Undefined Era

If you look around campus on an average day of classes, you might believe that everyone dresses in a similar style. In reality, unless your sorority sweatsuit is a family heirloom, VALLEY questions, what are we really wearing? If you look back hundreds of years ago, there are perfectly preserved pieces that speak to the political, socio-economic statuses of the time, giving us insight on trends and history.

How will Gen Z be remembered in history as we become the new generation designing, wearing and popularizing most fashions? Right now, it’s a whole lot of nothing new with synthetic dyes and fabrics showing cheap prints all over. With so much creativity and innovation, surely, our era cannot be the one where fashion goes to die.

Individualization Nation

Sure, malls are dead or dying, but the selection of stores to shop at has never been larger. This abundance of clothing combined with the ubiquity of social media has allowed for everyone to be individualistic with their style — anyone with a camera and a dream can be their own fashion icon.

Everyone adopting their own aesthetic allows for an abundance of creativity and inspiration, yet a society with so much individuality can find it hard to come together. Developing your own taste is an important form of expression that shouldn’t be compromised, but it’s also fun and fulfilling to match with your girls sometimes.

In With the Old, Out With the New

While it’s not a new trend to revisit old clothing, our generation’s fashion foundation lies within patterns the past. These are already established more than anything original. For example, during the Directoire period of fashion that’s popularized in Jane Austen novels, most clothing was influenced by the Neoclassical era of ancient Rome and Greece.

Nowadays, our generation tends to take a lot of inspiration from a more recent time period of the 1960s through 1990s. You see this influence in all sorts of places — like flared leggings having roots in the pants of the disco era or the grunge aesthetic of the 90s returning in reprinted t-shirts. Revisiting past styles can inspire some of the greatest fits of the future, but it’s important to always incorporate your own take.

Future Historians Will Say…

We still have approximately 15 years until our generation is no longer in vogue, so what style trends might become staples in this time? While there’s not many new forms or silhouettes being fabricated, it’s the way we style our clothes that has captivated crowds.

Our era is defined by a few major moments including — layering, mixing patterns/fabrics, oversized styles and an overall more androgynous likeness. We’ve prioritized our comfort and also have an excess of clothing in general. These factors both play into the trends of layering and oversized outfits. What’s unique about our era is that many of our biggest trends can be done in any style, which maybe is a change for the better.

What trends do you hope never go out of style? Let us know on X @VALLEYmag!