It’s perhaps not happening quite as quickly as those who made it their business to observe such things thought it would, but the shift towards fashion trends that are more functional is definitely an ongoing process. Gradually, trends are becoming more and more functional, including fashion, noted in a number of emerging sub-markets within the fashion industry.
Personalization
It perhaps started out with some of the iconic figures we look up to and perhaps even idolize in some instances, like how celebrities, sports personalities and other prominent figures are taking more of a personalized approach to the trends they embrace, particularly in fashion. Reality television show stars open up their own clothing and accessories stores, for instance, and they wear clothing branded with their own names or with brands they created.
Sports stars take a similar path, albeit there’s largely still a selection of a few huge brands behind the personalization of the fashion items they promote. A football jersey of one’s favourite sports star might not primarily make for a fashion item, but it does trend as one when you get fans buying the replica version of that jersey and wearing it beyond just attending live matches or on game-day.
When you think along the lines of former professional basketball player and superstar legend, Michael Jordan, an entire spin-off brand was created from one which was subsidized by the star’s apparel sponsor, accounting for one of the more obvious cases of how fashion is becoming more and more personalized and functional. The pair of basketball sneakers you buy won’t necessarily be used to play basketball, for instance, while at the same time wearing them as a fashion accessory also carries the underlying functionality.
Patronizing Personal Networks
Brand consciousness is perhaps somewhat of a phase many people go through, while some people never quite seem to shake the phase. Either way, at some point, most people realize that there is power contained in leveraging their own personal and professional networks when honouring fashion trends, so if for instance you’re rocking a cute power suit and your colleague asks you about it, you’d likely tell them where to buy it and how much they can get it for. It has become about more than just being in-trend and being exclusive, bringing into view the underlying functionality that is increasingly contained in the fashion items we rock.
Honouring the Underlying Functionality and Significance
Now, as a direct focus on some of the cases of the ongoing shift towards functional fashion, garments, jewellery and even the likes of upholstery, furniture, etc, are increasingly selling based on two factors, including how they look and what their function is. Retailers such as Karma and Luck are becoming increasingly popular as a result, simply because ornaments, accessories or any other products they sell honour both the appearance and perhaps even more so the underlying functionality and significance. You buy a yoga mat to use it for exactly that, for instance, which is yoga, but wouldn’t it be great if that yoga mat also looked so good that you didn’t have to pack it away following its use?
