With COVID-19 forcing many of us to stay home, dressing for yourself has become a resounding trend. Introspection and self-care have been some of the positive outcomes of the global trauma. One area in which this is evident is on Tik Tok. People have created video look books that show off fun colorful outfits of different aesthetics. Many of these content creators have gotten very creative with styling and produced unique themes.
The creator @andoej made a look book that was inspired by celebrity scandals that happened in her pre-teen years- she made a look based on the Winona Ryder shoplifting scandal and Tiger Woods’ affair. Being creative with how your dress and not paying attention to the set trends by major retailers by refashioning our clothing or thrifting is not only a way to pamper and dress for yourself but it is pushing the movement that the consumers are taking back the market- instead of these large big-name brands.
Due to the pandemic, even at some of the highest levels of fashion, celebrities and models are dressing themselves for marketing campaigns and magazine photoshoots. Bella Hadid did an entire photoshoot over Facetime for the brand Jacquemus. Hadid posed herself with several different garments and purses around her apartment- one photo was even taken in her bathroom.
The fashion magazine, GQ, took one of the most interesting approaches to this trend by allowing Robert Pattinson to photograph and style himself for their June issue. Pattinson shares a very realistic view of what his life was like during quarantine. Like most of us, he was having a difficult time with the forced confinement and he doesn’t try to hide that. The pictures from this photoshoot are this peculiar combination of cabin fever and high fashion. In one picture it’s him standing in what seems to be a rather disorganized closet wearing a suit jacket and trousers, but he has tied socks around his arms and legs and has a silk scarf around his head. If GQ had not captioned the bottom of the photo with where each piece was from you practically would not know that it came from Dior or that any of this was in the context of “high fashion”. In another photo, he just sits in the corner of his apartment with a bowl of cereal and a can of beans. These photos are brilliant in their embrace of the mundane and evident that dressing for yourself and shopping in your closet need not only be for celebrities.
Fashion is seen to be an untouchable elitist system, where a person has to have a lot of money and influence to be allowed in. The pandemic has challenged this mindset. Tik Tok and Pattinson’s photoshoot have shown that you just need to be creative and embrace your vision. Fashion worthy of praise and accolades does not just happen with big budgets and designer pieces. The pandemic leveled the playing field in fashion and showed us that being fashionable should be just to make you happy.
