What is the Fashion Cycle?

If you are someone that enjoys partaking in trends and following the fashion scene, the fashion cycle is an INCREDIBLY important concept for you to understand.

To elaborate, it can help you analyze and predict what trends are to come, as well as distinguish a fad from a trend. Building outfits without knowledge on the fashion cycle is like getting dressed in the dark – you’re blindly dressing at random!

Unless you like dressing that way, keep reading this blog post to get all the  information you need on how to apply the fashion cycle to your everyday life, and stay in the loop!

Once you're done reading this blog post, make sure you check out the Cycle Feed to see the fashion cycle in action!

What is the Fashion Cycle?

At a high level, the term “fashion cycle” or “trend cycle” generally refers to a recurring, cyclical pattern that trends tend to follow in terms of their emergence and disappearance within the fashion scene. It is hypothesized that every “x” amount of years, a certain era of fashion comes back in-style, and is then replaced by the following era (chronologically) after that “x” amount of years has passed. The specific number of years that the pattern follows will be elaborated on in the section on traditional vs current trend cycles. This never-ending cycle allows us to predict what articles of clothing will be trend in coming years (to a certain extent).

• An example that can help illustrate the fashion cycle would be 90’s era fashion being in trend in the 2010’s (where x = 20 years).

Trend Cycle Stages

There are multiple stages in the trend cycle, and they can be listed as follows:

1. Introduction

2. Rise

3. Peak

4. Decline

5. Obsolescence

The introduction phase takes place when a new fashion trend emerges, whether it be an article of clothing, a style or a colour. Historically, trends were set by haute couture. While this still holds true today, it is to a lesser extent. That said, most trends are still derived from designer runways, and are first implemented by innovators (i.e., high end buyers). Following this, the trend rises alongside sales (of trendy items). Influencers and celebrities take on the trend, and soon after early adopters follow. Sales and interest eventually reach a peak, and then begin to slowly decline. Finally, the trend becomes obsolete when it is commonly referred to as “out of style,” and no longer commonly worn.

The image above shows the 5 stages of the trend cycle.

For a more detailed rundown of each step – check out the following resource at heuritech.com.

This cycle can occur for a short span of time and never re-occur, which would render the item in question a “fad.” On the other hand, it can also occur over a significant period of time and take on a recurring pattern. This would constitute a “trend.” The recurring trend cycle can be seen in the diagram below. 

Traditional Trend Cycle Vs Current Climate

Historically, fashion used to follow a 20 to 30 year cycle, wherein trends re-emerged every 20 or so years. This was somewhat regarded as a “golden rule” and held true for most of the 20th century. Nowadays however, the cycle seems to be getting shorter and shorter as a result of technological advancements and a new social climate. The fashion industry is no longer the sole influencer of trends, nor is the media the sole source of information, and thus, the traditional landscape of fashion has transformed. This can make it more challenging to keep up with trends as well as forecast up-coming ones.

To read up more on why this is occurring – check out the following article on the Independent.

How to Stay Up-To-Date

All that said, the fashion cycle is still standing strong, albeit at a much faster pace and in an evolved state. Trends are still following a cyclical, recurring pattern and can be predicted in advance by taking rising online subcultures into consideration.

Though it can be difficult to conduct thorough research on your own, there are a multitude of online resources available – including this very website!

The EASIEST way to stay in-the-loop without having to do any hard work would be checking up on the ITC Cycle Feed and subscribing to our upcoming newsletter. Click the button below to go check it out right now!