Trends – What Makes Them, What Breaks Them?

All around the world, the notion of fashion trend became over the last decade somehow related to the one of fashion icon. Not so different but in some way more specific trendsetting comes as natural as a profession for a certain segment of people inclined to cross over the barriers of “playing nice” in fashion. I was just wondering how in the world certain characters became trendsetters in spite of their total disregard for the rules of fashion, and how did certain items of trend became a “must” under the condition that a trend should fit more than two people and has to be so intoxicating that it is difficult to shake off once it has made a name for itself. For example last season the straight hair style with a fringe raved among the hairstyle salons all over the world. Who initiated the “fringe”? Well by the middle of 2007 “the fringe” made an appearance, blunt, pixie or Kate style –named after Kate Moss and spread like fire in the public figures’ world. Personally, I am not a fan, but since then till now I saw a multitude of fringed hairstyles all over the cat-walk and city streets. Whether it suited them or not the women of the world embraced the style, adopted it and wore it like a flag in any hair color possible. During these 2 years of fringe trend hair, I saw girls looking terrible with this hairstyle, but hey…they were trendy. Another surprising trend is the one that made popular the Christian Louboutin designer shoes. Somehow these leather shoes created a mass hysteria for all the fashionistas in the world. Alexa ranking identifies over 80% of the fashion sites and forums mentioning at least once the Louboutin shoes. Women went crazy on the sales of these shoes, the feminine celebrities are present on the cover of the fashion magazines wearing them and recently the Louboutins are present even in the movies. Is there a reason for which these shoes are so hypnotic apart from them being just shoes? Christian Louboutin may be a shoe genius but from that to a cat fight over a pair of shoes during sales season is such a long way. Conclusion: A trend doesn’t care about the price, the consequences or the common sense. The more outrageous the price, the trendier is the product. When I come to think about accessories I have to stop and breathe for a moment. Considering how fast their style changes sometimes even over the night the trends are set with the speed of lightning. So … whether they are from Estrella or Affixus or from Prada and Mark Jacobs the jewels, bags, scarves and even perfumes are considered trendy by the rules of exposure and advertisement. In the end, all of us buy the above stated items of fashion out the compelling urges dictated by the “TREND”. Taking out from the trend the amount of exposure, marketing and media coverage that usually defines it; we are left with ordinary items of fashion that all of the sudden don’t seem so spectacular. As a conclusion: What does make a trend and what does break a trend? The answer I found for myself, after looking over the fashion world for a while, is that trends are created out of the need for making a statement, are made popular out of the need of celebrity and are broken by nothing else than other trends that are coming to replace them.