It’s easy to follow trends, but have you ever wondered who said it was cool to wear jeans with holes already in them or who deemed it a good idea to add giant bows to garments? Today’s post is all about fashion trends and where they come from. While studying fashion, textbooks taught me that there were several fashion theories and that celebrities and street style were the main sources for fashion trendsetting. However, times are changing, and the sources for fashion inspiration are plentiful, so let’s explore the new avenues of fashion trendsetting and see if the original ones have changed at all.
The original fashion principles for trends are the trickle up and the trickle down theories.
Trickle Down Fashion Theory
In this theory, trend forecasters and designers look into the social, cultural, and economic aspects of society and conduct research to create concepts that would appeal to a specific target audience. This theory states that these ideas are introduced by celebrities and influencers until they trickle down to the masses and gain popularity. The successful ones are adopted by the masses and become a trend. Celebrities are sought out by luxury brands to promote their lines. This may include a spread in a magazine, digital ad campaigns, or something along those lines. Recently, this theory has been expanded to include influencers across social media platforms. Influencers are more active with their audiences, which means their followers trust them. Influencers partake in collaborations to draw awareness to brands a lot as celebrities do. This puts them in a position where they set trends for the masses.
Trickle Up Fashion Theory
In this theory, the masses start the trend as they are directly affected by social, cultural, and economic aspects of society, which influences how they dress. In this theory, trends start in the streets and trickle up towards celebrities. An example would be t-shirts, which were originally worn by laborers or utility style clothing, which became popular after World War II. This creates a direct demand for certain styles of garments to be produced, so designers pick up the trend and inculcate that into their designs to appeal to the audience. Street style has been influential for years since WWII ended. There’s a reason why high profile celebrities with brands sit front row at fashion shows and infuse street style into their brand.
How to Keep Up with the Trends:
- Company Newsletters: this is where brands will advertise trending or new styles. Also, check the trending portion on their website to see what they’re pushing. P.S. Mood Sewciety posts trend reports frequently to keep you up-to-date with trends, so check out Mood’s blog to stay up-to-date with trends.
- Social Media: browse each platform to see what influencers and bloggers are wearing. They will tag and link their clothes for easy and stress-free shopping or inspiration.
- Runway Shows: technology makes it easy to get access to exclusive runway shows. Many are streamed online, and pictures from shows surface quickly, so it’s easy to draw inspo from your bed.
- Window Shop: companies place trendy, hot ticket items in clear view at the front of their stores.
- Magazine Subscriptions: Trendy items or themes will be featured. They often include interviews with industry professionals and designers who have insight into new trends. Pro tip: You can subscribe digitally to save the planet or opt into a mailing list to get magazines sent to your door.
Fashion trends come from a variety of avenues today like influencers, celebs, and even the streets. Keep in mind that fashion is open to interpretation, and we all have differing opinions on it, especially when it comes to fashion trends. If fashion and sewing are hobbies that you enjoy: have you checked out our free sewing patterns or sat down at your machine with new fabric when sewing lately? Sewing or fashion illustration will keep your mind sharp and your creativity flowing.
What are you planning to sew this month with the help of our monthly sewing planner?
