The Trend Story Industrial Complex (w/ Amanda Mull)
Jul 30, 2024
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Amanda Mull, a senior reporter at Bloomberg Businessweek and consumer culture expert, dives deep into the Trend Story Industrial Complex. She explores why there are perpetually 8,000 trends, the media's role in shaping consumer demand, and how social media, especially TikTok, influences fast fashion. Amanda discusses the paradox of Gen Z's shopping habits and the effects of affiliate marketing on digital media. The conversation raises important questions about the future of creativity in a rapidly accelerating consumer landscape.
The Trend Story Industrial Complex thrives on profitability, with media driving consumer demand for an overwhelming number of fleeting trends.
Social media has revolutionized trend creation, allowing grassroots movements to shape fashion while blurring high fashion's elitism with accessibility.
Gen Z demonstrates a conflicting relationship with consumer culture, seeking sustainable choices while paradoxically engaging with fast fashion marketing tactics.
Deep dives
The Evolution of Career Paths in Digital Media
Amanda Mall reflects on her unexpected journey into digital media, beginning with her magazine journalism degree during the decline of traditional print magazines. Initially working at a spa and resort, she transitioned to writing for a fashion blog after reaching out to its founders, leveraging her online forum experience. This ultimately led her to New York City, where she navigated the insular fashion and media industries, building her presence through persistence and freelance opportunities. Amanda's trajectory highlights the unpredictable nature of career paths within the evolving landscape of digital media.
The Impact of Social Media on Trend Cycles
The discussion emphasizes the significant shift in how trends are reported and consumed, mainly triggered by the rise of social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok. In the past, trend forecasting relied heavily on fashion shows and the influence of gatekeepers within the industry, but social media has democratized this process, allowing trends to bubble up from grassroots movements. Celebrity culture, particularly through paparazzi photography, began to blur the lines between high fashion and accessible styles, enabling trends like the Juicy Couture tracksuit to flourish without institutional validation. As a result, the acceleration of trends has led to a cycle of constant consumerism driven by quick access to information and changing tastes.
The Role of Affiliate Marketing in Fashion Media
Affiliate marketing has emerged as a critical revenue source for many fashion publications, shaping how online content is created and perceived. Publications often embed affiliate links in product recommendations, incentivizing them to promote items that may not necessarily align with journalistic integrity. This shift has resulted in a move towards click-driven content and shopping lists, often at the expense of critical, thoughtful writing about fashion. The rapid pace of producing such content further complicates the quest for substantial and meaningful narratives in fashion journalism.
Gen Z and the Complexities of Consumerism
Gen Z's relationship with consumerism is marked by contradictions, as many express a disdain for excessive marketing while simultaneously engaging with platforms that promote constant shopping. Surveys indicate a desire for more sustainable and intentional purchases, yet behaviors reveal high levels of spending on fast fashion and low-cost alternatives. This dissonance between stated beliefs and purchasing habits highlights the challenge of grappling with marketing influences in a digitally-driven world. Amanda notes that as more young consumers become aware of manipulative marketing tactics, there may be a pushback against superficial trend cycles, though meaningful change remains uncertain.
Trend Creation and the Future of Fashion
The conversation touches on the absurdity of the modern trend cycle, marked by the production of rapidly cycling aesthetics with catchy names that may oversimplify complex styles. The trend narratives created through platforms like TikTok and Instagram lack depth, often leading to the cannibalization of creativity as influencers strive to keep up with incessantly trending items. This environment fosters derivative content and minimizes truly innovative design, resulting in a homogenization of fashion expressions. As the saturation of marketing jargon increases, the challenge remains for the industry to reinvigorate genuine creativity and refresh its approach to style beyond mere commercialism.
Have you ever wondered why there are 8,000 trends at any given time? It’s because trends are extremely profitable! This week, Alyssa is joined by Amanda Mull, senior reporter at Bloomberg Businessweek and consumer culture expert, to unpack the Trend Story Industrial Complex that drives fashion and beauty media. Tune in for Amanda’s fascinating insights on the role of the press in inducing demand for trendy items, how the explosion of both paparazzi photos and fast fashion in the mid-2000s marked a turning point for the traditional trend cycle, why a lack of innovation has led to a rapid ramp-up of trend media, whether we’re approaching critical mass for crowdsourcing trend ideas from TikTok, how influencers have become assignment editors for modern trend stories, why digital media has an incentive to produce recommendation and shopping content in general (thanks in large part to affiliate links), whether the tide is turning and people feel like they’re being pressed to buy too many products, Gen Z’s fraught relationship with consumption (specifically, the contradiction between their beliefs and their behavior when it comes to shopping), the dangers of young people thinking about culture as a marketing exercise, how the luxury game has become more like the fast fashion game over the past two decades, and what could happen if we no longer have new, creative ideas to feed the increasingly sped up consumer machine.
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