The Great Escape: How we use fashion to make sense of unimaginable times

Designed by Rachel Smith

For the past year, my go-to pair of shoes has been a pair of beat-down black cowboy boots I found for half-price at a thrift store in 2023. It doesn’t matter if I am wearing a short neon slip dress, comically oversized jeans, or Adidas track shorts; the boots are probably there. While my mom thinks my outfits are chaotic or confusing, they make perfect sense to me. I feel like my recent style reflects a modern trend, where fashion has become increasingly identity-based, self-referential and layered. Recent trends embody a “the ones who get it, get it” mentality. The reason for this burst of identity-driven style is inextricably linked with the social and political uncertainty of our time – specifically for Generation Z. 

Gen Z is no stranger to the unthinkable. Born between 1997 and 2012, members of this generation grew up during some of the most culture-shifting events like 9/11, the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic. Gen Z also inherits the burdens and ramifications of the uncertain climate crisis that feels increasingly urgent.

It seems difficult to separate our daily lives from the politics shaping them, but that is no surprise. Fashion is inherently historical and political, in that it has always served as a means of expressing a certain aspect of our identity. When the sheer amount of discourse and analysis on fashion trends feels exhaustive with social media, how can we parse through all the changes in fashion and see them as symptomatic of larger cultural moments? 

One notable example of when fashion and culture responded to current events is the Great Depression when the extravagance of the 1920s came to a screeching economic halt. Many turned to frugality in their fashion choices, even fashioning potato sacks into garments for the sake of saving money. Some Americans turned to movie theaters to escape the anxiety of daily life and subsequently began to emulate the style of their favorite stars. The color black, previously considered taboo and associated with mourning, became mainstream as viewers saw black pieces styled on screen. 

The 2008 recession saw a similar embrace of minimalist silhouettes and understated designs, a stark contrast to the McBling and Y2K aesthetics that defined the early 2000s. Brands began to prioritize wearability and functionality. Bedazzled Juicy Couture tracksuits and gaudy jewelry transitioned out of the zeitgeist. Department store buyers relied on traditional and dependable lines when stocking inventory, and luxury brands like Louis Vuitton adopted more subtle design choises over its usual logo-heavy monogram. The recession changed attitudes about fashion.  Opulence and bling became taboo for the average consumer, and simplicity and modesty were repopularized.

In the years after the recession, internet spaces like Tumblr helped popularize aesthetics like twee and indie sleaze, born from interpretations of emotional sentiments at the time. Most recently, the 2020 pandemic opened new floodgates for experimentation and variance in personal style. The pandemic was different than other economic downturns since it changed the entire structure of daily life as we knew it. In the early days of lockdown, everyone was confined to their bedrooms for the foreseeable future so fashion took a backseat. 

The pandemic can largely be credited with the cementation of social media and online spaces as a primary space for both fashion inspiration and outward expression. With traditional lines of group affiliation blurred, many members of Gen Z utilized the period of limbo to experiment with their style and subsequent identities. TikTok microtrends, from neon and animal print to “Euphoria”-inspired makeup, alongside the rise of fast-fashion brands like Shein reflected a yearning for expression via the adoption of trends we saw on screen, as online identities and aesthetic groups became merged with everyday styles.

Coupled, and sometimes intermixed, with this change in stylistic extraversion were pastoral and soft influences, such as puff sleeves, floral prints and flowy skirts. These nostalgic influences reflect a yearning for an idealized and utopic time, unrestricted by the constraints of modernity and marked by a return to simplicity. The popularity of cottagecore and fairycore, facilitated heavily by social media, reflected style as an escapist tool. 

“When the future collapses, people suddenly look for comfort and certainty – and the past is always that,” Hamline University anthropology professor David Davies told Artful Living Magazine.

However, the largely digital-native environment of these aesthetics reflects one of the trademarks of Gen Z fashion since the pandemic: dissonance and juxtaposition. Nothing is clear cut since we embrace multiple identities simultaneously. Escapism is made nearly impossible due to technology’s all-encompassing grasp on our lives, thus the origins of many modern fashion subcultures are often sporadic, nuanced and undefinable. 

In the wake of the pandemic, Gen Z’s fashion largely shares many of the same elements of multiplicity and adaptability that were born during the quarantine. Yet since 2020, the social and political implications of the fashion industry’s reliance on overconsumption and mass production have become increasingly relevant to consumers. The shift to prioritize sustainability has turned many Gen Z shoppers into thrifters since shopping secondhand is more eco-responsible and expressive of unique and one-of-a-kind influences. 

Gen Z is also more likely to view their style as an expression of their politics and social beliefs. Coinciding with the ongoing war in Gaza, many people incorporate Palestinian keffiyehs into their daily wardrobes as a symbol of their solidarity with Palestine. While everyday fashion has adopted significant references to vintage and minimalist aesthetics, the notion of fearlessness and stylistic individuality separates much of Gen Z from previous generations.

The future seems nearly as uncertain as ever, with generational fears like environmental ruin, ongoing political conflict and financial insecurity in the unstable job market running rampant. I don’t know what the future holds for both myself and the world around me, and as a soon-to-be college graduate, I often feel overwhelmed by what lies ahead. Despite this, as part of Gen Z, I use fashion as a tool for both personal expression and a tool for social and political change. Fashion provides an avenue to reflect and make sense of the world around me. 

While my style might not always fit into a concrete aesthetic or subcategory, it is one thing that I have complete control over. Regardless of what happens in our lifetime, at least we'll always have fashion as an outlet to not only express our complex generational emotions but also to inspire social progress.