By Anita Zuñiga
Pop culture, music, movies, and television programs have all established trends that have dominated fashion, which over time has led to the pop culture industry playing a relevant and significant role in personal styles.
The type of clothing is a reflection of one's self-perception, becoming a combination of an individual's external and internal world and a symbol of identity, whose image is enhanced by the influence of pop culture, which will determine the local style of dress: consciously and unconsciously.
Considering that, in the last four years, despite the fact that designer clothing design has been nourished by social contexts, -in the midst of the decline of the pandemic- today it has evolved and is currently inspired by the creation of accessories and outfits in comfortable and versatile patterns such as Puntada Austral 's bet , with a hybrid approach, shaped by the construction of a new identity discourse in national fashion, capable of challenging rules, adopting the making of their own garments, with designers who have borrowed trends such as illustration, political campaigns or the design, making and consumption of fashion that is respectful of the environment, as a differentiating aspect of consumer culture.
Pop Culture vs. the Local Fashion Industry
And it seems that the Chilean fashion industry focused on "pop culture" has concentrated on the preference for the diversity of styles, as new icons of the future, a trend materialized in unisex or non-binary clothing, in organic garments like Color Vegetal or embroidered with details by hand, with interventions such as crochet or toothpicks as is the case of some Huaman Autor proposals , or simply emphasizing pieces with their own prints or reconditioned from other seasons.
This, in the midst of a society that has gradually avoided returning to shopping malls and instead browses the web daily or is bombarded by pop culture videos spread on social networks like Instagram and TikTok.
In a scenario where the influence of the street unrest of October 18, 2019, which defined timeless or seasonless fashion, has been taken into account, with accessories made by the users themselves, their own prints, intervened wardrobe, t-shirts with feminist phrases, slogans from television programs or series from the world of entertainment as icons that have impacted the outfits of Chileans, who have also been confined to their homes since 2020.
Without a doubt, exploring diverse trends would point to the proliferation of consumers in the future who seek to privilege slow fashion or dress in a style that expresses their individuality - as reflected in this design by Isabel Is My Name - linked to women in history, in an orientation of fashion discourses linked to the revaluation of the subject, to native fashion, legitimized by freedom of choice and the installation - through clothing - of trends that reflect contingency and the promotion of fair working conditions and decent wages for its workers.
And it is in this context that fashion brands in 2022, according to the world's largest trend agency, WGSN , predict the decline of pop culture in fashion, with more sustainable clients, where the predominance of comfort (Comfy Fashion), or the use of loose garments, or basics such as t-shirts made of natural fabrics or organic cotton, personalized scarves - the case of Galia - that return in glory and majesty, bets that hope to become an opportunity to return to authenticity, where techniques that involve personal and narrative elements will prevail.
Considering that the choice of clothing and accessories becomes relevant in identifying an individual, in the era of social media that has boosted the hype of pop culture as an iconic fashion trend.