Influence or Dictate: Trend Effects on Expression
Written by Kayla Van Dyken
“Does this mean I have to wear skinny jeans?”
“Crying because Alix wore skinny jeans”
“Alix Earle was right”
“Begging Alix to put the skinny jeans away”
“If Alix says skinny jeans are back, they’re back”
In January of 2025, social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram were flooded with captions like these. Alix Earle, a social media and lifestyle personality known for her “Get Ready With Me” videos and “Hot Mess” podcast, holds trends in the palm of her hand, causing the “Alix Earle effect” where any product she mentions suddenly becomes popular. Skinny jeans were her next victim.
One influencer wearing an apparently controversial style of jeans broke the internet. There seemed to be two sides—one suddenly announcing their forbidden love for the unpopular and often made-fun-of style, while the other was in utter distress over the trend's return. Personally, it left me with a simple question: how can one person have so much pull over what is fashionable and what isn’t?
Fashion is commonly understood as a form of self-expression through garments and accessories. How individuals style themselves portrays so much of their personality. Furthermore, fashion can be used to formulate a message, whether in film, the workplace, everyday life, or social movements. Fashion is a powerful tool that provides insight into the wearer’s identity and character.
This being said, there is an alarming amount of concern over a single person’s outfit preferences. While I understand the idea of staying on trend, wanting to match popular statements, and drawing inspiration from influencers, celebrities, and models, the amount of bandwagon trends going around fight against fashion’s ability to be a form of expression. If one person can dictate popular fashion, do we all become an extension of their self-expression? Don’t get me wrong, Alix Earle has a ton of fun looks and reminds us to dress outside our comfort zones. However, walking around campus, I want to see individuals, their personalities, and their statements, not a bunch of carbon copies.
Influencers are here to do just that: influence. It becomes an issue when influence goes beyond inspiration and becomes the standard. It is possible to be trendy without becoming a copycat and to be expressive without being unstylish.
Our American society places a lot of pressure on fitting in and sticking to the norms. It emphasises comfort in every aspect of our lives, especially when it comes to how we dress. This mindset has pushed the idea of trends in order to fit in. Many of us probably had a scrunchie collection, dyed colored streaks in our hair, or owned a pair of Ugg Tasmans (I still wear mine multiple times per week). While consumption of these fads is not wrong, they slowly tear fashion away from its ability to act as a form of expression. Trends provide a standard, a cookie cutter of how we are supposed to dress and look. Fashion is meant to break those barriers and allow individuals to showcase themselves.
“Crying bc Alix Earle wore skinny jeans so now it’s going to be a trend again #baggyjeansforever”
When influencers and trends make people feel like they cannot dress using their own personal style or preferences, this is when their precedence in our culture becomes an issue. I think baggy jeans are great (I’m wearing a pair as I write this), but I also want people to wear skinny jeans if that is what makes them comfortable. So what if a tighter-fitting pair of pants makes someone feel more confident? So what if a baggier pair of pants makes someone feel more confident?
Influencers are meant to influence, not dictate.
Let your fashion lead to expression, and if social media stars like Alix Earle help you get there, then by all means, take inspiration. The issue is when trends contradict individuality because fashion cannot do its job. It cannot help us express.
Edited by Hana Razvi, Safa Razvi, Olivia Daly, Sophia Buckholtz, Gieselle Franco, Olivia Ruetten, Sim Khanuja, Quinn Diedrich
