Are social media microtrends killing individuality?

By Megan Krueger

10 / 21 / 23

Fashion is a significant form of self-expression used to visually represent the wearer’s personal identity. At the same time, fashion is a social product that reflects changes in cultural movements and attitudes. This means that because people and their interests are constantly changing, consequently, fashion is rapidly evolving.

Pop culture has long played a role in creating fashion trend cycles, with Hollywood in particular being a common source of style inspiration. Fashion is used by celebrities to establish an image associated with their brand as an artist (think Lady Gaga’s experimental avant-garde, or Kurt Cobain’s convention-defying grunge). Notable designers frequently collaborate with celebrities, resulting in greater exposure for their brands. It is also worth noting that design houses are huge influencers when it comes to fashion trends in their own right, analyzing cultural movements to predict the direction fashion will turn in the following seasons. But with the rise of social media and short-form content in particular, an intriguing change is taking place. Social media allows anyone with an internet connection to create fashion content and become an influencer in their own right. The easy accessibility of such content often results in the quick rise of microtrends, something that has both potentially beneficial and harmful effects on the way in which people express themselves through fashion.

This is nowhere better exemplified than TikTok and the rise of “core” trends: short-lived microtrends adopted by a certain demographic, typically characterized by a key staple, color palette, or silhouette. Labels like “balletcore,” “cottagecore,” and “dark academia,” or even the more obscure “coastal cowgirl” and “goblincore,” are adopted to easily identify these specific styles and make it easier to find creators and brands catering to these aesthetics. Such microtrends can also be linked to bigger brands or popular media, like Barbiecore, which has taken inspiration from Valentino’s neon pink Fall 2022 collection, and, more recently, the 2023 Barbie movie. And even if you fancy yourself a normie who doesn’t buy into trendy fashion, there’s a microtrend for you: normcore, an oxymoronic anti-trend trend, which emphasizes the wardrobe staples most people already own.

The rise of this form of fashion content has its upsides: firstly, it allows minority creators who may not see themselves represented at runway shows or in the larger fashion landscape to achieve greater influence and exposure. Second, many content creators use their platform to promote sustainable fashion or brands with initiatives they care about. Lastly, it exposes people to a vast array of styles they may not have been aware of before, encouraging greater exploration within fashion.

However, despite these positive aspects, there are also some definite downsides that must be addressed. Short-lived fads like blueberry milk nails and latte makeup have begun to make people realize that many TikTok microtrends are just repackaged versions of styles that have been around forever, now given sensationalized names that cause them to go viral in the span of a week and then get dropped in the same amount of time. And, whenever these trends pop up, you can be sure that brands will jump on them in order to draw in consumers hoping to get the look. This phenomenon causes many microtrends to feel like manufactured marketing schemes by the beauty and fashion industries, who want to brand long-standing products as new, trendy items. It is also worth noting that many social media sites like Instagram and TikTok now have shopping tabs which encourage users to spontaneously buy these aesthetic pieces they see online without considering their limited wearability.

The fact is that people must consume in order to keep up with these fads, and when new trends come and go on a weekly basis, microtrends quickly begin to result in overconsumption. It is impossible for fans to consume at the same rate as influencers, who partner with brands and are often paid for product promotion. Young people who are easily influenced and crave virality may turn to fast fashion, a notoriously unsustainable and wasteful industry, to achieve a desired aesthetic.

Fashion commentator Rian Phin has noted a second downside to microtrends, which are less flexible and original than more longstanding styles: “They seem like a strict uniform of specific items to gather and wear in very specific ways and from specific brands, rather than a broad interpretation of ways to dress based on any specific subculture or cultural movement.” Influencers cram themselves into narrow style boxes in order to earn clicks, rather than cultivating a unique personal aesthetic (something that instantly sets them apart from fashion-forward celebrities). 

For the average person, microtrends actively make it more difficult to find a personal style because everyone seems to be telling you to buy different things and look different ways, encouraging conformity at the cost of individuality. Our personalities are no longer informing our personal styles; rather, we are relying on short-lived “core” trends to establish an identity, and then crafting a persona around the way that we dress.

TikTok microtrends can encourage users to become more familiar with different types of fashion and experiment with their own looks. However, merely adhering to an aesthetic or buying pieces influencers are wearing will not necessarily lend itself to forming a personal style or signature look. While it can be tempting to follow new trends, creativity is a better recipe for standing out from the crowd.