It’s no mystery that what is trending in fashion is usually just the latest style of our favorite, beloved celebrities. Hollywood’s elite has always driven the fashion Ferrari, if you will. But in the race to claim Hollywood for its own, will the same fast fashion trends of yesteryear win out or will we finally see sustainable fashion trends creep ahead?
Fast Fashion Trends
What is fast fashion? Fashion is considered fast when it follows a seasonal calendar from runway to consumer in a rapid or trending cycle.
Consumer demand for instant gratification and the need to have what is trending has typically driven the fashion world to push this fast fashion mentality, but that can be culturally and environmentally dangerous.
The idea that everything is disposable leads to increased environmental pollution, waste, and typically unsafe work environments for the textile manufacturing laborers.
Sustainable Fashion Trends
Sustainable fashion, on the other hand, focuses on being carbon-neutral, while disposable fashion trends generate pollution in production, use, and disposal. Sustainable fashion is an eco-friendly cousin that lessens the environmental impact to our planet.
While sustainability in fashion is the talking point of our generation, the industry as a whole has sat up and taken notice. Consumers are shifting the demand from quantity to quality and some brands are making significant changes in the way they source and produce their products.
Recycling Fashion Trends
By using recycled materials to create new clothing, we lessen the waste in our landfills. This sustainable method is currently one of the hottest trends in the fashion industry.
Rental or Secondhand Fashion Trends
While buying clothes secondhand is not a new idea by any means, it is the latest trend going viral with secondhand stores growing three times faster than the global market overall. Renting designer clothing (especially for a special event) has become another sustainable way to stay fashionable without sacrificing the environment.
Eco-friendly Clothing Trends
A lot of brands are manufacturing from biodegradable materials which lessens the overall carbon footprint it takes to process those materials. Some are using plant-based and other organic fabrics as well.
Who Is Winning the Race?
According to Research and Markets:
“The global ethical fashion market is expected to grow at a overall compound annual growth rate (CAGR) 9.7% by 2025 (above fast fashion), with the organic segment expected to be the fastest growing sustainable fashion trend, at a CAGR of 18.4% during 2020-2025.”
While sustainable fashion continues to trend, I wouldn’t consider fast fashion down for the count just yet. It is much more likely that fast fashion trends will continue to evolve rather than die out completely.
One thing is for certain, with the ever growing number of eco-conscious buyers, the need for designers and clothing manufacturers to provide long-term innovative solutions is a must.