The Gen-Z Fashion Frenzy: What is It?
(COVER PHOTO) PHOTOCREDITS: POLINA TANKILEVITCH ON PEXELS
Every decade seems to have a recognizable style. We could time travel to the 70s and know the period solely by fashion choices: the biggest bell-bottoms you’ve ever seen, paired with tie-dye print. Or maybe we could go more modern and explore the 2000s, where everyone's wearing low-rise sweatsuits and anything Guess-branded. But how would you know 2025 in 10 or more years? Has the distinction of the decades through fashion come to a screeching halt? Or is it something completely new and fusion-based?
PHOTO CREDITS: GABRIELLAISTIRED ON PINTEREST (LEFT) AND CCAOIMHEEE ON PINTEREST (RIGHT).
Sustainability & Modernity
The way our modern generation dresses is exactly what our world needs. More clothing being recycled from older eras means the jacket you found in your grandpa's attic from the 50s will be your closet staple from now on, and the shoes your aunt wore to a bar in 2010 can be given a new life at your local college spot.
With old brands returning to the mainstream, thrift stores are a great place to buy these “vintage” clothing pieces. I’ve noticed that most of the items at my local Savers (especially the jeans rack) are layerable, decade-identifiable pieces. For example, my favorite pair of jeans (that have yet to be beaten in) are Guess branded from 2008. You know where I found those? The thrift store! By thrifting more and more vintage items, I’ve come to realize that the fashion eras I was previously talking about cannot be reproduced by modern brands, something Gen-Z has started to take hold of.
Where does this come from?
Sustainable shopping has seen a significant increase, and I believe that part of the reason is that issues like climate change and unfair working conditions have come to the forefront of our media, forcing people to be more self-aware when it comes to their consumption habits. For example, the scandal regarding SHEIN and the factory working conditions was covered by bigger news outlets like Time, BBC, and CNN, but we also saw the scandal being covered on platforms like TikTok and Pinterest in a more “digestible” way. Here, solutions were being provided, like where else consumers could shop, how to thrift, and even short videos that broke down what’s happening in the fast fashion industry. These kinds of videos permeate not just “the fashion side” of social media, but all kinds of consumption, making a sustainable way of shopping more mainstream.
An example of a creator that is bringing more light to sustainable shopping is someone I’ve followed for a while, Molly Russo. With 1.2 million followers, I was introduced to her from a “thrift flip” video she did. Part of the fight for a sustainable future starts with these kinds of videos; media that helps educate people on fun and creative ways to have a sustainable lifestyle. It’s simple and may seem small, but social media can be influential and is an accessible way to help viewers understand the beauty of thrifting. As I mentioned before, the current generation has already taken thrifting and turned it into something that stays at the forefront of our minds when we need new clothes, and it surely wasn’t like that before. In my opinion, I feel as though the stigma that used to surround thrift stores has mainly gone away, and instead makes people feel good about themselves when they go. Me and a multitude of my friends grew up being told that thrifting “wasn’t something we did”. It was looked down upon, and I didn’t think anything of it until I started to see it more in my day-to-day media, when I started to understand the issues with overconsumption, research brands more, and wanted to start making a change. Subconsciously, I think it satisfies us to feel like we’re helping the world one step at a time by shopping sustainably, which isn’t a bad thing!
There are so many other ways that sustainable fashion has made its way to mainstream media because of Gen-Z, another option being “thrift bundles”. Born from platforms like Etsy and individual sellers promoting their stuff on TikTok and Instagram, “thrift bundles” are clothing hauls someone else makes for you based on a description of your personal style. Pinterest is also a popular tool for sustainable fashion, as it’s a popular place to find styling inspiration (something I personally love to utilize when I don’t know how I can rework a piece).
A CHART FROM 2022 DEMONSTRATES HOW CONSUMERS' CHOICES SHIFTED TOWARDS BUYING MORE SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTS OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS WORLDWIDE, IN 2022, WHERE WE COULD ALREADY SEE A RISE. (STATISTA)
So… what?
Honestly, I don’t think there is one true answer to where, when, or why sustainable fashion became our generation's claim to fame, but I have no complaints. It could be because of our well-rounded socio-political understanding of the world, or maybe it’s simply because we think dressing like we’re from the 80s is cool.