With ever-changing online trends and algorithms, fashion has become less about empowering individuality and more about fitting into neatly packaged aesthetics bound by social media and stereotypes.
Recently, I’ve found myself scrolling through countless “clean-girl” and “grunge-core” videos on my TikTok and Instagram feeds. After hours of indulging in the algorithm, I question my clothing identity and the need for a wardrobe update to better fit the criteria of what’s trending.
These new social media-driven stereotypes, such as “coquette-core,” have come to define how we perceive individuals, often causing us to overlook their unique identities. These trends not only inhibit creative expression but reinforce harmful stereotypes like racial and gender prejudice, and cultural appropriation.
s are flooded with influencer content on social media platforms, promoting ultra-specific trends from the cyberpunk nostalgia of “Y2K” to the effortless minimalism of the “clean girl” image. Through visual association, each style initially presents an implicit character, which encourages the idea that a person’s clothing choices somehow reflect their identity. But what’s at stake is the true spirit of fashion as a tool for self-expression which gets undermined by the trend of generalizing people based solely on their appearance.
These stereotypes don’t just restrict personal creativity—they also exacerbate social implications that target minority groups.
Aesthetic trends may impose additional burdens on marginalized communities. For instance, some trends or styles may have originated in specific cultures, like evil eye jewelry, depriving the culture’s spiritual practice of its original significance just to be considered “fashionable” and “aesthetically pleasing.”
We risk overlooking a culture’s tradition and history when a piece of clothing that holds cultural significance is reduced to a fleeting fad. Appropriation reinforces prejudiced perceptions about the groups from which the trends originate, further diminishing them.
As entertaining as it is to watch content from fashion creators like Lara Cosima and her “royal-core” videos, we succumb to algorithms that amplify the issue of perceiving individuals from a lens of stereotypes.
By promoting specific influencers and aesthetics, platforms establish and reinforce the idea that fashion must fit within presumptive prototypes. To fit in, young people—who’re particularly vulnerable to influence—will pursue these micro-trends at the expense of their own originality. Instead of viewing fashion as an array of oppressive categories, young people should start to embrace its liberating possibilities, even if it means dressing differently.
It’s time to shift the narrative. To resist a prescribed image of clothing is to celebrate individualism’s uniqueness rather than conforming to rigid standards within the fashion realm. Rather than divide communities, fashion should encourage creativity, inspire confidence, and build connections.
Fashion isn’t about fitting into the mold of clichés driven by superficial aesthetics. The potential of fashion to empower and unite people is what makes it so powerful. Let’s reclaim fashion as a platform for inclusivity and self-expression and transform it into a culture that values diversity in all its forms.
Rachel is a first-year Health Sciences student and one of The Journal’s First Year Interns.
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