The Shortening of Trend Cycles

Trends used to cycle every 20 years. But now that’s no more.

The emergence of TikTok and fast fashion has led to micro-trends with a cycle time as short as a few months or even a few weeks. Fashion is already one of the most destructive industries in the world, we’re entering a period of irreversible climate change and fast fashion is the last thing we need.

Perhaps one positive of this rise of micro-trends is that because there are so many micro-trends co-existing at any one time, the Overton window of fashion is quite wide. We can see this, especially in menswear. Menswear is in its golden age as it is more expressive, ambitious, and experimental than it has ever been.