What is an 'Aesthetic'?
The term 'aesthetic' has become pervasive and begun infiltrating various online spaces. Originally, the word denoted an object that adheres to current perceptions of beauty and good taste or the visual pleasure derived from said object. As the term has evolved in the fashion world, it has become a way to describe adherence to different clothing styles. Fashion aesthetics include minimalist, Y2K, cottage core, dark/light academia, and many more. These terms are colloquial with highly identifiable characteristics, colour palettes, and clothing styles. However, as these aesthetics progress, they become hyper-specified, and increase the turnover and consumption rates of the clothing associated with them.
The Evolution of Aesthetics
The evolution into hyper aesthetics has notably occurred with the popularisation of aesthetics on social media, specifically on TikTok, Instagram, and Pinterest. More widely accepted aesthetic terms like 'model-off-duty,' 'indie,' and 'girly girl' have transformed into 'downtown girl,' 'kidcore,' and 'coquette,' respectively. Even the 'clean girl' aesthetic that rose to popularity last year has gone out of style, with the nearly identical 'vanilla girl' aesthetic taking its place. The countless categories are so extensive there is an entire Wiki fandom page dedicated to listing and detailing them2. This page is known as the Aesthetics Wiki, where over 600 aesthetics are listed, many with additional sub-aesthetics.2 Under the 'coquette' page, for example, which has become one of the most popular aesthetics, the sub-aesthetics listed include 'Nymphet,' 'Pinterest Coquette,' 'Farmer's Daughter,' 'Key West Kitten/Coconut Girl,' 'Waif,' 'Winter Fairy Coquette,' and 'Vintage Americana.'1 The newer aesthetics are hyper-specific and can be termed 'hyper-aesthetics,' where following them requires extreme rigidity, and the best way to do this is through clothing.
The Use of Clothing in Aesthetic Presentation
While applying aesthetic terms can happen to many material facets of a person’s life, the simplest and most recognizable way to display an aesthetic is with clothing. Clothing is an outward presentation of self that does not require verbal social interaction. In their paper Clothing and People- A Social Signal Processing Perspective, authors Mariella Dimiccoli and Petia Radeva note, “clothing correlates with personality traits, both in terms of self-assessment and assessments that unacquainted people give to an individual.”4 Everyone uses clothing to signal ideals, interests, and personality to those around them. When people conform to aesthetics, their clothing is identifiable and associated with specific interests, even if they do not reflect the individual. Since hyper-aesthetics are caricatures more than they are reflective of the real people wearing them and their style, they are likely to be quickly discarded for the next new aesthetic. The rapid discarding of these aesthetics results in more clothing consumption and textile waste.
The Environmental Impact of Hyper-Aesthetics
Similar to regular trend cycles, there is also cycling of popular aesthetics, and the more hyper-specified they become, the faster they go in and out of style. For example, compare the 'minimalist' and 'coastal grandmother' aesthetics. Minimalism has been a mainstream lifestyle and clothing aesthetic for the past twenty years and is still popular.3 Conversely, the coastal grandmother aesthetic that rapidly grew in popularity last summer has already fallen out of style. The difference? The former is widely open to interpretation and manipulation, while the latter is strict in the clothing, lifestyle, and material goods associated with it. When an aesthetic becomes mainstream, it spreads quickly through social media websites. To get the look, people turn to the only sellers that can keep up with the trend cycles: fast fashion retailers. A search on TikTok delivers countless results of '*insert aesthetic here* hauls' from retailers such as Shein, ROMWE, H&M, Brandy Melville. In these videos the creator displays all the garments they have purchased that adhere to their chosen aesthetic. However, as the aesthetic loses popularity and the participating individuals lose interest, they will move to a new aesthetic. As this occurs, their fashion style will completely change, discarding not just individual clothing pieces but their entire wardrobes that fit into these hyper-specific aesthetics. Then the cycle continues. This textile waste and overconsumption caused by the cycling of aesthetics can be detrimental to the environment.
How to Avoid the Social Media Trap of Hyper-Aesthetics
My advice? To avoid falling into the trap of hyper-aesthetics and over-consumerism, be cognisant of the fashion content you are consuming online and the potential it has to influence your style. Ask yourself: are those pieces true to my style, or are they just trendy? You can pull inspiration from various aesthetics without conforming to a singular one. And finally, try to buy second-hand when you can, it will bring you outside the rigid confines of aesthetics and force you to pick pieces that you genuinely enjoy that are more true to you.
Citations
1) https://aesthetics.fandom.com/wiki/Coquette
2) https://aesthetics.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_Aesthetics
3) https://minimalism.co/articles/history-of-minimalism
4) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315835297_Clothing_and_People_-_A_Social_Signal_Processing_Perspective
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