Sustainability battles the micro trend

A journey into the psychology of fast fashion’s micro trends and the sustainable companies that offer a greener alternative.

The psychology of a micro trend

Think cowboy boots and low-rise jeans, super tiny belt skirts and then grimace at the thought of wearing these clothes… Out of fashion almost as soon as they come in, these micro trends pervade social media for a month or two and then disappear as we consumers tire of them, leaving fast fashion companies racing to catch up with the next big thing.  

Micro trends are increasingly identified as ‘aesthetics’ on social media and then personalised with names like ‘mob wife’ or ‘cottagecore girl’. 

Often creating a home, these ‘aesthetics’, (or communities), think ‘bloke core girl’… yes this is a real aesthetic, welcome in people but only if you fit the mould and have bought into the micro trend (the uniform), quite literally. 

Now donning your new outfit (‘Barbiecore aesthetic’ or ‘costal cowgirl aesthetic’?), you appear to fit into your newfound community. However, for the platform ‘Fashion is Psychology’ these ‘aesthetics’ and ‘identities’ aren’t centred around community but just convince people to buy in the hopes of finding their new niche. 

Are micro trends just subcultures?

For Constance Beswick, who writes on the online platform Global Fashion Agenda, subcultures that would once home these outliers, people that don’t belong to any ‘mainstream’ groups, are gone. She continues to discuss how “Post-subcultural thought”, in which the choices made by young people are prioritised over social norms, suggests that subcultures “no longer exist or have become indistinguishable from mainstream culture due to mass consumption and globalisation”. Continuing Beswick remarks, “traditionally, subcultures challenged the mainstream, but now micro trends, cores, and aesthetics are in fact the mainstream.”

These micro trends and their accompanying aesthetics are troublesome not only because they exclude and marginalise people – the ‘clean girl aesthetic’ has been called ‘fatphobic, classist and racist’ – but they don’t provide the community they promise and, critically, cause significant damage to the environment.

In online publication Byrdie, Ariane Resnick writes that “clean girls are generally white” even though aspects of this aesthetic – slick back buns and hoop earrings – were popularised by Black and Latina women from the 70s and 90s. 

How do sustainable brands battle the micro trend assault? 

“Sustainability is a way of life”, says Esther Knight, creator of slow fashion company Fanfare, “it is something that works with your core values.” She created Fanfare in 2018 after ten years working as a buyer for designers, noticing first-hand the sheer volume of waste within the fashion industry. 

For Esther, it is important that Fanfare doesn’t “just follow a trend because it is on the catwalk” and that their design process is “very mindful.” In this process, where a product can take up to eight months to create, Esther and her team always ask the question, “do we see people wearing this in five years? If that isn’t something we see, then that will not go into our collection.”

Fanfare and their sustainable practice are all about creating something that will outlive these trends. Esther says that they are more likely to look at macro trends which are “seasonless and have longevity. They never go out of style”. Through sustainable production, Fanfare aims to create garments that will outlive short trend cycles. 

The environment and its nemesis, the micro trend 

The clothing industry has long had a significant negative impact on the environment, but as fast fashion companies race to stay relevant and new micro trends increase sales, that impact has worsened. Online platform, Sustainability Chic, reports that we buy 400% more clothing than we did 20 years ago. 

Waste Managed calculates that it takes approximately 2,700 litres of water to make one cotton shirt. This is drinking water for one person for two and a half years.

However, sustainable brands are leading the charge to try and minimise the effects of fast fashion. 

The accessibility issue

“Sustainability doesn’t have to be expensive,” Esther states. “The most sustainable items are the ones already in your wardrobe, just don’t throw them away.” 

Fanfare has also taken up the challenge of repurposing denim, notoriously one of the most water and energy hungry items of clothing to manufacture. By upcycling denim, they now “keep the product in the system”. 

People flock to fast fashion and micro trends because they are so cheap. According to Statista, a global data and business intelligence platform, the average price of a top on Shein, fast fashion giant, is 10 US dollars. 

Whilst sustainable fashion will always be more expensive, Esther argues that cost per wear is low, unlike a piece of fast fashion that may not last very long. 

She continues, “I don’t think it’s a question of sustainability and fashion, it is a question of quality over disposability. People are so sick of buying something and then having it bobble straight away.” 

However, when shopping for clothes, analysis online platform Ecommerce Age found that with the rising cost of living, 61% of consumers will “prioritise price over sustainability”.

Are we moving away from micro trends? 

Signs are strong though that more and more people are rejecting the constant barrage of aesthetics and choosing to buy more sustainably, a practice ironically labelled an aesthetic in itself – ‘underconsumption core’. 

Media advertisers Clear Channel reported in 2024 that young people aged 18-34 are more likely to “invest in eco-friendly or sustainable products” than their older counterparts. 

Esther states, “most people are dressing more to their individual taste, which is very flexible, as it means you can wear that item forever.” 

For European fashion platform Zalando, consumers want to be able to “trust brands and know where brands are on their sustainability journey”. They also note that by highlighting steps taken to avoid ‘greenwashing’, consumers feel that “these kinds of steps can take the pressure off them”. 

For Zalando participants, sustainability is something they care about, just not always sustainability in fashion. For 72% of their participants, it was “important to reduce food, plastic and water waste, but only 54% said the same about fashion”.

Is sustainable fashion here to stay? 

‘Sustainability’, ‘fast fashion’ and ‘over consumption’ are all common topics but are fast fashion companies listening and making changes? 

Fast fashion companies like Zara have chosen to move with the times and instate green initiatives. On their website they write, “We are aware that the path is complex, but we believe in the industry’s power of transformation.”

When discussing how the big companies are changing, Esther replies, “we all have the same goal, we need to consume better, and we need to be very mindful of the people and the planet.” She continues, “When you isolate companies it can look like they’re not making a difference… but when you add all the companies together that’s where the innovation comes in.”

“The bigger brands are watching” Esther remarks, “they are seeing what we are doing as a collective and that then puts pressure on them to make change.” 

For Esther, we need to appreciate that the process of creating sustainable clothing will always mean a higher price tag but that comes with longevity, quality and a reduced impact on the environment. She says, “sustainable fashion has to be more expensive because it considers everything else going into it. Yes, you do have to pay more for quality, but it will last you a lifetime.”