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Sensory Explosion: Smelling, Touching, Hearing, Tasting Fashion

For this post, I really want to expand on my past discussion of the VSCO girl trend.  In one of my previous posts, I talked about the rise of this trend and how it may have something to do with the rise in popularity of certain influencers such as Emma Chamberlain or Haley Pham.  I find that this trend is actually much more than a fashion statement, it seems to have become more of a lifestyle.  

From the reusable water bottles (the Hydroflask, specifically), to the oversized t-shirts, mom jeans, and messy buns held up scrunchies, there is definitely a message to be taken away in terms of how younger generations behave.  With natural hair and makeup looks, and reusable bottles, it is evident that there is a growing sense of environmental consciousness, and more casual lifestyles. This is likely to bleed into various industries as more and more consumers are looking for organic and ethically sourced food and materials.  

Take makeup, for example.  This trend doesn’t call for much at all, if any, and those that do choose to use it tend to look closer at the labels to ensure that what they are purchasing is cruelty free and vegan, or even just to know that it was sourced and manufactured in environments where workers are treated fairly.  

Even the jewelry worn by those following this trend tends to be made of natural materials like shells.

Beyond what people put on or in their bodies, however, I feel there is also a shift happening due to this trend in how consumers react to interior decorating.  With the rise in organic living, more people are purchasing artisanal, or homemade products like soap or candles, and thus preferred scents are often those found in nature as well.  A personal example of this I have found while living with a roommate who is basically the definition of a VSCO girl, is that we haven’t had brand-name soaps, candles, incense, body scrubs--you name it--in our house since living here, and if you were to walk into her room you would immediately be taken into a world of light, natural, woody and flowery scents that comfort and relax the mind.  

It doesn’t hurt that she is often listening to old records that have a similar feel, as with most VSCO girls.  

Overall, I feel that many trends do not solely involve one particular garment or item, trends instead often show up as part of a lifestyle and can even sometimes encapsulate whole time periods, depending on how popular they became in their time.  Trends bleed into many industries in one way or another, and do not always start or end with the fashion industry, therefore it is important to look into all aspects of life for inspiration or a clue into what is happening.  

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Visual Portrait

Summarizing a life with only objects or images seems like an insane task.  When tasked with creating a visual representation of my own life, it forced me to think of all of the intangible things that make life what it truly is.  A life is not a collection of what someone wore, ate, bought, or put on paper; life is about experiences, feelings, and lessons learned through mistakes and triumphs.  And so, I decided to incorporate images and objects into this collage that make me feel something, remind me of different experiences, or those that I use to portray how I am feeling to others. 

In this collage, I chose to incorporate some of the things that provoke certain emotions for me.  Art, cats (animals in general, really), friends, family, plants, and accessories that give the world a glimpse of what goes on in my brain.  

Art has always been a way for me to escape reality for a bit and focus all of my mental, emotional, and physical energy on one thing.  When I am drawing for my own reasons (and not for some homework assignment) I can’t hear, see, smell, or feel anything other than the paper and pencil in my hands.  When I do not have time to create art, I often look for other ways to still get that fix, in a way.  This is where accessories and hobbies come in; in my opinion, the entire body is something to be accessorized, whether that be in the form of a certain hairstyle, piercing, or the clothing you wear.  By accessorizing my living space with plants, or wearing bright colors, sparkles, different scents, and even certain jewelry, I feel I am able to at least free up some of the space in my mind by letting those urges be fulfilled when I cannot put everything on paper.  

These accessories also carry meaning much of the time, like the shoes and necklace presented.  The shoes have definitely seen better days in terms of wear and tear, however they carry many memories of times with friends spent making messes, going on adventures, or even just making the best out of the less exciting or happy days we shared.  This idea carries over to the necklace as well, except in a different manner.  

The necklace was not something I found until after all of the best and worst memories were made which would be tied to it.  The necklace belonged to my father, who passed away when I was 19.  Not once in my 19 years with him did I see him wear that necklace, and I think that is part of what drew me to it.  While my mother, siblings, and I were looking through all of the things he left behind, there were so many stories told involving my father that I had never heard.  So much new information about a person I thought I knew absolutely everything about.  So many stories and so much life lived that I would never have in my own memories.  This necklace told the story of his younger, healthier self at a time when his fun-loving attitude could flourish as he had so few things in the world to worry about, so few responsibilities.  This object is so much more than a way to honor his death, it is a way of remembering the life my father lived, and how you can never truly know a person in their entirety, no matter how many memories you share or how many material things they leave behind.  So, while this collage may be a peek into my life now, it is in no way an accurate representation of what it has been and what it will become.  

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Future Fabrics

In a time of over saturation in the market, fashion companies are looking for more and more ways to remain competitive.  This means altering their products and business methods and making advancements wherever possible.  As technology plays an increasingly sizeable role in society today, companies are tasked with utilizing this technology to create more innovative products that do more than just make a consumer look good.  This effort is exemplified in the creation of heat sensing materials used in sportswear, or the incorporation of nanotechnology in fabrics and apparel products to detect the hydration levels of a wearer.  

These advancements hold power beyond being cool gimmicks to attract curious buyers; these products may also serve as tools for athletes, people with disabilities, medical professionals, first responders, military personnel, and more.  Imagine the convenience of a bracelet that could be worn by a patient with Alzheimer’s to detect if they had drank enough water that day, or a garment that could be worn under the suit of a firefighter that could send a signal back to the station if that individual was getting overheated, dehydrated, or was exposed to too much smoke.  

For those that must wear heart monitors, how convenient would it be if this same technology could be re-engineered to work from as small a scale as the thread that makes up the fabric of garments?

This same concept could be adapted to the average customer as well.  Think of how convenient it would be if your clothing or accessories could alert you when it is time to drink, rest, eat, etc. in a way that is personalized just for you as it is based on data collected from your body specifically.  

Beyond having fabric that could be engineered to change colors, or have lights running through it, textile innovation could change the world across many fields and possibly even change how we communicate as human beings.  

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I Can’t Believe They Wore That

Today, people often trust that their car will protect them from their surrounding environment as they use it to to move from one location to the next.  When the Model T first came out in the early 1900′s, this was not exactly the case.  While this technological advancement provided a more efficient mode of transportation for consumers, it did come with disadvantages.  One disadvantage to be noted was that of subjecting passengers to all of the dust and dirt blown up during the drive.  This issue led to the adoption of protective apparel to be worn over regular clothing.  These garments were similar to those worn by horseback riders  as they also needed protection from the dirt kicked up by their horses and thus, due to their functional purpose, there was not much emphasis on their appearance in terms of fashion.  

Certain garments passengers wore to protect their clothing underneath were dusters, which were commonly long, lightweight, loose-fitting coats.  These coats tended to be canvas or linen and were fairly simple as they were meant to get dirty as they protected the wearer’s clothing for whatever event they were headed to.  Scarves, hats, and goggles or glasses were also common to protect a wearer’s fashion garments, hair, and eyes from the dust and grime that would be tossed up.  

Analyzing these protective garments and how they came to be more popular caused me to wonder how this idea presents itself today.  More specifically, I decided to look at the social implications of this garment at the time in order to gauge what type of person might have a use for this and thus relate it to symbols of socio-economic status today.  Those in need of dusters were those with access to automobiles, as discussed, and this technology was just coming to be in the early 1900s, therefore it was likely that only the affluent upper-class had access to this luxury, and thus the duster could have been used as a visual representation of this privilege.  This idea of conspicuous consumption to show off one’s wealth without directly mentioning it is seen quite often today, one example of a garment or accessory functioning in this way would be designer sneakers today that often cost great amounts of money or are limited edition.  

People that buy sneakers in this price range are not likely planning on using them for running or for sport, but instead they use them to show others simply that they can afford them, even if the shoes are worn in a way that is likely to soil them, such as wearing them on your feet as you walk around, or wearing a duster over your clothing to get filthy as you go for a dusty ride.

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I AM A TRENDHUNTER: I hunt trends

Upon looking up from my phone for once while walking around campus this week, I began to notice some similarities in style choices of the people in the area.  One accent piece that stood out to me was the Fjällrӓven Kånken, a canvas backpack designed by the Swedish brand Fjällrӓven.  

This piece often stood out as it comes in a wide variety of colors that contrast the basic black backpacks that so many other students often revert to.  Another reason this trend caught my eye was the fact that I have been seeing this bag all over social media for several weeks now.  Recently, there has been quite a focus on the “VSCO girl” aesthetic, and how it so often includes artsy photos edited using the VSCO app in which people (often girls) are shown to have a Hydro Flask reusable water bottle, scrunchies, long hair, shell necklaces, and Birkenstock sandals of course…oh and don’t forget the artsy glasses! (My roommate and I seem to have a growing collection)

And trust me, these other accessories were also quite commonly spotted this week, especially the Birkenstocks.  In fact, I found that my roommate and another one of my friends both have most of the accessories discussed and could probably fall under the “VSCO girl” category themselves.  

These sightings caused me to wonder what could be causing this aesthetic to become such a trend, is it the rise of Emma Chamberlain’s fame on YouTube and multiple media platforms beyond that, or was her fame due to her adopting these already rising trends so that she could appeal better to her growing audience of other young women?  I bring this up as many other media influencers seem to have brought up her name as well when discussing this aesthetic and most discussion online seems to agree that part of the “VSCO girl” lifestyle involves watching Emma Chamberlain’s content.  She is often even included in “VCSO Girl Starter Packs” like the one shown below.  (Starter packs, for those unfamiliar, are basically collages of items/images/quotes/etc. that emulate a certain aesthetic, trend, or other noticed pattern -- they are quite common across social media platforms)

With the rising popularity and seeming dependency on social media of younger generations, should forecasters and designers be turning toward influencers to gauge what will come next?  It definitely seems that social media and what people wear or how they act in real life has some connection, but how deep does it go?

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Quicksand!!! & 90s Cinematic Trends

Patterns and themes in entertainment can often be indicative of what is happening around the time that the content was created.  In a podcast called “Quicksaaaand!” produced by WNYC Studios, the speakers talk about the presentation and reputation of quicksand in the entertainment industry, more specifically, in film and television.  According to these speakers, the popularity of quicksand and the connotation surrounding this phenomenon today differs greatly from when quicksand was at its cinematic peak in the 1960s.  Quicksand went from being a major fear of many characters child viewers, to being used as more of a gag and even being used playfully in children’s cartoons.  The speakers suggested after performing research that this shift was likely due to a shift in fear and anxiety, as at the time of quicksand’s peak, there were real fears involving exploration if one thinks of the moon landing, social and civil rights movements, foreign entanglements and geopolitics; but fears shift over time and exploration became less and less of a hot topic.  

If one thinks of the fear of exploration as being rooted in something deeper, it may ultimately be a permutation of the fear of getting sucked into something too far to be able to return to the old reality in case things hit the fan, and this fear can be showcased throughout decades involving many different societal changes.  This is further exemplified by the way consumers interact with modes of entertainment today, whether that be movies and shows, social media, or video games and virtual reality.  All of these options are modes of escaping reality and on some level living in an altered universe for a given amount of time in which one can forget their real life and live vicariously through a character over which they may or may not have control.  If one views the video “Why All Movies From 1999 Are The Same,” uploaded by the youtube channel Now You See It, one can see how this idea arose to satisfy people who feared they would be sucked too far into the unexciting reality of their boring, stable jobs.  This video discusses how many movies, especially around 1999, showcased people working cubicle jobs in which there was little room for fun or change (keep in mind these characters were almost always, if not exclusively, middle class white males).  

These movies picked up on the fear of this demographic of being stuck in their never-changing dead-end job without the promise of an exciting future that would make it all worth it and used it to make characters more relatable. These characters were often portrayed as leading unfulfilling lives and seeking ways to change their fate as a sort of escape and means of achieving greater importance.  This idea of a character taking risks to change their boring, relatable life to become one of excitement and success beyond what an office job could achieve seemed very appealing to audiences that would, in reality, be faced with great anxiety if they were to try to attempt this themselves as going against social norms to achieve personal success and belonging does not coincide with the social definition of success most of the time.  Another way in which this theme relates to reality is the idea that there was not much going on at the time to create an exciting atmosphere, and thus this gave way to conflict in its own way.  If humans are not provided with something disastrous or amazing to take up their minds, time, and energy, they will likely go about creating their own disruptions.  People have a subconscious need to be needed, and thus if an individual feels they are in a position where they could easily be replaced, they are likely to act out in ways that they feel will give them a sense of purpose, and this is easier for someone who has the time, money, and privilege (power) to act as they please. 

The video also suggests that it wasn’t really that there was a true lack of instability, it was simply that it was covered by other things.  This leads back to the main characters of this time often being cisgendered middle class white males, as this demographic did not seem to have a lot going on, and thus movies involving women, people of color, or people of the lgbtq+ community were not often formatted in the same manner and these films would shine light on the true instabilities of the time that people likely often wanted to ignore because the truth can be ugly underneath the “stable suburban exterior,” provided by the films with white male leads. 

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Who’s Who?: Current Fashion & Trend Bureaus

COOL HUNTING

This publication is not exclusively fashion-based.  COOL HUNTING is constantly searching for fresh, creative, and inspiring ideas in technological, cultural, and design fields.  On the company’s website, one may find daily articles discussing current events in music, video games, interior design, art, electronics, automobile, accessories, and more.  The site places focus on topics involving environmentally conscious design, while also promoting sustainable products in their advertisements.  The company’s social media accounts are not much different, as their Twitter (@coolhunting) is used to promote what is already on the site, and their Instagram (@coolhunting) is used in a similar way as it promotes the site, while also including outside content and much of what is to come on the site.  Their Instagram displays images of new and creative ways in which companies are changing their business practices to be more sustainable and environmentally conscious.  This promotion of evolving brands, and products is coupled with interactions with these companies as they are tagged in each post and credited for any reposted images; this allows consumers to have easy access to the brands and products being showcased so that they may learn more themselves or even purchase a product shown.  One thing I noticed while scrolling through COOL HUNTING’s social media and clicking through their website was that it felt somewhat one-sided, as there did not appear to be much interaction between audiences or consumers with the company; there were no replies to comments found on their Instagram account, and no replies or unique tweets found on their Twitter, solely promotions.  Their Facebook account was not much different than their Twitter in terms of how and what they posted, their Vimeo is basically the same as well, with the exception of posts being in video format as opposed to static images.  Their Youtube channel, again, does not differ much from the rest of their social media with the exception of posts being in video format, and including some short documentary-type content in which brands or products were depicted and discussed.  Overall, many of the topics discussed on the COOL HUNTING website would be of interest to a wide array of personalities looking for fresh and sustainable sources of inspiration in many fields, however there is little room for open-discussion with the company.