TikTok and Fashion; the Rise of Maximalism
Sara Camposarcone reaches into her closet, her hand leading her to the piece of the day; a big Margiela clutch bag resembling a candy wrapper. She builds her outfit around the item, making sure all the textures, colors and silhouettes compliment each other, such as matching the fake cigarette earrings with the toy car bolo-tie. Camposarcone films her process and posts it to her 1.6 million followers on TikTok. She twirls with a big smile as she shows off her layered masterpiece in a video that received 4.3 million views.
“The way I dress I think really shows who I am as a person,” Camposarcone said. “It also I think shows that I have a lot of confidence which is something I didn’t always have.” Certainly a grocery trip in tattooed leggings with wigs attached to the sides would take courage — something Camposarcone does not lack; she dresses for her inner child, letting herself pick out what brings the most joy and wears it with pride.
Camposarcone is part of a resurgent class of maximalist influencers — a group that puts together outfits with a plethora of colors, textures, and accessories and posts their creations on social media. Maximalism is about combining pieces one likes, often unique items from second hand stores or even runways, to create an outfit that makes the wearer stand out and feel confident. Many fashion analysts trace its start to the Harajuku street style of the 1990s, when bright colors, jewelry, and all sorts of chunky shoes emerged in the Harajuku area of Tokyo as globalized through street photography and fashion magazines. After a minimalist pause during the 2010s in the days of Kardashian-like nude tones and bodycon pieces, maximalism came back when we craved entertainment and change the most: during the plainness of the Covid-19 pandemic quarantine. It has inspired young people to style — and even create — the most eccentric wares. And TikTok has been crucial.
“Maximalist because more is fun,” reads the bio of Anna Golka-Yepez, another TikTok maximalist influencer. “Whether people think so or not, there is always a method to the madness,” Golka-Yepez said. “And that differs between maximalists.” Even just through a scroll through their pages, it is evident that while Golka-Yepez and Camposarcone are both maximalists their styles are different, and that maximalism is truly about what items draw a person in. “I also think it’s like art; each outfit is something I create,” Golka-Yepez said. “I play with texture and color and silhouettes until the look feels just right for me.” Fashion is entirely subjective to each person, and what may look wearable to someone may be hideous to the next. Golka-Yepez’s focuses on what feels right for her personally, which is the reason her style differs from other influencers’ such as Camposarcone “We had so much time to play around with our closets,” Golka-Yepez commented about quarantine. “ And I think with that we found something we loved.”
The trend primarily resided with Gen Z youth, who turned to apps like TikTok during the restlessness of quarantine life. Like many of today’s maximalists, 20 year old New York University student Yngrid Araujo traces her interest in maximalism back to 2020. “I am a victim,” Araujo joked about how the style affected her during the pandemic. “I feel like it was influential for our age.” Araujo wakes up and spends sometimes hours at a time picking the outfit for the day. She stands in front of the closet and grunts as the options get to her head; is it a jeans-and-shirt day or a “girl” day, she debates. After trying on at least three outfits, she leaves the house with a patterned headband, skinny scarf, and red ballet flats accompanying her. “I was about to end high school, I was inside for a whole year… so a lot of media was consumed,” Araujo recalled. Media of fashion creatives such as @tinyjewishgirl on TikTok, who would put on outfits rarely anyone would dare leave the house with. In a time where luxury meant neutral tones and minimalist silhouettes as pushed by Instagram models and celebrities, youth online started experimenting with doing something different. As many found, self expression was best done through fashion and appearance.
NYU student Matthew Toups describes his style of maximalism as “y’allternative”, a combination of the words “y’all” and “alternative”. Toups, unlike Araujo, doesn’t like to spend time picking out his outfits. He claims to just grab any clothes, put them on, and hope the outfit looks good. Though for him it is not about the end product, but the pieces that make it.
“The fun of maximalism is each object has its own individual meaning and I think it has a story,” Toups said, referencing his t-shirts plastered with logos of bands and artists he’s seen. “It’s all a piece of you.”His clothes, like many maximalists’ clothes, have history. It might be an eccentric ring from Europe, a shirt from a friend, or even a puffer with Björk’s face on it, every piece is sentimentally valuable. “You pick these pieces because of a reason, right?” Toups pointed out. “The clothes are an extension of my life.”
Maximalism means a different thing for everyone who chooses to adopt the lifestyle. The resurgence of the style in recent years has allowed people to express themselves through outfits that anyone would rarely see before the pandemic. The rise of internet fashion subcultures and trends during quarantine had youth looking for inspiration from fashion influencers such as Camposarcone who spread a positive message; wear whatever makes you happy and own it. “Maximalism is very free and it’s just about having fun and I don’t think there’s ever a right or wrong,” Camposarcone said. “It’s like a blank canvas and you kind of get to just make it what you want.”
