HOW CANCEL CULTURE HAS MOVED ONTO FASHION TRENDS

With the emergence of TikTok and its niche algorithm, overconsumption has become heavily encouraged as you scroll through videos of creators wearing and raving about the latest pieces in fashion. "Cottagecore," "coquette," and "fairy grunge" probably sound familiar to you if are active on TikTok, specifically if your "for you page" is focused on fashion. The app's easy accessibility and fast pace allows people to direct new styles and trends faster than fashion magazines and businesses.

TikTok fashion is essentially about fitting in. Similar to high school, the app praises the idea of having the hottest items of the moment, at the moment, awarded through likes, fame, and admiration. With the introduction of various aesthetics, you're more than likely to come across a video boasting about distinctive statement pieces, often very expensive ones. However, you're just as likely to come across a video explaining why that same piece is out of style. It's nearly impossible to buy into this constant cycle of changing trends, and this behavior of overconsumption and waste is definitely inefficient for. the environment.

One specific piece that sparked controversy on TikTok was the House of Sunny Hockney Dress. The dress first gained attention when Kendall Jenner posted a picture of her wearing it on Instagram back in July 2020. Since then, the dress had already sold out twice and was available for pre-order. Promoted as ethically made, flattering with a cozy and comfortable knit, many viewers were drawn to this $128 dress, and as more influencers started posting and raving about it, many people became desperate to own the piece themselves. Due to its exclusivity in limited quantities, many resellers started buying up the dress and reselling them for thousands of dollars when it sold out.

However, just weeks after Kendall Jenner flaunted the dress in her post, replicas and similar styles of the dress started popping up for a fraction of the price on fast fashion sites such as YesStyle and Shein. This led to the downfall in value of the dress. As more people owned it, regardless of whether it was a dupe or not, it became less exclusive and therefore no longer trendy. Not only did it lose popularity, but those who owned the dress were considered outdated, "cheugy" as some TikTokers would call it.

This piece is simply an example of media's ever-changing trend cycle, where people are shopping backwards–buying before thinking. We consume so much media on the daily, that we often fall into confusion over what we actually like and don't like.

So before you buy into the next fashion trend, question yourself whether it's truly worth the investment. Do you really like it, or do you just like it because everyone else does?