From lip glosses to gym sets, to body types, to baggy jeans, the conveyor belt of new internet trends is what keeps the digital world spinning. In recent years, the rise of influencer marketing has propelled fashion trends to a new digital dimension, with people choosing to indulge in retail therapy more than ever before.
There is an obvious incentive for brands and businesses to utilise the fast-paced circulation of pop culture trends to drive more traffic to their products for monetary gain. The constant need for more boosts the already present consumerist attitudes. However, I believe classism is an alternative incentive for the revolving nature of fashion trends. There is a pattern of things becoming less trendy once they become accessible to the general public. Celebrities want to distance themselves from the general public as much as possible, and as soon as we start being able to wear the same things, attain the same items, and have the same cosmetic adjustments, the lines between the general public and the 1% become too blurred. That is when the goalpost will once again be shifted, and trends ultimately change. Historically, fashion and beauty trends have always been indicators of class and status. Victorian men would purposefully put on weight to indicate that they could afford to overindulge in food; Victorian women would use makeup to ensure their faces were as pale as possible to emphasise the fact that they did not spend time doing any manual labour outside. Trends have always served as a harsh reminder that we are not the same as them and to refine the class boundaries that already outline our societies.
We cannot discuss the cultivation of fashion and beauty trends without mentioning the notorious reality TV family: the Kardashians. Being dubbed “the biggest influencers on social media” by Forbes magazine, the Kardashians are no strangers to starting and encouraging trends, which has laid the foundation for their multi-millionaire businesses and franchises. The most infamous example of this would be the popularisation of the exaggerated hourglass figure, popularised most notably by Kim Kardashian, followed by the rest of her sisters. This caused a massive rise in surgeries such as liposuction, implant insertion, silicone shots, and most distinctly, Brazilian butt lifts, more commonly known as BBLs. Whilst this shape was considered shocking at the time, it soon began to catch on, with women getting plastic surgery to enhance the size of their hips and behinds and achieve a body like the Kardashians. BBLs, which were most likely completely unknown to the general public 10 years ago, have now become a part of online culture, with new celebrities and public figures constantly getting these procedures done. After years of this being the beauty standard, the Kardashians have recently been spotted with more toned-down looks, with many suspecting they have reduced their enhancements, opting for a slimmer and more natural build. Following this, there have been more talks of slimmer builds being the new trend with headlines like “is the Brazillian Butt Lift era really over?” by InStyle magazine and other publications. As opposed to an influx of BBl’s celebrities are now rumoured to be using a drug called Ozempic, an appetite suppressant that helps to achieve a slimmer build. The reality is that as soon as BBLs became more accessible and even the slightest bit common, they were suddenly seen as less desirable to the rich and famous people who triggered these trends to begin with. These people are not searching for the perfect summer body or lips but are rather in pursuit of competitive exclusivity whilst also ensuring we view them incessantly. Figuratively speaking, it’s as though the goalpost for finally achieving “the look” is constantly moved creating a cruel cycle for young girls who just want to feel beautiful and are unfortunately searching for beauty in the wrong places.
A more recent example of this is the activewear clothing brand “Lululemon”, which gained massive traction on TikTok this year for its figure-hugging and flattering fit. Despite many brands having the same design, Lululemon took off as a luxury, higher-end alternative for gym clothes. However, as it became more well-known and commonly worn, opinions began to vary. Many began to denounce the brand, stating it had lost its appeal as more people wore it on a daily basis, shaming people for wearing it to school and social settings. Some even went as far as to label it “ghetto” due to its increased popularity. It is important to note the racial undertones here, as this unpleasant label coincidentally emerged as Lululemon became progressively more popular within the Black community online. It’s clear that people are taking fun, futile fashion trends and leveraging them to express their racist and classist beliefs about others by believing only they are entitled to certain high-end brands and looks.
In previous years, wearing “knockoffs” of a product or item of clothing was looked down upon and something to be embarrassed by. I, for one, remember a time when my worst nightmare would have been getting caught wearing fake Nikes or Adidas on own clothes day in primary school. Recently, however, with the surge of what Forbes magazine has named “dupe culture”, it seems to be more normalised to wear “dupes” or “reps” of more expensive brands of shoes and clothes, with brands like DHgate and AliExpress making a massive profit off replicas of designer items and shoes. It appears that in recent times, young people have realised they can achieve the same looks as their favourite celebrities for a fraction of the price and no longer feel they have a point to prove about how much they spent on an outfit. A notable example of this would be the “Van Cleef” bracelet, which surged in popularity in 2021 and became an extremely sought-after item with influencers faulting their designer bracelets online. However the item is now widely accessible with a multitude of dupes becoming available online it is difficult to recognise which bracelets are real and which are fake as the dupes are identical for significantly less money.
Trends may come and go, but the need to set oneself apart by constantly redefining “in” and “out” will always remain especially as it helps. So I guess the question is, will the emergence of dupes result in a breakdown of these fashion hierarchies? How can trends truly be reinforced with everything being so accessible in recent times? Ultimately it is important to wear what you feel comfortable in and what represents you, and not what TikTok, an influencer, or a celebrity thinks is “trendy”. When you base your style off what your happiest in, no fashion trend can take it away.