The Perils of Conformity: Tik Tok and Trend Cycles
Walking through Washington Square Park, I can’t help but feel a sense of deja vu as I look amongst the crowd of people walking. Suddenly, I realize why everyone looks so familiar; I can directly pinpoint their aesthetics to the ones that I’ve seen on Tik Tok. The “cottagecore” girl in her white prairie dress, the “clean girl” with her hair out of the way in a claw clip and a matcha in hand, and the “cybercore” boy in his army green parachute pants. And while there’s nothing wrong with following trends, I can’t help but wonder, when was something as intimate and personal as style reduced to repeated trends.
In short, I think that Tik Tok is to blame.
Before Tik Tok, I remember how lengthy trend cycles felt - the age of skinny jeans and quirky saying shirts spanned for what felt like an eternity. While platforms like YouTube and Pinterest helped others identify what was “in” and what was “out,” they definitely played a secondary role in the establishment of personal style. Pinterest helped users identify their specific niche aesthetic and curated their feed to contain pins directly related to that aesthetic. Similarly, YouTube’s algorithm allowed for users to find videos similar to the ones that they already watched. For example, if I had just watched a video on Tumblr inspired clothing, the chances for me to be suggested DIY videos on making my own shirt with the saying “ew” on it were high. What these platforms did was help users find their personal style, and suggest other content that would help them bring that style to life.
In contrast, Tik Tok has taken the customization or personalization out of style and instead commodified it. While trend cycles (the idea that aesthetic shifts usually occur within the span of twenty years) have been a commonly known concept, Tik Tok’s algorithmic nature makes it easy for users to shorten the trend cycle through circulating new aesthetics and trends for others to hop onto. Scrolling through my Tik Tok For You Page, I’m bombarded with videos suggesting “must buy” items for my closet, each one amassing millions of views. These videos make users feel like they need to purchase certain items in order to fit in, or that a specific aesthetic is what’s “in”, rather than suggesting the development of one’s personal style. The focus of personal style shifting from an aesthetic to individual items has further contributed to the consumerist mindset that the fashion industry capitalizes on. The sixty dollar Zara dress is not a need, but through the lens of trend following on Tik Tok, users tend to feel that way.
I begin to question: Do we really know what can be considered individuality if everyone is conforming to the same trends? According to Tik Tok, the answer is no. Tinyjewishgirl and Myramagdalen are creators on Tik Tok who use the platform to show their thought processes with building outfits catered to their personal styles. Yet, rather than being cheered on for their innovation and ingenuity in terms of their risk-taking with fashion, the comments under their videos rarely seem to be positive, with users critiquing their style and making fun of their outfit choices. These comments made me realize that on Tik Tok, personal style is only choices that conform to the current trends, and the only people who fall outside of this bubble are the people we have deemed as trendsetters. Rather than building a personal style ourselves, we fear being deemed as unfashionable or not fitting into the current fashion sphere, which is why we rely on people like Bella Hadid or Devon Lee Carlson to spoon-feed us the next clothing item that we “need” to add to our closet.
The conversation surrounding Tik Tok and fast fashion has been ongoing and spans many years, but we have yet to create any tangible or effective solutions. I think the reason we have yet to find a solution is because we have not addressed the root of the problem: the rapidly changing trend cycles promoted through platforms like Tik Tok. While fast fashion companies such as SHEIN are symptoms of the problem, the goal of eradicating these companies is not the solution. Thrifting and purchasing second-hand clothing has been the general solution, but is still relatively unsustainable when it comes to the fact that we shop to fit into trends. The second that trend is over, we throw those garments out, or never wear them, which continues to the wasteful nature of shopping for trends.
Beyond fast fashion, these trends often blatantly steal from various cultures and promote euro-centric standards. The “clean girl” aesthetic, primarily perpetrated by white women, was derived from Black, Southasian, and Eastasian women who have always been sporting slicked back buns, adorning gold hoops, drinking matcha, and using Gua Shas. In addition, the trend seemed only attainable for those who had disposable income to afford daily matcha lattes, a skinny body type, clear skin, and straight hair. The excluding nature of the trend revealed that Tik Tok and influencers tend to only participate in trends that only a few people can partake in - the individuals being skinny white women. Similarly, the trend of using a dark lip liner and lip gloss has been recently credited to Haily Beiber, the lip combo being coined as “Brownie Glazed Lips”, when in reality, Black and Latina women have been wearing this lip combination for years. The blatant stealing of cultural practices and commodifying them for a whiter population is incredibly damaging, making people feel like the only way for things to be considered trendy or an aesthetic is when done by conventionally attractive white women. These Tik Tok trends become inherently classist, racist, and fatphobic. With the recent resurgence of the “indie sleaze” trend, it’s becoming more clear that being thin will always be in.
I’m reminded of a statement that I was told in my Introduction to Media Studies lecture: “Everything is injected with sameness.” I think that in the case of trend cycles, the foundation of trends is penetrated with the consistent expectation of eurocentric standards, which is pervasive and will continue to be essential in our society.
Is there a solution to this problem? I fear not.
Unless we open up our minds and listen to and follow users who don’t strictly pertain to the societal eurocentric standards, we’ll never escape the cycle of trends and whiteness that has impacted fashion and culture at large.
