YOU ARE WHAT YOU WEAR
October 2017
“Girl Power.”
With her friends, Emma Vanoncini, a senior, wore this message on her shirt to her senior class photo.
“We wanted everyone to feel inclusive -- there was even a guy who wore the shirt. I don’t mind expressing my views on feminism since that’s something I stand for, and I didn’t see the shirt as something that was just for girls, but for everybody,” said Vanoncini.
“Girl Power” is not the only message that’s graced a shirt. At the 2017 New York Fashion Week runway, there were models walking and wearing shirts stating “Be The Change You Wish To See In The World,” along with statements like “I Am An Immigrant” and “Feminist AF.”
Shirts were not the only clothing item with a message: there were hats proclaiming “Make America New York” and pink buttons emblazoned with “Fashion Stands With Planned Parenthood.
Wearing clothes to express one's social and political views is a trend distinct to the millennial generation. Pew Research Center defined the millennial personality as “confident, self-expressive, liberal, and open to change.”
This personality extends to clothes, as many millennials want to showcase both their style and social stances. According to a study conducted by LIM College professors Robert Conrad and Kenneth Kambara, some millennials see themselves as a “brand of one.”
That “brand of one” not only includes color or style preference, but also a type of activism -- expressing statements or beliefs through clothes.
This type of personality has led the fashion industry to cater to millennials, whether it means politicizing their clothes, featuring issue-oriented statements, or increasing their brand style to include body and racial diversity.
This allows millennials to portray aspects of their personalities onto what they wear, such as shirts branding the word “feminist.” Millennial fashion features stances on trends in addition to activist statements: Forever 21 produced sweatshirts featuring the word “kale.”
Many millennials who make statements through their clothes are influenced by what they see on social media.
Vanoncini said, “I think that previous generations didn’t feel comfortable expressing all of their views. There were more social norms for everyone, but now people are able to express who they are and how they’re unique. That’s what celebrities are doing too, which makes it more acceptable for everybody to show what they truly are.”
Brands pay millennial influencers like fashion YouTubers, Snapchatters, and Instagrammers to feature their products in videos. This has changed what the definition of a “celebrity” is -- a fashion icon to a millennial could be a movie star but could also be a popular user on Instagram or Snapchat.
Social media affects how many millennials shop, whether it be online, in store, through an app, or by clicking on an Instagram post link.
Miya Okumura, a senior, said, “People tend to think that dressing a certain way is fashionable or cool, but it depends on the person. It feels like more people tend to care more about what they wear nowadays, but some people don’t dress exactly how they want to due to societal influences such as social media and pressures.”
However, social or political statements extend beyond explicit messages. Pop star Rihanna made her stance on diversity in fashion clear when she released the Fenty Beauty makeup line, which exploded in popularity with its 40 foundation shades.
When the line was released, their 12 darkest shades sold out in many stores, causing many millennials to tweet, “This is for all makeup brands who think the dark shades won’t sell well.”
However, while there’s been increasing calls to advocate diversity -- be it body type, race, or gender -- some brands don’t subscribe to the diversity perspective.
Christine Kang, a senior, said, “Some brands are trying to market toward body diversity, but other brands, like Brandy Melville, still offer one-size-fits-all clothes that don’t fit everyone. Many of the models also tend to fit a certain standard and look.”
Despite conflicting brand visions, some labels are making an effort to advocate diversity -- a far call from fashion’s previous standards. By marketing to teens and people in their 20s, the fashion industry is offering a history and profile of the millennial generation -- in textile format.
According to Pew Research Center, millennials are the most diverse generation out of all generations in terms of race. In terms of fashion, they’re showcasing their diversity as well -- brands like Supreme cater to hip-hop fans, while countless others reach for past generations’ trends recreated by Forever 21 and H&M.
Millennials are changing the fashion industry and what it means to make a first impression through clothes.
Vanoncini said, “In a way, people do want to fit in with a certain standard [like you see on social media], but now, fitting in is so much more broad than before. The millennial generation is so much more accepting to different identities. Being a certain race or being LGBTQ+ -- that wasn’t accepted as much, but now that’s normal, and people accept it as something that people are.”
With her friends, Emma Vanoncini, a senior, wore this message on her shirt to her senior class photo.
“We wanted everyone to feel inclusive -- there was even a guy who wore the shirt. I don’t mind expressing my views on feminism since that’s something I stand for, and I didn’t see the shirt as something that was just for girls, but for everybody,” said Vanoncini.
“Girl Power” is not the only message that’s graced a shirt. At the 2017 New York Fashion Week runway, there were models walking and wearing shirts stating “Be The Change You Wish To See In The World,” along with statements like “I Am An Immigrant” and “Feminist AF.”
Shirts were not the only clothing item with a message: there were hats proclaiming “Make America New York” and pink buttons emblazoned with “Fashion Stands With Planned Parenthood.
Wearing clothes to express one's social and political views is a trend distinct to the millennial generation. Pew Research Center defined the millennial personality as “confident, self-expressive, liberal, and open to change.”
This personality extends to clothes, as many millennials want to showcase both their style and social stances. According to a study conducted by LIM College professors Robert Conrad and Kenneth Kambara, some millennials see themselves as a “brand of one.”
That “brand of one” not only includes color or style preference, but also a type of activism -- expressing statements or beliefs through clothes.
This type of personality has led the fashion industry to cater to millennials, whether it means politicizing their clothes, featuring issue-oriented statements, or increasing their brand style to include body and racial diversity.
This allows millennials to portray aspects of their personalities onto what they wear, such as shirts branding the word “feminist.” Millennial fashion features stances on trends in addition to activist statements: Forever 21 produced sweatshirts featuring the word “kale.”
Many millennials who make statements through their clothes are influenced by what they see on social media.
Vanoncini said, “I think that previous generations didn’t feel comfortable expressing all of their views. There were more social norms for everyone, but now people are able to express who they are and how they’re unique. That’s what celebrities are doing too, which makes it more acceptable for everybody to show what they truly are.”
Brands pay millennial influencers like fashion YouTubers, Snapchatters, and Instagrammers to feature their products in videos. This has changed what the definition of a “celebrity” is -- a fashion icon to a millennial could be a movie star but could also be a popular user on Instagram or Snapchat.
Social media affects how many millennials shop, whether it be online, in store, through an app, or by clicking on an Instagram post link.
Miya Okumura, a senior, said, “People tend to think that dressing a certain way is fashionable or cool, but it depends on the person. It feels like more people tend to care more about what they wear nowadays, but some people don’t dress exactly how they want to due to societal influences such as social media and pressures.”
However, social or political statements extend beyond explicit messages. Pop star Rihanna made her stance on diversity in fashion clear when she released the Fenty Beauty makeup line, which exploded in popularity with its 40 foundation shades.
When the line was released, their 12 darkest shades sold out in many stores, causing many millennials to tweet, “This is for all makeup brands who think the dark shades won’t sell well.”
However, while there’s been increasing calls to advocate diversity -- be it body type, race, or gender -- some brands don’t subscribe to the diversity perspective.
Christine Kang, a senior, said, “Some brands are trying to market toward body diversity, but other brands, like Brandy Melville, still offer one-size-fits-all clothes that don’t fit everyone. Many of the models also tend to fit a certain standard and look.”
Despite conflicting brand visions, some labels are making an effort to advocate diversity -- a far call from fashion’s previous standards. By marketing to teens and people in their 20s, the fashion industry is offering a history and profile of the millennial generation -- in textile format.
According to Pew Research Center, millennials are the most diverse generation out of all generations in terms of race. In terms of fashion, they’re showcasing their diversity as well -- brands like Supreme cater to hip-hop fans, while countless others reach for past generations’ trends recreated by Forever 21 and H&M.
Millennials are changing the fashion industry and what it means to make a first impression through clothes.
Vanoncini said, “In a way, people do want to fit in with a certain standard [like you see on social media], but now, fitting in is so much more broad than before. The millennial generation is so much more accepting to different identities. Being a certain race or being LGBTQ+ -- that wasn’t accepted as much, but now that’s normal, and people accept it as something that people are.”