Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, many artists have searched for new outlets for creative expression and the social media app TikTok has become the new grounds for fashion trends to flourish. Due to its skyrocketing popularity, supermodels and modeling agencies have flocked to the app to join the new generation of fashion on their journey to creating new trends and expressing their individuality through their sense of style.
Tiktok’s influence on Gen Z’s clothing choice goes back to mid-2019 with an alt fashion renaissance. “E-boys” and “E-girls” represented a niche fashion subculture that combined aspects of goth, indie, anime and skater staples -- featuring silver chains, ripped clothes and lots of black. The app’s For You Page algorithm allowed for other risky dressers such as Noen Eubanks (@noeneubanks) and even Chase Hudson (@lilhuddy) to build off of one another’s ideas, emboldening a whole audience of impressionable kids who long to not simply fit in, but stand out.
With trending audios featuring clips of songs like Harry Styles’s “She” or Megan Thee Stallion’s “Girls in the Hood,” tiktokers have combined popular music with edited transitions that show off users’ best outfits. Even funny sounds featuring clips from “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” have made style icons and models like Bella Hadid (@babybella777), Anastasia Karanikolaou (@stassiebaby) and Kylie Jenner (@kyliejenner) herself flock to the app and create content for their fans.
Creators like 19-year-old Wisdom Kaye (@wisdm8) started off filming high-quality videos to show their millions of followers how to make unique outfits from staples that everyone should own and how pieces and colors that may seem like they clash can actually go really well together. His endearing tiktoks have garnered the attention of many high-profile accounts, allowing him to become featured in Vogue and earn a modelling contract with IMG Models (@imgmodels).
Other users like 19-year-old Sterling Myers (@sterlingmonett), 22-year-old Vienna Skye (@viennaskye) and Olivia Huffman (@lilbittylivie) have managed to not only have success on Tiktok by gaining over a million followers, but by crossing over in the Youtube and modelling spheres as well. Their fun vlog content involving their day-to-day activities and outfits and behind the scenes videos of their photoshoots illustrate how fashion can be for everyone, regardless of identity or economic status.
The faces of fashion are changing to be far more inclusive, due to Tiktok’s rising influence on style trends. Everyone can find their own niche based on their clothing choices, allowing users to easily connect to an uplifting community of people whose tastes overlap and inspire each other. With social media, the fashion world can stay connected, even during a pandemic.
Comments