In the early nineties, trend consultants had us strapped to our chairs telling us what the delights of the future would be. Super flexi lifestyle gurus would offer ideas as to how to be a visionary futurist, foreseeing the looks that would give one credibility in style; a glimpse had how to be cool for the ensuing months/years.
Where have those gurus gone, you may ask? They’re old and have been recycled, like the trends they were raving about. These days, anything hot and new is already old and yesterday’s news. Predicting a trend requires little more than mathematical effort and knowledge of the fashion lifecycle.
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Most trends fall into the category of The 20 Year Rule. The 20 Year Rule dictates the tone of the trends of tomorrow, enabling us to determine what will be hot six months or three years hence. Spin the wheel of retro two decades back to find out. Currently the sound and look of the mid-eighties is influencing music and fashion. Bands such as Franz Ferdinand are reticent with their popular echoes of early-Eighties outfits (think Gang Of Four) and designers such as Hedi Slimane of Dior Homme and Raf Simons are designing today’s fashion zeitgeist.
These days, trends spread like wildfire. They are infectious on a global level, getting around quicker than a bout of Asian bird flu. Consumer glossies are on the pulse with all things current, but seem to be telling us what we already know. Page after page of the latest gadget, handbag or designer isn’t so much a news item anymore. One need only go to a trendy boutique and most of the products featured can be seen/purchased/ordered. The similarity in themes when browsing the latest fashion mags makes one wonder if there is an underground fashion scene left at all. Those magazines with a little more underground integrity (remember The Face, Dutch) have disappeared and haven’t as yet been replaced.
With technology and outsourced manufacturing becoming globally available, brands and products can be made to look similar, both in quality and characteristic. You probably won’t be able to differentiate whether it was created in the Prada design studio or a random Chinese factory, except perhaps by the embroidered logo.
To be trendy, therefore, requires some sort of authenticity. Brands that try too hard to be like every one else will never be style leaders. Consumer behaviour has shown us that a brand must hold intrinsic emotional value in the buyer’s eyes. A cachet often associated with a luxury brand as consumers are taught to be buying into a philosophy and way of life. You’re never just buying a pair of shoes, you are entering the select world of brand membership. So with millions of products and designers to chose from, why buy into one brand and not another? Why is one trendy and another dowdy?
A plethora of theories can answer that question. For the moment, to be truly trendy, is to be authentic. People who exude confidence in themselves and the clothes they wear are the ones who get noticed. Brands that create seemingly effortless glamorous clothes, whether high-end fashion or street smart (minus the bling factor), are the one’s favoured by fashion editors. Why? Because to be individual doesn’t require fashion alienation – you can blend in without having to look like anyone else. Just be authentic.