Trend of the Month — The Return of the Ridiculous
Fashion has transformed since the late 2010’s from styled instagramable couture into what can only be described as a smorgasbord of different eras and free-flowing expressionism.
This February I noticed a slight change within the expressive amas that is our current fashion scene. It’s all starting to get fabulously silly, let me explain…
The Trend
I first noticed this trend at the Grammy’s, what with the cowboy outfits. Then I surveyed a development in the arrival of those big massive red Astro Boy boots and Sam Smith’s space-age retro Brit’s look. And now we have the fashion weeks. There was Burberry’s punky tweedy collection. Most notably, the duck hat. And then over in New York Lisa Rinna donned a killer black mini Skirt at Micheal Kors and also took to the runway at Copenhagen fashion week- an icon-level moment.
We also witnessed Pharrell sporting what can only be described as a khaki sleeping bag a week after being named the new creative director of Louis Vuitton men’s wear.
An Analysis
So we have cowboys, duck hats, giant red boots and hilarious reality stars all within a month, but what does this mean? It means that fashion is getting cheesier and sillier; basically, all bets are off!
This is 90s grunge, 70s punk and big bright 80s all rolled into one Gen-Z yassified moment. I see 2023 fashion as though someone has thrown all the eras into one big bag, shaken it up and then merged it to create one bright sparkly bewildering look. And for fashion watchers, this is so exciting.
The trend of the ridiculous references the 2009–2011 era of disco cheese. A time when we had emo fringes, a foundation on our lips and metallic club gear. The fashion of now is this but more sophisticated topped off with a duck hat to give it that Gen-Z edge- cheesy chic shall we call it?
I digress here but TikTok could be playing a huge part in the return of silly fashion. With many eras being referenced on a daily basis in funny quick clips, surely a duck hat at fashion week makes perfect sense? You could even refer to it as Internet Couture, which was a heavy influence on the 2009–2011 My Space emoverse. In fact, I digress even further, you could argue that all fashion from the last 20 years is directly influenced by the most popular platform of its time. See here —
My Space Late 2000’s — Emo
Facebook Early 2010’s — Disco (heavy foundation)
Instagram Later 2010's — Carefully curated Kardashian candid perfection attire
TikTok 2020's — Every era and silly
Moving back to the current day, I want to discuss the socioeconomic climate. With the cost of living crisis, fewer consumers are indulging, meaning designers are just like right let’s have some fun and see what boundaries we can push now everything is slowing down.
The cheese of the early 2010’s (I’m referring to you Gaga and Kesha!) came on the back of a recession, therefore I expect the silly cheesiness of the moment to only accelerate further as the economic downturn continues.
So there you have it our February trend of the month, one word ‘ridiculous’, and I cannot wait for more, roll on March!
