Does the way we as individuals choose to dress tell others how we feel? How we want to be heard? Our options and values? Personality? What do the colours we wear say about us? Today, as I sit writing this, I’m in a café about a 5-minute walk from my small house in the south of Manchester. I’m wearing a vintage black Vivienne Westwood shirt belted into a pencil skirt. All black, does this really reflect my personality? Maybe I am perceived as boring? Not an ounce of colour on me. But maybe I’m feeling careless and dangerous. Confident. Maybe you’re looking too much into it? Maybe this was the only thing I had that…

Social media influences trends – this article looks at the way our digital culture has sped up the evolution of trends. In the age when any narcissist can find validation with the simplicity of a double-tap and become a broadcaster-at-large of almost any brand, the difference between innovator and emulator soon becomes blurred. Our digital culture has shifted our focus towards efficiency and immediacy rather than long-lasting movements. It is accelerating the pace of trends that may have once taken years to filter through society and instead given them the lifespan of a ten-second Snapchat. Today, there is no doubt that trends have many manifestations. Digital media means that we now…

From the pioneers of gender neutral fashion to the new voices changing the games Genderless fashion means “for everyone” allowing people to go beyond the imposed norms of society. This is a very modern way of thinking but it’s been years since some designers have been overturning the concept of gender in their creative minds. Here are five fashion show looks which really left the mark. John Galliano 1 Maison Margiela Fall/Winter 2019 John Galliano, the “enfant terrible” of haute couture, created his first completely unisex collection. Going beyond the social norms, breaking the codes has always been one of Galliano’s great qualities, but with this collection he took a…

Do you know how to be closet conscious? If you have clothes in your wardrobe with their labels still attached, or a Christmas jumper you’ll probably never wear again, then the answer is no! If you want to declutter your life, there is no better place to start than with the clothes on your back and the shoes on your feet! Shockingly 140 million worth of clothing goes to landfill here in the UK each year! Although textiles break down eventually, this is a major problem. Natural fibres such as cotton, wool and linen slowly decompose. However, when trapped in a landfill site they start to release harmful gases such…

All brands big and small are familiar with marketing strategies. They’re intricate, they’re expansive, and there’s much more to them than just posting on social media and sending out emails. There are countless ways that brands psychologically influence their consumers to spend their money with them. But they can be shameless and ruthless while doing it. The big issue here is profits. Rarely do we see a multimillion-pound business putting the wellbeing of their customers and their feelings over that of their profits. After all, what is business without profit? This means that they will do anything and everything they can, including pandering to minorities, to secure a sale. Marketing…

Fashion today is no longer driven by function. Where humans once needed clothes to keep themselves warm, we now have central heating. Where shoes once needed to be practical and sturdy, we now frolic around in flimsy footwear between an endless string of Uber rides. What used to be a means to an end, is now a form of expression, a benchmark of social class and a reflection of wider society. We’ve all been told on countless occasions “dress for the job you want”, but is it possible to dress for the mood you want as well? What does your clothing say about your mood? On one hand, our fashion…

Growing up, how many of us were given free reign over our fashion choices? Whether your answer is ‘none’, or ‘complete freedom’, you may find that either way you now find yourself stuck in a style rut as an adult. Cycling between near-identical outfits has been linked to a number of conditions by fashion psychologists. Below, we explore a range of potential causes of ‘Repetitious Wardrobe Complex’. Choice Fatigue As we know, our current fashion industry is largely trend-driven and capitalist. It’s no wonder that many of us experience choice fatigue with the number of sartorial options this ‘free market’ model offers. Think about the last time you searched for…

3D body scanning just might be the answer to all your ill fitting clothing problems. The relatively new technology is being rolled out by fashion brands to combat the buy before you try culture. The massive movement towards online shopping has created some problems. Clothes may be cheaper and quickly produced by online retailers but there’s no way to try them on. For shoppers there’s nothing more disappointing than buying clothes that don’t fit. Online shopping can be frustrating when it often results in repackaging and sending back clothes. This is bad for the shopper and the retailer, who both lose out on money and time for shipping. But 3D…