Page 47 - ADU Voice Volume 5 Issue 1
P. 47
Fall 2025 | Voice 47
Let’s take a look at the evolution of fashion There are several factors that contribute to fashion
trends throughout the decades. The 1920s to comebacks. Social media is one of the most influential
1950s emphasized glamour and luxury. These drivers of these trends. Every niche style has a space and
post-war trends have returned on modern platform online which makes it possible for niche trends
runways—especially through vintage to become mainstream. Not only that, but the rise of
fashion collections such as the Miu Miu fall influencers has accelerated the growth of fashion trends.
2023 fashion show, and films like The Great People may have a Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) and
Gatsby (2013), which highlight iconic looks conform to current trends even if they don’t particularly
from the “Roaring ’20s”. The 1970s, shaped like them. For example, the Lululemon Mini Belt Bag
by trends like crochet, flared pants, and boho became a must-have fashion item after influencers began
styles, re-emerged during the COVID-19 styling it with everyday outfits. Many people felt driven
pandemic, as people craved comforting and by FOMO and the desire to stay on trend, even if they
homemade aesthetics. Neon colors, shoulder didn’t initially like or need the bag. The bag eventually
pads, and blazers peaked in the 1980s and sold out, proving the power of influencer culture.
came back as online fashion influencers
and brands embraced their bold, nostalgic Moreover, socio-economic factors have had a huge
feel. Designers like Olivier Rousteing and impact on fashion throughout history, often shaping
Donatella Versace leaned heavily into 1980s the rise and fall of trends. For example, following the
trends, contributing to their revival. Several hardships of World War I in the 1920s, fashion changed.
trends from the 1990s made a comeback in the Hemlines became shorter, accessories shinier, and
late 2010s, creating sub-aesthetics on social fabrics more luxurious, symbolizing society’s newfound
media like “streetwear,” which featured 1990s political and economic freedom. Similarly, COVID-19
styles like baggy jeans and oversized shirts. changed the way many people think about fashion;
“1990s grunge” also made a comeback— while many embraced comfort and simplicity through
emphasizing darker looks, leather jackets, capsule wardrobes and investments in high-quality
and platform boots. Lastly, the “soft-girl pieces, others leaned into bold and experimental styles
aesthetic” that emerged in the late 2010s as a form of escapism. In both cases, fashion became a
was heavily inspired by 1990s looks as seen reflection of society’s social and economic circumstances.
in the film Clueless (1995)—featuring plaid
skirts, pastel colors, and knee-high socks. In the end, fashion acts as a reflection of who we are
2000s trends such as butterfly clips exploded and where we’ve been. As trends from the past return,
in the 2020s via TikTok, driven by nostalgia they remind us that style is shaped by memories and
and the renewed popularity of 2000s movies emotions. Fashion offers a unique way to reconnect
such as Mean Girls (2003), driving the with the past, with culture, and with ourselves:
popularity and re-emergence of Y2K fashion. showing that history doesn’t just repeat, it reinvents.
