By Heidi van Schie
We all appreciate a good trend but, much like our modern world, things have started moving too quickly.
Ask your parents about a popular trend they remember from their childhood, neon tights? Too much hairspray? Mullets? Actually, I take that back, mullets continue to be timeless.
Now think of a popular trend happening right now. Did you think of one? Two? Twenty? There are too many to count.
Trends are getting more and more harmful, especially the ones aimed at young women, who are practising anti-aging routines at the ripe age of 12.
The ideal body is constantly changing. One day you’ll love your thick thighs, the next day you’ll buy a rowing machine – and all because the week’s latest It Girl went from Kim Kardashian to Kendall Jenner.
Things like trends, aesthetics and trying to fit a vibe are more damaging than you realise.
Look at what you are wearing, do you like it? Does it suit you?
And most importantly, does it make you happy to wear it?
Trends are not just a First World problem, their very existence is profiting sweatshops and other immoral businesses.
You may love your cheap, polyester Kenough t-shirt now, but what about when the trend has died? When the Barbie movie is deemed as cringe, and anyone seen wearing its merch is socially prosecuted.
The problem with trends isn’t just what you’re consuming, it’s also how easy you’re making yourself to consume.
Turning your whole identity into a Femcel/Fleabag/girlboss/Sofia Coppola, you are saying to the world, “look no further, this is me, look no deeper, because everything about me can be found in a niche Pinterest board”.
By making yourself easier to swallow, you are losing your unique flavour.
And if capitalism and loss of identity weren’t bad enough, fast fashion is also responsible for 10 per cent of global carbon emissions and micro plastics, due to the amount of plastic in cheap materials such as polyester, acrylic and nylon.
In 2023, investing in trends may as well be pointless, as everything is changing all the time and no one has the money or energy to keep up with it all.
Featured image: Fashion produces a mountain of waste. Photo: Kiwa Dokokano/CC/Wikimedia Commons
