Are Trends Real?

Are Trends Real?

By: Elena Ossoski

The cyclical nature of trends is more obvious than ever. As I got ready to leave the house for work this morning, my mom stopped me to say that I looked like I had, “just stepped out of the eighties”. An electric lilac shoulder pad top and high waisted pleather paper bag shorts are never going to channel anything other than the era of feathered bangs and Wham!’s fifteen minutes of fame. The obvious message that the outfit is communicating is not one that flew over my head. On the contrary, I began to think more and more about the prevalence of the cyclical nature of trends in the modern world. 

Isabel Marant Ready-to-Wear Spring/Summer 2021 collection featuring recycled trends from the 80’s.

While the inspiration behind the design of the clothes I had on my back is crystal clear, the answer to the question, “Why?”, is what I can’t shake. Why do we toss out our “old” ways of dressing only to return to them a few years later?

Instead of getting too psychoanalytical as I try to find the answer to my own question, I’ve decided to think through this sartorial situation logically. 

We return to our “old” ways because it’s inevitable. The cyclical pattern of fashion trends is all thanks to the fact that there are only so many patterns to use as the base for a piece of clothing. No matter how creative and innovative we become as our species evolves, the basics will always be there as our baseline.

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Photos by Elena Ossoski and sourced from Vogue.com. Graphic by Rachel Long.