On TikTok, trend forecasting has become the new influencer hustle, almost a trend itself; creators who can string together photographic evidence with a pithy and compelling monologue are performing a kind of competitive prophecy. And the platform’s algorithm seems to favor this sort of information sharing: the more ridiculous the prediction, the more traction it gains, and the more predictions we are fed. In the meantime, fast fashion brands like Shein have sped production to such a pace that they can both predict and reflect these trends, making them feel all the more real while we ping pong through “feels” and “vibes” with no aesthetic compass.
Even runway fashion, which is supposed to move at a slower, biannual speed, has joined this rat race, as designers pack their shows with potential viral moments and styles that are replicable by anyone with a little ingenuity and a pair of scissors. The tempo of fashion makes everything feel quick, carefree, and, sometimes, unfortunately, even careless. Mostly it seems that people are doing things humans have done for most of the past century—relaxing, working hard, having martinis, not having martinis—but now we cannot resist the urge to package them into something that feels more meaningful than mere consumer choices.
Jerry Lorenzo, the 44-year-old designer behind the brand Fear of God, is a man who has started many trends himself (real trends, that is). When he began his brand almost a decade ago, it was a luxury cornerstone of the hypebeast movement, which often encourages a cut-throat, product-driven style of consumerism. Lorenzo worked on an early season of Yeezy alongside then-Vetements designer Demna, and, after making T-shirts for Justin Bieber’s “Purpose” tour, helped turn merch into meaningful clothes. He was a close friend of and collaborator with the late Virgil Abloh, whose brand Off-White propelled streetwear to the forefront of fashion, and his sneakers and sweatpants remain staples in hip corridors of Los Angeles and New York.
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