If you’re into fashion, you’ll understand why the world celebrates Fashion Week like it was Christmas. You’ll understand why they trip over their own feet trying to get a front-row seat and ogling at the super models who stride down the runway in the latest seasons’ collections by the several of the world’s renowned fashion designers. Fashion trends are something fashionistas cannot live without. It is their lifeline to what is hip, cool, fresh and fierce.
Fashion tells us a lot about a person, the way they dress, the way they put their outfits together indicates the kind of person they are on a daily basis. Even people who profess not to care about how they look still tell a story about who they really are or what they strive to be. One cannot say that they don’t care about fashion but not look a certain way, whether it’s to their detriment or success.
Fashion is not just wearing clothing that protects us from the elements. Fashion trends tell us what to wear when we are down in the dumps and when we are high up in the clouds. Fashion trends inspire chemistry and can be the start of a very beautiful love affair, as well as the end of one.
If the only permanent thing in the world is change, then this is certainly manifested in the world of fashion where change occurs as fast as a blink of an eye. It can quite challenging and confusing to follow fashion trends but follow them is what people do and do well in most cases. Case in point would be the purported fashion icons who are able to whip up outfits from the most casual to the most glamorous at any given day of the week or at any time of the day for that matter. They can be having a bad day but you wouldn’t know by their perfectly put-together outfits and the smiles they flash at the paparazzi. Paris Hilton could have just broken up with her latest guy during the morning while wearing designer jeans and top and party that same night in a silvery wisp of a dress.
But just who exactly starts these fashion trends and why do people follow them? Musicians like rock stars, athletes, actors and actresses and even political figures have been credited to start fashion trends. When someone influential decides they want to tell the world that being Emo is cool, expect the rest of the world to embrace the Emo trend and to see the world from one eye. People follow fashion trends are what categorize us as individuals or groups, what makes us stand out or what defines us to the rest of society. Fashion trends are frippery that makes us look like the rest of the world.
Another reason why people follow fashion trends is because they want to participate in a never-ending popularity contest. Trends in high fashion or “haute couture” are always carefully scrutinized and if found wanting, you can be sure to see it everywhere you look – on the runways, on TV shows, in the movies and even on your next-door neighbor. The trends can have price tags that can feed an entire third-world country but people would still go ahead and get the look. It all boils down to the fact that we all want to be liked and loved and this is one surefire way to have just that.