Credits: Enola Rose-LIVERPOOL JOHN MOORES UNIVERSITY GRADUATE FASHION SHOW
PERSONAL STYLE IS HERE TO STAY
How Gen-Z is creating supportive and self-made solutions in response to unaffordable fashion pieces
By Geeta Kaur Dhiman
Generation Z are currently either still at school or have recently entered the workforce, so their earning power is yet to reach its full potential. Nonetheless Fashion dominates spending for Gen Z, with around 75% of their purchases being in this sector. They are very particular about where they spend their money, preferring to spend more on brands that prioritise sustainability and ethics. However, GenZers with low discretionary incomes have limited choices in today’s marketplace. To a generation that has witnessed the worsening climate crisis, pressing global movements and the Covid-19 pandemic, fashion is less about following trends or denoting status, it’s an identifiable spirit of experimentation, individuality and a distinct hunger for ‘dopamine dressing’.
Credits: Happy Loco by Jeremy Salazar
Credits: Jana-BrokenGhostClothing
Credits: Happy Loco by Jeremy Salazar
An increasing interest in customising and reconstructing affordable clothes amid Covid-19, gave rise to a creative ecosystem of upcycling, resale and DIY fashion. Looking for distraction and self-development at a time of personal limbo, GenZers tapped into creative energies, followed online DIY tutorials and began to adapt pieces representative of trends into their own personal styles. This style rebirth uses fashion to uplift, self-express and support local economies. Websites like Depop allow users to buy and resell one-of-a-kind-clothes often at low cost, without the impact on the environment – and without throwing it away in the way fast-fashion brands promote.
Credits: DEPOP
Credits: THOUGHT WE FRIENDS
Entering a ‘creative renaissance,’ these sustainable hobbies have become a lifestyle and income earner for many, putting together colourful, creative, and chaotic looks. This aesthetic is characterized by a modern nostalgia for vintage items along with a cacophony of bright colours like lime green, Klein Blue, and fuchsia worn together in a single outfit.
Credits: Happy Loco by Jeremy Salazar
Credits: PHOTO BOOK Making sustainability accessible
Credits: Happy Loco by Jeremy Salazar
Nowadays, the mark of the truly fashionable is the ability to marry clashing colours into a cohesive, customised and upcycled outfit. GenZers don’t want to rent sustainability. They want it to be authentic and real.
