IS OUR FASHION AS WOKE AS WE ARE?
What's The Deal With Gen Z Fashion?
Among younger Americans, fashion is as much a part of our identity as our politics. Fashion is a social currency; it communicates our beliefs and the communities we align with. With the highest projected buying power in the fashion industry to date, Generation Z has ushered in a new, socially-conscious era of fashion.
Gen Z describes the generation born between the years of 1998-2003. They are the first generation to be raised with the internet and social media.
Bank of America's Global Research Team described Gen Z as "the most disruptive generation to date". With a projected purchasing power of $33 trillion that is expected to surpass that of millennials by 2030, Gen Z has the power to define retail industries in the U.S. and beyond with their "belief in the power of activism."
Not only does Gen Z out consume other generations when it comes to fashion, but they uniquely see fashion as linked to identity.
A 2022 study conducted by Juv Consulting and Best of Fashion Insights ranks the relevance of fashion to the identities of U.S. Gen Zers
What do we know about Generation Z?
Giulia Zappia, 20
Artist
Davis, CA
“For me fashion is about fun, it's about expression; it gave me social acceptance."
HOW CLOSELY IS IDENTITY LINKED TO FASHION?
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Jacob Nicholas, 22
Fashion Stylist
New York/Los Angeles
“As a queer Black person, how I engage with fashion is through my politic and through my own lens.”
Style is Algorithmic
Fashion has shifted throughout the internet age. With the rise of social media platforms such as Pinterest, Instagram, and TikTok, so have risen fickle and quickly changing microtrends, fast fashion.
In the early 2000s, fashion was used to reenforced a social hierarchy in the hand of celebrities and haute designers. Now, we as individuals have more power over the fashion trends than ever before.
Gen Z's reign over fashion is a politically conscious movement that centers individuality over conformity. It seeks to redefine how we present ourselves through gender and sexuality, and pushes for eco-conscious consumption in a never-ending attempt to make our fashion as woke as we are.
Microtrend /mike-ro-trend/
Noun: fads that experience a surge in popularity before fading just as quickly
Fast Fashion /fast fash-un/
Noun: inexpensive clothing produced rapidly by mass-market retailers in response to the latest trends.