The way you dress tells a story about you

Our fashion choices are more than a good combination of fabrics and colour. Our fashion choices often allow us to voice our opinions, convey our feelings and make a statement without saying a word. Plastic over leather, hemp clothing and even the #Freethenipple movement. 21st century fashion trends are diverse, loaded with personal opinion and socio-political standpoints.

A form of Expression

Big, loud afros during the Black Panther movement were part of the need to express black people's uniqueness through their distinct phenotype. The ‘No Bras’ movement over the past couple of years has sprouted all over the world as a protest against male policing of women's bodies in different industries and society as a whole. These overt displays of resistance against the status quo highlight how important fashion is to the group and the individual. Fashion has the ability to voice the feelings of the masses without saying a single word. Hence, fashion statements.

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Fashion is more than just an avenue for self-disclosure. We show off our best selves by picking tops that bring out our chiselled shoulders, jeans that hug our legs in all the right places, and accessories that say a lot about our work ethic and worth. Shoes allow us to say “I really got it like that” without having to show anyone what we have in the bank. Rings tell everyone watching our hands “I’ve won the Super Bowl,'' or inform others not to offer you a drink because they noticed your wedding band. These subtle statements paint people a picture of you without ever having interacted with you.

The origins? 

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Where are all these fashion statements derived from? Who decides what is in fashion?

For the most part, the onus falls on the ‘icons’. Influencers and celebrities who operate above us. Not because they have something amazingly unique about them, or an ability to flawlessly pull off the most random looks. They dictate the progression of fashion because as a race we look up to these individuals for direction and guidance. That is not to say they get it right everytime. Even ASAP Rocky gets it wrong sometimes. Regardless, what celebrities and influencers wear has the ability to start trends and movements, depending on how many of us co-sign and support it.

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Their success and clout is what draws our attention to them. In an effort to fit in, we lean into their fashion sense because we know it is likely to be accepted amongst the group that collectively respects the source. 

Alongside the individuals in the limelight, so too do the brands insinuate what the ‘appropriate’ avenues for self expression are.

Gucci, Supreme and Nike have the ability to cause major shifts within the fashion industry. It’s more than their name or brand, though those are big elements to the equation. It’s their reach, their infrastructure and their capital, all of which grow in size and quality the better they adapt to changes in the industry over time. The biggest brands have existed for decades, some even centuries, and their ability to withstand the test of time can be attested to their ability to negotiate fashion with consumers. 

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The social and economical tides are constantly, though gradually, changing. People want to feel free yet put together. They want to look successful whilst keeping it minimal, and once market giants get a hang of giving the people what they want, they use their respect and influence to spread the general consensus mainstream.

Is it Right or wrong?

We can't say for sure. What we do know is that they are necessary. Let’s be honest, without these influential brands and people, a lot of us wouldn’t know what is or isn’t appropriate. We would lack the means of expressing our political views and subtly flexing our social status. Not only does our fashion allow us to speak, it helps us know who is who and what their intentions are.

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Our idols, celebrities and big brands set pace, and we follow. They make it so smaller businesses have something to emulate at an affordable price for the average person. They also provide a platform for designers and artists to bring something new and useful into the mainstream, selling us on clothing items we never knew we needed but soon became a staple in many people’s lives. Each of them gives us something different we can identify with and wear as a representation of our allegiance with a particular movement or investment in a particular trend. 

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Our wardrobes mature with us. Telling the stories of where we are in our lives and what we believe in. We pick different parts of fashion that bring out our internal stories, and we marry them together to narrate our unique existence to the world. Fashion is more than just clothes. It’s our medium for communicating who we are to the world, with the world.

Tell your story boldly.