If one thing has continued to influence fashion time and time again, it’s not the social media influencers we see scrolling through TikTok, but the tragedies we see in day-to-day society, such as war.
On Feb. 28, the U.S. and Israel illegally declared a war against the country of Iran by dropping bombs across the country — killing at least 175 people, most of these being children, as the U.S. has been determined responsible for a deadly Tomahawk Missile Strike on an Iranian Elementary school.
The Iran War has sparked a want for change in humans across America with thousands of “No Kings,” protests rallying against the Iran War, President Donald Trump’s policies and the cruelty of ICE. When war and a need for political change occurs, history has shown that fashion begins to shift.
With the beginning of the Iran War, the question that has been sparked is how will we begin to rebel against the war through our fashion choices? What trends will make a comeback? Where have we seen this in history before?
Well, what I’ve noticed is that 1960s-70s styles have begun to creep back into fashion, both on the runway and on the streets. Shoes like the Adidas Samba and UGGS have started to create their own twist on the popular Mary-Jane style of the 60s, often paired with colorful tights and patterned mini skirts embodying the 60s icon, Twiggy. Creative Director Chemena Kamali of the fashion brand Chloé brought colorful, floral swimwear along with chic mini dresses inspired by the brand’s early days in the 60s-70s.
Along with what we wear, people are starting to become more experiential with makeup again. People are now adding more personality by experimenting with decorative eyelids and a bold eyeliner, a look that started gaining popularity in the 60s.
In an article with Allure, makeup artist Alex Levy shared, “There’s definitely a push towards individuality and within that we’re finding pockets of folks who gravitate towards similar, perhaps more niche, aesthetic interests.”
This matters significantly for today’s society as the 60s-70s were a time for an eclectic change as we saw a huge political shift with the start of the civil rights movement, the second feminist wave and The Vietnam war. From early 60s mod culture to late 60s hippie counterculture movement, each 60s-70s fashion trend was a rebellion against politics.
Previous to the 1960s, was the popular fashion of the 1950s housewife. The children of these 1950s housewives hit teen age and quickly realized the lives of their mother was not something they wanted to succumb to. There were more important problems to worry about. Problems that wouldn’t be solved in the comfort of caring for a family in their house.
We saw them make this change as tailored knee-length skirts became hemmed into what we know as the iconic mini skirt and pinned up curled hair to a voluminous tease resembling the jump from 1950s conservative style to the colorful fashion of the 60s.
Throughout the 2020’s we saw the “clean girl” aesthetic become popular, with slicked back hairstyles, matching outfit sets and minimal makeup. Recently people have realized how conservative and plain this aesthetic really is with “The Year of Whimsy,” becoming a trend on TikTok. Many people on social media have been advocating to “embrace your whimsy.”
When searching whimsy fashion on Pinterest the outfits displayed include patterned mini dresses paired with tall boots, loads of colorful tights, flowy blouses paired with an array of necklaces and plenty of polka dots and striped patterns, very similar to the search results of 60s fashion.
Similar to the fashion rebellion of the 60s, we are trading out our Lululemon sets for colorful tights with matching colored eyeshadow, and turning our slicked backs into voluminous and teased styles. We are once again resulting in a colorful revamp in fashion as a way to protest America’s conservative shift and current political turmoil.
“Embracing whimsy,” might seem like just another social media trend, but in reality it holds a deeper underlying meaning. Behind the funky patterns, is the reality of the blood, sweat and tears of yet another war not wanted.
Support Student Media
Hi! I’m Hannah Planey, A Magazine’s editor-in-chief. My staff and I are committed to bringing you the most important and entertaining news from the realms of fashion, beauty and culture. We are full-time students and hard-working journalists. While we get support from the student media fee and earned revenue such as advertising, both of those continue to decline. Your generous gift of any amount will help enhance our student experience as we grow into working professionals. Please go here to donate to A Magazine.
