top of page

Gen Z: The Lost Generation of Fashion

Updated: Sep 30


White Lotus Portia
Photo Credits: HBO

White Lotus consumed us. Not only was everyone suddenly an expert in crime theory, but also a fashion critic as Portia’s outfits dominated the conversation, eventually escalating to a collateral dispute three years (too late) into the new decade; the ambiguity of Gen Z’s style.


Portia’s closet lacks a defined sense of identity, direction, commitment, and is all over the place; just like the state of fashion in 2023, consecutively contributing to Gen Z’s inability to execute enduring style movements that resonate. Because let’s face it, Gen Z has not done much in the name of fashion besides making the executive decision to cancel skinny jeans.


White Lotus Portia
Photo Credits: HBO

Post-pandemic, young people burst out of their quarantine pants and instead of eating their feelings, they started styling them, birthing the term “dopamine dressing.” According to Harper’s Bazaar’s Rachel Tashjian, the author of 2022’s dark horse story, “The White Lotus's Portia Is TV’s Best-Dressed Character,” this cinematic way of dressing is the very foundation of the Gen Z wardrobe. “Portia does not dress like a character from Euphoria; she dresses like a lost young woman who watches Euphoria,” writes Tashjian, noting how White Lotus costume designer Alex Bovaird’s attire selection indicate that the “discourse” drives the narrative of Portia and naturally, her clothes.


Notable moments in fashion history are all rooted in symbolism. Flowers for the hippies, sequences for disco, plaids for the punks. Yet, it is hard to tell where the sun also rises for Gen Z as their ensembles seem to be rooted in chaos, or best illustrated by the former FIT professor Emma McClendon, resemble “a costume for ‘Clueless’ meets a construction worker.”


The fashion industry is at an all time standstill, spiraling deeper into recession and uncertainty with not much to hold on to except for the weak revitalization of hot pink and throwbacks to the start of the millennium, a questionable era of fashion. “It’s a lot of stuff that, a few years ago, if you’d asked me, I would have been like, ‘That stuff’s never coming back’” McClendon says, referring to the pre-pandemic world where the Kar-Jenners reigned the renaissance of streetwear. Times have changed since then.


Fashion Week Party
Photo Credits: LEXIE MORELAND/WWD

Loss Of Icons

“No icons, no stars, just teeny boppers from TikTok.”


This is a quote from a publicist venting about the Harper’s Bazaar 2022 Icons Party. It was overheard at Bloomingdale’s versus Plaza Hotel, the party’s former location. “Icon” might be a splashy term, yet its not a loose one. Icons transform their work into evergreen concepts that embody the cultural references of their time. They are a rare commodity you wouldn’t want to host at, say, Bloomingdale’s over Plaza Hotel or replace with Liza Koshy to host the MET Gala (André Leon Talley was, and will always be, an irreplaceable icon). Take the icons out of the equation and you are left with an ill-defined culture whipped up by too many cooks in the kitchen lighting up multiple fires simultaneously and sometimes not even bothering to put them out.


Over-serving the audiences with what they crave eventually leads to gluttony. The roadmap to delivering to a disoriented yet overly-engaged audience does not have to go through sanctioning uninformed figures to become driving forces.


Karl Lagerfeld, Andre Leon Tally, Virgil Abloh, Vivienne Westwood, and Issey Miyake. These are just a few names we lost over the last couple of years who build the world of fashion as we know it. Alessandro Michelle and Raf Simons announced they will be stepping down from their roles at the brands they reinvented and built, respectively, the end of last year.


Amid departures that left a huge void in culture, fashion is hiring. Once upon a time, Lagerfeld’s interpretation of femininity revolutionized Chanel and Gianni’s vision for the “Versace Women” initiated the era and concept of supermodels. Creative directors cater purpose through innovation; whoever gets the job will be instrumental to the industry's current and future trajectory.


The ambiguous future doesn’t have to be scary for there is hope in the unknown. Newcomers with fresh perspectives might sneak past the hustle and bustle of the digital world and bridge the gap between Gen Z’s scattered mind and the business of fashion. Perhaps even offer sanctuary to a generation desperate to feel heard and represented.



Comentarios


bottom of page