By Sapphire Bennett OMAHA, Neb. – Fashion trend cycles used to be connected to the changing of seasons, but they now have their own timeline. Trend cycles have sped up drastically over the past few years, thanks to fast-paced social medias and consumer’s need for constant newness. To some, this means more freedom to explore any and every style. Forever 21 employee, Trynyty Bonaparte says they loved Hello Kitty as a kid and are very glad it’s coming back as a trend in clothing stores.
COVID brought some especially strong trends such as cow print and flashy sweater vests that are now seen as distasteful. This makes sense due to how most of the population was stuck at home and online where trends were moving the fastest.
Part of the reason why trends are speeding up is that clothes are being produced at twice the rate they were twenty years ago. Because the clothing isn’t as high quality, they are likely to be thrown out sooner, leading to the desire for something new to come next.
In this abundance of styles and trends, local fashion designers are faced with the decision to follow the trends, stick to their own thing, or do a little of both. Alex Graff, a designer from Omaha, says its more important to focus on quality clothing rather than trendiness.
“We need more slow fashion people investing more into garments that they wear longer and not just a couple bucks for a piece of fabric they’re gonna throw out at the end of the night,” says Alex.
No one really can predict what trend cycle will come next, but they can try to balance it with more sustainable styles. Sustainability in our world of copious amounts of fast fashion is more important and consequential than ever.
