Entertainment

Trends That Aren’t Trendy

Parkway Central students’ opinions on fashion “trends” in 2022

Brie Williams, Staff Reporter
February 22, 2022

The fast fashion cycle is having trouble keeping up with teenager’s fast paced trends. In the last decade, fashion trends have been falling in and out of style faster than ever before. From matte lipsticks to Vineyard Vines shirts, it’s nearly impossible to keep up with the ever changing trends being created. In 2010, fashion was mostly inspired by trends from the 1980s. Layered clothing, neon colors, and denim were present in every celebrity’s street wear of the time. But in 2016 there was a sudden change in the fashion industry; the return of the 1990s. Kylie Cosmetics had just dropped Kylie Jenner’s matte liquid lipsticks, which flew off the shelves and onto Tumblr posts. Kylie set the scene for the next four years of fashion. Blue hair, heavy layers, matte makeup, skinny jeans, flannels, and grunge style had made a comeback. This was the fastest we had switched from inspired decades. Normally, the gap would be about ten years, but in 2010-2020 we jumped from the 1980s to the 1990s in less than six years. Since 2020, fashion has completely changed and evolved from previously being inspired by decades. Although the 1990s style has continued to stick around since the King Kylie era, there is something very different about fashion today. There are constantly trends cycling through stores and social media, but people are more inspired now to dress in whatever style, time period, or aesthetic they choose. Now it isn’t trendy to be trendy.

Following trends is so “2019”. After the beach inspired VSCO girl fashion wave across Gen Z, a lot of people were pretty much sick of following mass fashion trends. Once the pandemic hit, people had more time to explore their own style at home. Just a few years ago everyone in the hallways wore the same clothes, same brands, and same hair styles. Now there is a more noticeable difference between everyone’s fashion choices. Of course there are classic looks like full athletic outfits or a baggy sweats combo, but for the most part there has been an increase in fashion diversity in teenagers within the last two years. Trends still cycle through, but not in the long lasting way they have before. This begs the question, what is trendy? But that question is much too simple. So a new question would be, what trends aren’t trendy?