inspiration has homogenized the fashion taste of the masses. When one is being told by the internet what to wear, it has created a lack of need for many to seek having an individual sense of style. While, of course, personal fashion is still alive and well, there has been a significant increase in homogenized trends and the prevalence of micro trends. Microtrends are defined as trends that last three to five years as opposed to five to ten, but can have as rapid of a turnover as just a single season. Plus, with the rise of fast fashion, it has become easier to buy into trends temporarily.
In the past few decades, there has been a massive increase in the prevalence of fast fashion’s success. As the economy began to pitfall at the start of the pandemic, buying cheap clothes was more desirable. While brands that had loads of in person stores struggled, online clothing retailers such as BooHoo, Prettylittlething and Shein thrived. With low prices and rapid product turn over, the average consumer can buy into almost any trend at an incredibly low price. However, this comes at an environmental cost, as not being able to turn products over into the following season creates waste, and making products with cheap textiles is horrible for the earth.
Despite the return to reality, finding a personal sense of style has become yet another thing you can simply access through digital means. Despite the supposed uniqueness of your For You Page, we are witnessing a wide homogenization of style that represses individuality. Hopefully soon, more people will use social media as a place of free expression, rather than absorbing ideas that encourage mimesis.
Almost every facet of people’s lives changed during the pandemic, and that includes what they wore. There was nowhere to go. Thus, no thoughts were put into outfits, no money was spent, and no clothing piece reigned more supreme than the classic sweatpant. There was no people-watching at school or work to gain inspiration of how to style various pieces. Rather, the prevalence of trends being created through social media, particularly TikTok, rose immensely.
TikTok’s viral content having an effect on consumer behavior is far from news. The “sleeper hit”, a song that did not chart immediately after release but later rises on the charts, has become an everyday phenomenon with TikTok trends lifting songs from the past into the present incessantly. Aside from auditory experiences, TikTok trends have appealed to our other senses as well. Stores were sold out of feta cheese in February as people rushed to make a pasta dish the platform popularized. These two examples are far from being the only examples of TikTok’s power. The app’s algorithm and innate promotion to recreate what others are doing has created a prevalence of unyielding virality unlike one ever seen before.
Along with pasta and old songs, the use of TikTok as a means of expression for fashion blossomed during the pandemic. Influencers and individuals alike turned to the app to showcase their outfits. The app also had an effect on the fashion industry by influencing the products individuals would buy, with a massive rise in a search for the phrase ‘TikTok fashion’ on Google Trends.
This effect has become visible in what people have been wearing. In August, we returned to reality, and with one glance across a classroom, one can spot multiple people that are dressed the same. Claw clips galore, bootcut pants from Zara, trucker hats, and more. It’s too easy. I myself can admit to purchasing a few items because I have admired the way they looked in social media posts by celebrities, friends, and acquaintances alike. Through social media, we have gained an idea of what is right, what is wrong and what is on trend.
Sourcing social media for inspiration has homogenized the fashion taste of the masses. When one is being told by the internet what to wear, it has created a lack of need for many to seek having an individual sense of style. While, of course, personal fashion is still alive and well, there has been a significant increase in homogenized trends and the prevalence of micro trends. Microtrends are defined as trends that last three to five years as opposed to five to ten, but can have as rapid of a turnover as just a single season. Plus, with the rise of fast fashion, it has become easier to buy into trends temporarily.
In the past few decades, there has been a massive increase in the prevalence of fast fashion’s success. As the economy began to pitfall at the start of the pandemic, buying cheap clothes was more desirable. While brands that had loads of in person stores struggled, online clothing retailers such as BooHoo, Prettylittlething and Shein thrived. With low prices and rapid product turn over, the average consumer can buy into almost any trend at an incredibly low price. However, this comes at an environmental cost, as not being able to turn products over into the following season creates waste, and making products with cheap textiles is horrible for the earth.
Despite the return to reality, finding a personal sense of style has become yet another thing you can simply access through digital means. Despite the supposed uniqueness of your For You Page, we are witnessing a wide homogenization of style that represses individuality. Hopefully soon, more people will use social media as a place of free expression, rather than absorbing ideas that encourage mimesis.