"Life moves fast. Fashion moves faster."

We buy new clothes, get caught up in a brief moment of excitement, then wear them a few times until we realize they are falling apart or are suddenly out of season. Trends come and go, but the clothes we purchase stay, creating an abundance of fashion items in our wardrobes that are merely ever worn. Compared to 15 years ago, a person buys about 60% more garments and wears them half as long.

This raises a number of major issues: the huge amount of textile waste filling landfills, plastic fibres polluting the oceans and the depletion of natural resources - not to mention the social aspect of fast fashion. In fact, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation - which focuses on promoting a circular economy - estimates that a truckload of textile waste is dumped or incinerated every second.

These metrics leave us with the blunt truth of our habitual shopping behavior. The fashion industry is one of the largest economies in the world, estimated to be worth $2.4 trillion in 2016. Given the environmental impact of the textile industry and the social inequality that fast fashion retailers continue to foster, the need for a major shift in the fashion industry is growing rapidly - forcing not only fashion brands, but also us - as consumers - to rethink.

If we want to make a change, the first step is to look at our consumption patterns, which have a major social and environmental impact. Therefore, it's time to question the existence of trends.
Trends seem to have a special appeal for us. They connect, give us the pleasure of trying something new and inspire us to experiment. Somehow, they seem to hold the possibility of ultimately being seen as fashionable.

So this is the perfect moment for me to say that you don't have to follow a particular trend - which could even come out of nowhere - to be seen (as trendy). Instead, your wardrobe should reflect who you are and where you want to go. It should underline your self-confidence and make you feel comfortable. Fashion is about much more than wearing "trendy" clothes - it is about highlighting your individual personality and creativity, and wearing that favorite striped jumper over and over again, making your own statement.

Don't get me wrong, trends can be great as they keep the possibility of inspiration and creativity alive. However, there will definitely be trends that don't match your typical style and only seem interesting. At this point you should bear in mind that you will probably wear this fashion piece only a few times until it ends up forgotten in the far corners of your closet.
So in conclusion: "Fashion has to reflect who you are, what you feel, where you're going" (Pharrell Williams), not what others tell you you have to have.