TikTok’s Rise of Microtrends

Influencers are cycling through trends so fast it’s not sustainable

—By Brienne Bordes

It’s hard to keep up with today’s fashion trends. Young women on TikTok who are now considered “influencers,” due to having a few thousand followers, are marketing clothing styles at a rapid pace. Some recent trends include Y2K and Cottage Core clothing as well as casual and “going out tops.” When scrolling on TikTok, I see various types of tank tops, long sleeve shirts, jeans, and skirts being promoted. For example, while skinny jeans may have been popular years ago, the current microtrend is baggy jeans. 

While fashion is always changing, in the past fashion trends were communicated through magazines and popular celebrities. This slowed down the cycle since it sometimes took weeks for the new styles to be seen or sold in stores, leaving the trends in cycle for longer. However, nowadays, according to Katelin Callery in her article, “The Acceleration of the Fashion Trend Cycle Through Social Media”, “These trends rise to popularity quicker and then leave the trend cycle faster. While traditional fashion trends typically last a few years, micro trends’ life spans are shorter, with some lasting less than one season.”  The effects of microtrends additionally are unsustainable and unreliable for the consumer and the environment resulting in the need of other options. 

An economically unsustainable lifestyle

TikTok clothing trends are often targeted towards young women and raise an expectation that they need to conform to changing styles. However, it is not economically sustainable to buy a new wardrobe multiple times every year. This leaves young women either left out or overspending. Katie Maugh, a University of Michigan psychology major, says, “I always see new clothing, jewelry, or shoes that all the influencers are wearing. It makes me wanna buy them, but I realistically cannot afford them. For example, I love to wear Ugg shoes, but influencers are continuously promoting a new style of Ugg shoes. So I am unable to keep up with the newest style.” 

However, while those watching TikTok microtrends may be struggling financially to stay in fashion, influencers are profiting off of them. They frequently post videos of their new clothing “hauls,” displaying items from fast fashion brands such as Shein and Amazon. This influences their audience to buy clothing even if it isn’t the best quality. According to Forbes, “the majority of followers are not engaging in purchasing promoted merchandise based only on product value (quality of material, for example), but rather in support of the influencer or by joining in on a common trend.” Sophia Ramirez, a University of Michigan student studying public health, says, “I see influencers with Amazon store fronts promoting new clothing several times a month. They are spending hundreds of dollars on Amazon clothes trying to get people to buy them in order to make a commission.” While influencers are constantly buying these new clothes to influence their viewers, the clothes end up in the trash or at the bottom of a closet. This leads to not only financial instability for consumers, but also environmental consequences due to the significant clothing waste.

Fast fashion and its environmental impacts

These TikTok videos have some positive impacts because they provide more affordable options. However, the brands advertised are often culprits of fast fashion. According to The York Times, fast fashion products “exacerbate the annual billion tons of greenhouse gasses” due to its international shipping. These clothing brands have cheap, trendy clothing but are made with poor quality and are mass produced. Callery highlighted that “mass production has steadily increased over recent years. This allows for a fashion object to be available very quickly and available at any price point.” Some of these stores, such as H&M or Shein, are pricing their products for less than $5. The materials used to make these products are not environmentally sustainable. University of Michigan political science major Emma Abramczyk explains, “These clothes that are promoted on social media end up in landfills. I go to thrift stores for a lot of my shopping, and I am seeing these fast fashion brands including Shein, Romwe, and Forever 21 all brand new clothes with tags.” 

Economically and environmentally friendly options 

In response to these critiques, some influencers on TikTok are trying to promote second-hand shopping and thrifting at second-hand stores such as Salvation Army and Goodwill. People should also be able to envision the items they are buying have a solid use for them. Ramirez says, “I try and think, will I wear this again in six months or is it going to end up in the bottom of my closet or given to Goodwill.” Ramirez also likes to buy a lot of basics that she can pair well with other things like statement pieces and brighter colors.

Although most higher quality clothing stores have high prices, they are significantly more sustainable. For example, thegoodtrade explains, “Sustainable manufacturing processes usually involve better craftsmanship of each clothing item, which can reduce these instances of wear and tear and prevent clothes from being sent to the landfill.” I have had personal experience buying clothes from the athletic store Lululemon which uses high quality materials. Although leggings are priced upwards of $80-$100, I have been wearing the same pairs for about eight years. Expensive clothing is an investment and more sustainable for the environment.

Overall impact of microtrends

The danger with microtrends is that they promote the idea that people have to stay up on trends and constantly participate in this hyperconsumerism in order to be accepted in society, especially for younger generations. However, it is nearly impossible for the everyday person to constantly spend their money on new clothing. Nina Groll, a retail employee and University of Michigan student studying communications and media explains, “As a retail employee, I think that Shein and other fast fashion brands are really the only places you could even try to keep up financially with these trends. It moves super fast.” Groll even stopped following the trends when a friend of hers mentioned that you can always tell when something is from a store like Shein.

These TikTok micro trends are a symptom of a hyper consumerist culture where you are encouraged to continue to buy, buy, buy. Groll said, “It is sad because I think the development of a personal style is not as popular anymore. Instead, people are kind of reinventing themselves into a new person every couple weeks.” 

Photo by Aaron Weiss on Unsplash