Have we entered a trendless decade?

For centuries, fashion operated as a top-down system. The concept of “fashion” as we now know it Big-Banged into being when Marie Antoinette appointed her dressmaker Rose Bertin as “Minister of Fashion” at the court of Louis XVI. Whatever Marie Antoinette wore (she was the original KOL!) trickled down as fashion trends through the aristocrats, then to the tradespeople, and the masses – cake, crumb and pink wig powder. She was known to have whims.

This pyramid model of fashion remained intact over the centuries, varying but slightly up to recent times: What generations of people wore was dictated by just a mere handful of queen bee designers and editors, no questions asked. However, this elitist hierarchy bears zero resemblance to the way fashion functions today. Designers and editors are no longer the only gatekeepers, and the people pushing the sartorial trends forward are just as likely to be a Kardashian or an art school student.

Thanks to the pervasive death grip of social media, trends now filter up, rather than down. Because the base is always as wide as it is heterogeneous, there are no defining trends now, unlike the hippie movement of the 1970s, or the excess of the 1980s, where a set of dominant aesthetics ruled the way we dressed.

Same, same and not at all different

In the age of inclusivity, fashion has become decidedly non-prescriptive. When everyone is suddenly a fashion expert on the podiums of different platforms, every impassioned view suddenly becomes relevant, and everything becomes a micro trend. When everything is in, then nothing is out: You wear whatever makes you feel best, even if it’s dad jeans and Crocs.

The old hubris implying that you ought to be wearing anything other than what you feel comfortable in represents the last whimper of the old prescriptive system, which has no place in the new world of inclusivity and diversity, of body positivity and anti-ageism. Because not all people look like Hailey Bieber, the very idea of trends has retreated into Tiktok. Fashion now provides a style for everyone, ensuring that all will get a fashion moment, or even two.

Influencing a new generation

With the evolution of social media, fashion has now arrived at a place where a new season doesn’t mean a specific new silhouette, length or shade. Fashion trends are now based on many considerations, such as body type, gender, age… the list goes on.

What’s great is that this seismic shift has led to boundless freedom in how you choose to express your authentic self, for social media is all about personal style, and not a trend dictated from some rarefied perch.

When every click counts, and every engagement means someone somewhere is collecting a bonus, social media’s algorithms now have a huge role in pushing a certain set of aesthetics or the newest pair of Prada shoes.

This vacuum has been left wide open for the rise of influencers. While fabulous many of them may be, they add yet another layer of confusion as to which trends do matter, or don’t. Being photogenic has its perks, and a pair of wide-legged pants may look as flattering as a micro mini on the same influencer.

But when two opposing trends seem equally relevant, think: Kaia Gerber in a minimalist white shirt and a pair of straight-leg jeans, versus Cardi B in a soaring, swirling pleated confection by Gaurav Gupta in retina-burning blue, what will people ultimately decide to wear?

“The old hubris implying that you ought to be wearing anything other than what you feel comfortable in represents the last whimper of the old prescriptive system, which has no place in the new world of inclusivity and diversity, of body positivity and anti-ageism.”

Can there ever be too much fashion?

We certainly live in a deluge of fashion, not just of fashions present, from every level of the market but – thanks to social media and resellers – of fashions past as well. The previous decades are always with us now, and we can call up and consume past fashions as never before, with the swipe of a screen.

A treasure trove of vintage trends are even present in the fashions of today: Chanel’s recent couture collection featured not only contemporary, oversized tweed coats, but also Art Deco tea dresses from the 1920s that could have been designed by Jeanne Lanvin. Daniel Roseberry for Schiaparelli sent out a collection that was a collage of trends past, a Pinterest board of corset dressing circa Jean Paul Gaultier and diva gowns circa John Galliano at Dior.

Christopher Bu made waves by dressing movie star Fan Bingbing in the gown equivalent of a Tang Dynasty porcelain vase. A mishmash of things past, plus a Joan of Arc igloo armour, was thrown in for good measure at Balenciaga.

Some brands (like Jacquemus) show off-season routinely now, with off-schedule presentations and random drops, in its attempt to follow fast- fashion retailing. The result is that the disparate drops make it challenging for different collections to coalesce into a coherent trend for any one season. This way of proposing new collections also contributes to a feeling of “seasonless-ness”.

Even for fashion professionals, it has become difficult to ascertain which season any given item of fashion has come from, never mind consumers. Seasonless fashion has therefore risen to the fore. After all, wouldn’t you choose timeless and well-made pieces that won’t date, considering practicality, usefulness and longevity rather than something considered trendy?

Sustainability is in fashion

The reality of climate change has become impossible to ignore, but the rise of sustainable fashion also contributes to trendlessness. Since we are going green and recycling what we already have, the instinct to buy something truly of today is diminished. The classics then prevail in this instance, and what the luxury consumer buys moves sharply away from Instagram-worthy, trend-led items, and reaches for classics with more practical mileage.

Micro trends, which are but a euphemism for the planned obsolescence of clothes, encourage a throwaway mentality – and are thankfully on the wane. Think Bella Hadid’s cropped tops or flared pants: These trends come and go so quickly that they could hardly ever define a season, much less a decade – it’s simply no longer important that we should follow them.

Finally, if we take a wider view of this fashion moment, we will see that this movement away from trends is, in fact, a trend in itself. The 2020s could indeed be remembered for being the time when fashion shifted away from trend-driven items into more timeless styles, amid a flurry of styles. We are shopping with altruistic purpose, investing in fashion that is more inclusive, diverse, sustainable and more aware of its carbon footprint. Perhaps, that is a trend worth celebrating.

Daniel Goh is a freelance writer who has reported on fashion, luxury and celebrity for over 30 years.