You can hardly pick up a magazine or turn on the television without being bombarded by trends in one form or another. Whether it’s the morning talk show circuit breaking down the latest diet craze, critics outlining current hot genres in movies or scientists constructing new movements in biomedical engineering, it seems there are few (if any) industries that exist void of the idea of “the next big thing”. There is no doubt that trends are a powerful force; they decided what we wear, how we eat, what medicines we take and what products we use. When a company can sells 4 million backwards robes at $20 a pop, you know we live in a society where advertising and marketing are deciding factors in our daily lives. See enough commercials, hear enough celebrity endorsements and it all seems valid enough, right?

19th century guide on what to wear from the Daily Mail

Photo by Daily Mail licensed under Creative Commons.

Nowhere do trends make or break a company quite like the fashion world. From studded ankle boots to shredded chic, fashion is a veritable roller coaster of the newest, the latest, the things you just can’t live without.

Twice a year you can find them paraded down runways from New York to Shanghai, each month fashion magazines pack their pages with the pieces editors think we should all be wearing and every fast fashion store from H&M to Forever21 is in constant overdrive knocking them off as cheaply as possible. It’s an endless chase. Personally I find most trends to be pretty ridiculous and while all of us have played into them at one time or another (it’s virtually impossible not to!) I’ve prided myself on staying far away from “trend whore” status.

Trend Report board from Who What Wear:

Photo by Who, What, Wear licensed under Creative Commons.

Yet I peruse magazines as much as the next girl and during fashion week I am all but glued to my computer watching the magic unfold, I am a lover of fashion after all. Yes, I have experimented with some ensembles that I would rather forget, and maybe I once took deconstructing tees a little too seriously, but I have always tried to buy items that made me comfortable and felt like an extension of myself, rather than throwing together a look simply because Kate Lanphear or Carine Roitfeld told me I should.

Although I don’t necessarily participate in trends I do keep a close eye on them and when considering column topics for Evil Monito I figured I could funnel my keen perception for bullshit somewhere. Not all trends are crap and in some cases watching them develop and disperse can be thrilling, however the emphasis placed on having this season’s “it” bag or making sure you’re wearing gold because everyone is wearing gold for fall takes away from the individuality of fashion and instead turns everyone into these homogenized store window mannequins void of personality and character. In an effort to get people rethinking it all I’ve decided to spend my alloted once a week time slot exploring the background of prominent and underground trends, breaking them down and ultimately finding out whether they are worth the effort. Collectively we waste too much time trying to either look like each other or emulating carefully crafted images of what we think we’re supposed resemble instead of bucking it all and looking like (gasp!) ourselves.

My intention in all of this is not necessarily to make anyone feel bad about the choices they make, but to hopefully bring light to the humor and frivolousness of it all. These are not life and death decisions, yet the importance associated with being a part of whatever is the season’s latest craze, be it fashion, art, celebrity or otherwise, can sometimes make us feel like the only way to belong is to buy our way into it. In it’s purest
form fashion is about self-expression, it’s an art form that allows us to visually convey a feeling, a mood, a little piece of who we are at that point in time. It’s been said that we need trends as cultural and historical reference points, and yes where would the 70’s be if they hadn’t birthed bell bottom jeans, yet I believe there’s space between for so much more. My fear is that as it all gets condensed into a few easily packaged and distributed trends it loses the very essence that makes it so appealing in the first place. As one of the last bastions of true creativity and freedom, we need fashion to retain that whimsy and wonder and it takes us all pushing ourselves a little bit further, thinking a little more freely, to make that happen.

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To see more from Lindsey Ibarra, visit http://evilmonito.com/author/themisslinds/

Published on 6 November 2009 | 2 |