Are you a Barbie girl, or a coquette girl? Is it cottagecore or mermaidcore? What’s the next upcoming trend in fashion that will have everyone in a frenzy? Microtrends in fashion are coming so quickly that it seems hard to keep up. If it’s hard to stay on trend, try to imagine how quickly companies who sell these products are trying to soak these trends up before it’s onto the next. Although trends have always existed, especially in a world of consumerism and fashion, they typically lasted longer, sometimes even a few years. Now, they barely last more than a month. This appears to be a result of the boom of Tiktok during the COVID-19 pandemic. There will always be another fashion trend that’ll push the last one to the side, but this process has developed a lot faster and become more insidious, leading to unhealthy consumption and production habits.

  According to an article on today’s microtrends, there’s a trend cycle that consists of “introduction, rise, acceptance, decline, and obsolescence.” This is why items are so quick to go out of style, and fast fashion is to blame for this as well. The demand for up-to-the-minute styles that are affordable is a reason for the unethical, labor exploitative production of fast fashion. It’s the known production of brands like SHEIN and Zara, which are extremely popular on social media and easily accessible to all (lithiumagazine.com). “I think with SHEIN and Tiktok, it’s going so fast that it’s destroying our environment. In some ways, it can be good because you can try things that you never thought about, but when I think about brands and everything, it’s not; it just does more harm than good,” said Senior Keeley Harvey.

     Fast fashion is not good for the environment, and the change in micro-trends does not help it at all. According to an article on fast fashion, SHEIN releases 6.3 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year. This is only one brand though. Factoring in all the other carbon emissions of brands that engage in the same means of production creates anxiety for global environmental prosperity. With the popular rise of certain trends and how short-lived they’ve become, it amounts to a detrimental state of waste (designlife-cycle.com).

   This also highlights the problem of overconsumption. However, it’s hard to blame the average customer, as we live in a consumerist society. According to an article about consumerism, the consumption rate for clothing and textiles is set to increase by forty percent within the next decade (cainz.org). Everyone loves window shopping and filling up their online shopping carts, but limiting purchasing and finding more sustainable shopping outlets (like thrift shopping) would be a lot better in the long run. Brands are also hopping on these fashion trends, as microtrends are just an accelerated path that companies take for profit. For instance, they were quick to make Barbie merchandise and clothing, one of the biggest trends of 2023. According to Vogue Business, retailers are at an advantage because they are able to curate these aesthetics from multiple brands and establish themselves as a place where these trends exist, attracting more profit (voguebusiness.com). This is why certain companies love microtrends and the over-consumption culture that exists in the world of fashion today.

   In the mind of the average consumer, these rapid trends aren’t harming anyone — except their wallets and landfills — and may even invite more inspiration for a personal sense of style. However, by limiting consumption you can take a bit of every new trend and make it your own, cultivating originality. While influencers continue to promote the new style of the month and wear the newest clothes, you can distance yourself from this harmful culture.