Be the One
Is it more important to wear something we like? Or rather something that will put us on the map? Do we prioritize liking ourselves first or for others to approve of us instead?
The western trend, Louis Vuitton Fall-Winter 2024
When did it all start? If we take a short trip down memory lane, the earliest memory of fashion in the human industry goes back to both Ancient Rome and Egypt. Garments were a means to convey status symbols. The wealthy would have wider resources to afford better and more colorful clothes. In contrast, the poor would have to settle for pieces often of neutral tones, made of cheap materials. People could recognize others based on appearance, as it was the first and most understandable sign of their status. As time went by, other drivers came into the picture though. Fashion became a reflection of people and status was not anymore the only thing to portray. Each individual started to develop feelings, interests, and dreams inside, which had to find an external escape. Some wanted to belong to other groups of people. Others wanted to buy brands that would reflect their achievements in life. And fashion itself had to adapt, quickly. Brands understood people were looking for a personal reflection of themselves in clothes. The style range got wider, and suddenly individuals had plenty of options to dress themselves with, showing different shades of their personalities. And what was the consequence initialized by this evolving scenario? People and brands started realizing what they were based on the comparison with others. Audiences started defining their own aesthetics and created their own styles. And out of all the drivers we hinted at before, uniqueness officially became the leading character. But let’s be honest about it. It’s no news. We’ve always wanted to be unique one way or the other. And even those who consider themselves immune to spotlights are somehow drawn to it. Uniqueness is the same factor that pushes us all to dress up for several occasions like parties or work days. Some prefer to make loud moves and actually be noticed while others are more inclined toward more subtle aesthetic choices. Who doesn’t need the looks of appreciation and respect? Who doesn’t want to be perceived as someone original? Or the one with that impeccable taste that captures the attention? All of this easily answers the innate need of human nature to stand out.
As we all know, fashion is - fortunately - a mixture of staples, novelties, and trends. Without the infusion here and there of new elements, the world of clothes would stagnate in a boring lake of traditionalism and already-seen. But how does this process take place? With a precise pattern recognizable in every fashion phase, the scheme never changes. As we mentioned a few lines above, reality tends to produce trends to entertain people. In fashion, these short yet intense periods may consist of bringing back to life outdated products, specific styles, or even past decades. Somebody wears it once. Twice. Somebody else does as well. And then others. Friends, family, and in the blink of an eye so the world. Without you even knowing it, that product or style is everywhere. And here there’s the first interesting twist of the story. Somebody gets tired of seeing that thing over and over again, probably because it doesn’t resonate with their personality. Or simply they don’t want to be perceived as trendy - or banal if you want. Being trendy has lately become a synonym for tasteless or characterless. If you wore something that somebody else had already prepared for you just to put on, where would the genius be? Where’s the element of novelty? The inner voice whispering to them “Be the one” makes them detach. They part ways with that group of individuals and they create their own circle. A tight-knit sphere where the key to entering lies in sharing the same values as the others.
And this is probably why we got to witness so many new small trends popping out like the western vibe wave or the grandpa style brought back by New Balance. How many of you were shocked when you started spotting on the street young people flaunting their dads’ Asics running shoes? Someone decided to take a chance on something nobody would have ever dared to bet on, giving it a second life. But here’s the second twist. Even if they thought they were original and unique in their actions, probably their behavior has been dictated by small signals they’ve already seen on the streets. Our brain doesn’t conceive anything out of the blue. Everything we think to know is inevitably influenced by elements that our brain has already unconsciously registered. Therefore - by thinking to have developed styles or digging out traces of past products - they have simply joined a restricted circle where others have done the same thing before. Now, if you were someone who thought of themselves as a trendsetter with a unique taste, what would you do then? Well, if all I saw was a group of people dressing very similarly to each other, I would most definitely try to evade that situation by creating something new that nobody has.
Asics, by Andres Castillo/Tommy Nowels
And this is exactly how we jump straight into the new phase of this everlasting process. There would be new individuals setting up the foundations for new “avant-garde” groups made of even more original ideas. But guess what? Same script over again. There would already be a crowd waiting for them. The game is pretty simple. There is no chance in life that we’ll be the first ones doing or thinking something. The world is wide. For those of you who don’t necessarily know, the global population hovers at 8 billion and more citizens. Who do you need to be to outbeat all of them? Probably not even the great gods in the universe would be able to give you a hand. Fashion has become a race where the first one wins it all. We need to be different. Therefore, we need to be pioneers. I’m sorry to break it to you but times have changed and the world is experiencing a new lifecycle. Before we had a clear contraposition placing on one side those who were trendy and on the opposite edge the outsiders - those not fitting in. And today we still have the same lineup, but with a slightly different shade. If before the trendy individuals clearly outnumbered the trendsetters/outsiders/different/namethemwhatyouwant, the world of today is witnessing a reversing scenario. Being different has become a trend. Today we have many more small groups of outsiders that ended up being part of the same wider audience. The peculiar taste of each individual has been deprioritized by the most urgent need to emerge and be unique. Some people don’t think anymore in terms of what they might like. But rather on what might make them stand out. The one described is definitely a losing game. But it wouldn’t be if the common opinion adopted a different perspective. A shift should be operated from the pole made of “It’s a problem if someone else has my style!” to “Why is it a problem if someone else has my style?”. Wondering about the reasons that make us the way we are. Let’s start realizing that this is what brands do. They push ideas and products towards us. The world throws signals at us. It’s the way things are. We are the recipients of somebody else’s actions. And you know what? That’s okay. What if we like something trendy? Would that be a crime? Would we go to jail? Let’s change the meaning that being trendy has. There’s nothing bad from this side. And nothing is glorifying about being an outsider either. Being one of many will not place a badge of “coolnessless” on your chest. And trust me, being purposely different will get you no award either.
