WHY IS THE TREND CYCLE SO F-ING SHORT?

A Look at the Impact of Tik Tok and Trends

by Sammy Grobman

Like most of my generation, I use consumerism to cope with anything plaguing me— something the Tik Tok For You page knows all too well. So, when I stumble upon a video about a new article of clothing or accessory, something different from the world of fast fashion we live in with companies such as Shein and Zara, I become obsessed.

However, by the time I actually do research and find the product I want, I've already seen another 10-15 videos about that specific item of clothing that apparently everyone wants now.

Time passes, and now the fast-fashion websites and companies have caught on. Next thing you know, by the time it arrives from the indie seller you purchased from, everyone's onto the next look. So I ask, how does the trend cycle intensify and move so fast?

In the past two years, the rise and fall of fashion trends have become more frequent. A typical macro fashion cycle lasts around ten years, with smaller micro fashion cycles lasting 2-3 years. So, how in 2022 do we have 6 or 7 major trends per season?

Examples of these trends — many of which originated on Tik Tok —include the balaclava, the reemergence of the cropped uggs this winter, and more specifically, the hyper-popularity of House of Sunny.

House of Sunny is a London-based clothing company that started in 2011. Their unique designs and silhouettes made them popular in the indie fashion world until they blew up on Tik Tok in the summer of 2021.

They gained fast popularity for the dress; you know, the one that was all over everyone's For You Page. The dress's green spaghetti straps and all had everyone dying to purchase one, until they were quickly sold out. That was, until the fast-fashion gods stepped in, making House of Sunny-esque dresses for a quarter of the price.

Knock-offs have always been a thing, with companies taking what the high-end brands are selling and producing the same product, but for much cheaper. Why is this scenario with the House of Sunny dress so different? Simply because of the quickness in turnaround.

A Tik Tok that was posted this summer of a girl at a thrift store, who found a dupe for the House of Sunny green dress - something that everyone was dying to get their hands on now cast off and resold at that second-hand store. How did a dress that should have been 'on trend' for at least a season not even last for a month?

The inundation the average consumer has with new products, especially with the usage of Tik Tok by major brands, has changed how we see and interact with products. The decrease in attention spans in Gen Z has also impacted this. After seeing 10 Tik Toks about the same product, you get bored until the next new trend comes around.