instagram killed personal style. a bold statement, I know. and while the death of real personal style might have started years before, no other platform has had the same remarkable and pivotal impact. the truth is we are all coveting the same pieces, witnessing the same micro-trends, buying from the same brands. we all look great, but we all look the same.
there’s this one quote by dries van noten that I love: “there’s too much fashion, too many shows, too many collections and, simply, too many clothes”. the designer was not speaking on instagram or social media in general; however, this sums up how I - I dare say we - have been feeling about the app and this sense of sameness that prevails. we now live in a era of overabundance of images, trends and styles, and… it’s overwhelming. look at the adidas sambas. almost every influencer was endorsing the sneaker last summer. and it’s not like I personally dislike the sambas - I don’t love them either - but it got to a point where I couldn’t stand the sight of them. I was suffering from a severe case of “sambas fatigue”.
to an extent, instagram can be a great source of inspiration. when you can tell exactly which influencers a person follows from her/his outfits, that’s when things get tricky. are you drawing inspiration from the people on your following list or are you just replicating outfits? it can take years to develop and refine our personal style. if anything, it is very dynamic. it can mean many things throughout the years and there’s nothing wrong with it. it’s not a linear understanding. the bottom line is: the more we fall for this barrage of images that flood our feeds daily, the less room we make for introspection and self-expression.
gaia repossi, carine roitfeld, caroline de maigret
there’s a wave of uniformity that affects both the consumers and the brands. differentiating factors from a brand to another have become a lot less identifiable in the past decade. rather than proposing, brands are now more than ever driven by what customers want and what will perform better in terms of sales. but despite the fact that brands are showcasing very similar concepts, I still trust fashion shows to be a better source of inspiration. yes, styling elements are still present but there’s a rawness to it. you’re looking at trends from a fresh perspective, it’s up to you to figure out if and how they will suit your style.
vanessa traina, geraldine saglio
it’s difficult to tell what the future holds. for now, maybe it’s time to switch up our sources of inspiration. if you want to stick to Instagram, there’s nothing wrong with it. but do some editing to your following list, there are a lot of “niche” content creators out there. people usually sleep on pinterest, a great tool to create moodboards. and you know what? go for a walk in your city, look around and see what people are wearing, watch old movies, go through your collection of fashion magazines… there are endless possibilities. ultimately, go for what sparks joy in you. our personal style should be a reflection of who we are and what makes us unique in this world.
anja rubik
cátia santos reis "the world is yours but greece is mine” could be her mantra as cátia santos reis is yet to find a greek island she hasn’t fallen in love with. in the meantime, she keeps traveling the world. for CINCO editorial, the 34 year-old, will share her favorite things to do, visit and eat in every destination.
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