Stuck In The Cycle

Young adults’ motivations, mental models, and aspirations in clothing consumption

The user research used to support the ideas presented in this article are based upon an exploratory photography project on fast fashion conducted by Abigail Auwaerter and Mayukhi Chacham during the Institute of Design’s Research Photography course taught by Daniel Chichester. In this course Daniel Chichester shares his over 25 years of experience in user research and research photography to give design researchers the knowledge and tools to consistently make the right decisions when capturing and selecting photographs to use in storytelling.

For some reason, I desperately needed new sunglasses even though I already had a perfectly good pair. It was only a few months ago I was stylish in my oversized shades but now I just felt like a soccer mom. Nostalgia had a grip on fashion; every video I scrolled past on TikTok had these retro, bright and funky oblong-shaped sunglasses—I loved them, I wanted them, I needed them. I found exactly what I was looking for in H&M, but I had to decide what to buy, the regular or eco-conscious version. Of course, I chose the eco-conscious ones, I obviously care about sustainability. Those sunglasses were the first of four pairs I had purchased this past summer.

One day it’s in, the next day it’s out, literally. Trends move so fast now that a piece of clothing you buy today could be out of style in the next month. Traditionally micro-trends lasted 3–5 years but now, some barely last one season (Nelson, 2021). Fast fashion companies like Zara, H&M, or Shein with the help of TikTok fuel the rapid introduction and rejection of micro-trends. Influencers’ fashion trend videos can quickly reach a large audience with TikTok’s algorithm. Back in early March of this year, I could not get away from the viral Zara pink slip dress while scrolling through TikTok. Although I haven’t seen a TikTok video about the charming slip in months, I decided to check last week to see if the dress was still in style; I could not find the pink slip anywhere on Zara’s website. Fast fashion companies have the production speed and unethical manufacturing practices to push any and every trend surfacing on the internet. The responsiveness of these inexpensive real-time fashion companies to the constant demand for the latest and greatest clothing on social media has created a strong and swift trend cycle.

The issue with the current pace of the trend cycle is that it encourages over-consumption and disposal of clothing. As compared to 15 years ago, today the average consumer is adding 60 percent more clothing to their closet annually, with each piece being kept in their closet half as long as 15 years ago (UN Environment Programme, 2022). This has detrimental environmental and societal consequences. And although there are many consumers, like me, who care about our environmental and human well-being, and thereby support the idea of sustainability initiatives in the fashion world, their behaviors rarely align. Much of the blame can be put on the fast fashion industry for encouraging these consumer habits, but people’s mental models, behaviors, and motivations around clothing consumption are also contributing factors. In this exploratory research photography study, we look to learn about young adults’ experiences with clothing. Through a series of personas based on observations and interviews, from shopping in Zara to closet tours, we can see our individual experiences around clothing and better understand how and why we are getting stuck in the trend cycle.

The Long and Windy Journey to Adulthood

Fashion is a vehicle in which young adults navigate the twists and turns on the road to their concept of self in adulthood. But, unlike earlier generations, our generation’s pathways are longer and less straightforward. Dissolving social norms have led to greater variability and length of youth’s trek to their concept of self in adulthood, which now has drawn out into people’s thirties (Benson & Elder, 2011). An individual's self-concept, the ideas that one has about themselves and what they are like, is influenced by their context and social interactions (Baumeister & Vohs, 2007). The prolonged journey to adulthood means that they are subject to more change in these factors. Clothes are an essential part of developing one’s self-concept—a means for which we gain realizations about ourselves (Mair, 2018). We can change clothing out in real-time to express alteration in our self-concept. Style, fashion, and clothes are an accessible and amenable medium to help us along the lengthy path to developing our self-concept.

New City, New Alec

In the pursuit of adulthood, young adults’ context is constantly changing. Starting college, graduating, starting a career, moving cities, living with roommates—this is just a small sample of the events that would affect our contexts. The customary changes that we experience force us into a high frequency of consumption and disposal of clothing to match the demands of ever-changing contexts. For those who are adjusting to new life after graduating college like Alec, new clothes can become a tool to become accustomed to their environment.

In a matter of weeks, Alec went from being a student in a college town to living in Chicago with a full-time job. When he was a student, he had a lot more liberty in what he could wear. One day he could wear a sweatsuit to class and another he could decide to dress in khakis and a nice button-down shirt. Life in Chicago required a little more structure to his styling, he needed to be methodical with his outfit choices. To cater to his new job dress code, he needed to compile a collection of business casual, prompting a shopping trip. He also needed to consider Chicago’s intense winter, unforgiving if not dressed well. When styling an outfit, Alec’s focus was on staying warm and balanced, which led him to add more boots to his closet.

“I used to pick my outfits from the shoe up. Since moving to Chicago, I tend to wear my Doc Martens or boots a lot.

—Alec (Male, 22)

The demands of new experiences and responsibilities often pressures young adults to continuously invest in new pieces. In the case of Alec, he found himself focusing on functionality, forcing him to rethink his wardrobe. Since moving to Chicago in early 2022, he has purchased five new pairs of shoes, most in search of footwear that provides good traction during the icy winter months. His focus became dressing to withstand the environmental conditions around him rather than comfort. Fashion is an accessible means to help us adapt to new contexts, and constant changes to our context will demand new clothing, continuing the cycle.

Emily Needs an Opinion

People come and go, especially in your twenties. Similarly, to context, the people and subjects that surround an individual influence the development of their concept of self. During the pursuit of adulthood, the social situations, the people, and media influences surrounding young adults vary dramatically—and so young adults evolve their images to keep up with the changes. Social identity theory explains that group membership contributes to the development of a positive self-concept (Baumeister & Vohs, 2007). Whether intentional or not, an individual’s personal style allows them to associate, or stand out, from their social environment and support their self-concept. Often like Emily and Sam, we use our friends for support, looking for validation in our fashion choices.

Emily had just returned from college for the summer to her hometown in New York. She was sad to not see her college friends for a while but excited to reconnect with her hometown friend group. Emily needed different clothes for the summer, as she was shifting from house parties to heading out to bars. She knew exactly who to reconnect with for a shopping trip, her friend Sam. Emily knew what she wanted from her clothes: she wanted to look hot and seem cool at the bar, but she needed Sam’s help to figure out what that looked like. Emily and Sam shopped closely around, accumulating an overwhelming amount of clothes to try on in the dressing room. There was a yellow strappy top with an open back that Emily was particularly excited to try on in the dimly lit and cramped Zara dressing room. Emily put on the top and tried her best to look at it from every angle. She liked how it made her feel confident, which was a good first step. “Sam! Are you here? I need your opinion!” Emily called from behind the curtain. Sam came out in her own bright-colored, floral patterned two-piece set. Sam and Emily praised each other’s outfits. Emily was settled, she was buying the yellow top.

“I’m looking for new going out tops, I feel like I need new ones.”

—Emily (Female, 22)

Not only are we subject to changing groups and individual people entering and exiting our lives in the real world like Emily, but we also must manage our membership online as well. This can be extremely difficult because we base much of our self-concept and self-esteem on how we believe others view us, as explained by the looking-glass theory (Baumeister & Vohs, 2007). On social media, there are perspectives of how we looked in a moment on which we can permanently speculate. A friend like Sam can unintentionally change how we feel about a piece of clothing.

Emily finally had an excuse to wear the yellow top out. She was heading out with some friends for Sam’s birthday party. She felt good and confident in her new top from Zara. At the beginning of the night Sam suggested that they take some pictures together and of course Emily agreed. Afterwards they continued to have a fun night out. The next morning Emily woke up and scrolled through her notifications. There was a notification from Instagram that Sam had tagged her in a photo. Emily did not like what she saw, she did not like how she looked in that photo. The once amazing yellow top now made her feel disgusting. It did not matter how many people commented on Sam’s photo about how good they looked, Emily didn’t like how she saw herself and didn’t like how she looked compared to everyone else in the photo and assumed everyone else saw her the same way.

Young adults’ concept of self is still malleable, and therefore the opinions and influences of peers and from social media are influential in the development of personal style. We need to have a sense of belonging to a group to sustain a positive self-concept. When an article of clothing does not help us align with our ideal social group, it forces us into the disposal of that piece and the consumption of something that helps us fit in. The cycle continues.

Ella's Empty Closet

Clothing itself is a tool for young adults to use to adapt to their constantly changing context and social situations, but the act of purchasing new pieces helps young adults nurture their self-esteem. When you make a purchase, you immediately get a rush of good feelings, excited and hopeful about how you are going to look and feel in this new piece of clothing—that’s your self-esteem talking, the judgements and assessment of your self-concept (Baumeister & Vohs, 2007). We want to prevent a negative self-esteem and preserve a positive one, which is a strong motivator for much of our behaviors, especially fashion consumption (Baumeister & Vohs, 2007). Young adults are not shopping because they have a short attention span, but because they are trying to sustain their concept of self through maintaining a positive self-esteem (Zhou, 2022). To keep self-esteem strong, purchases become more habitual—we want to make sure the good feelings we have about ourselves stay.

Ella has changed her style multiple times in the past year and a half as she moved from a first-year to third-year student. Ella looked through her closet for a top to wear to class. Her closet was packed to the brim with clothes, but there was nothing for her to wear. She pulled out a blue striped sweater and held it up. It was her favorite sweater now, but it wasn’t exciting her like it normally did. This was a problem that only had one solution: a shopping trip to H&M.

Circling around the store felt invigorating. As said a million times, it’s about the journey not the destination. Ella collected pieces as she walked through the store, choosing based on a blend of the store models, things she had seen on TikTok, and what she knows she will feel good in. She spent about an hour and a half in H&M, trying items on. Where did all this hunting and searching lead to? A black top that looked oddly familiar to one of the twelve black tank tops that hung in her closet.

"I know I could always rely on H&M if I ever find myself bored with my current set of clothes."

—Ella (20, Female)

It is not about the clothing; it is about the way a piece of clothing makes us feel about ourselves. Ella did not need another black top, she had plenty, but the experience of shopping combined with the hope for new positive feelings makes this black top seem different in the moment. But eventually, the feelings fade, and we find ourselves needing to make a shopping trip for something that brings them back, staying in the cycle.

Ana and the Machine

We usually forget about it, the tiny tab on the inside of our clothes telling us how to care for them. The small size of the care instructions emphasizes the lack of thought we often put into caring for our clothing. With all the other responsibilities in our lives, it is easier to throw all our dirty laundry in the machine and press ‘normal wash’ than meticulously follow the care instructions on each piece of clothing. We see clothing as easily replaceable, so, like Ana, we do not want to put in the effort to care for it.

Ana went to Zara to do some shopping to release some stress. When looking for new clothes she tries to keep an eye for easy to care for materials but she gets lured in based on the color, a bright pink t-shirt perfect for summer. When she got home, she wore it right away, out to dinner with some friends, and later the shirt made its way into her dirty laundry.

A week passed and Ana finally had time to do some laundry. Once the first load came out of the dryer, she immediately noticed that her white jean shorts stole the color from her new pink shirt. She did not want to put in the effort to separate her clothes by color and now she was suffering the minor consequences. It was annoying but not the end of the world, this gave her an excuse to go buy some more new shirts and shorts.

One key component of making clothing more sustainable is making clothing last, and that requires some effort from consumers. Fabrics such as cotton and polyester dominate the fashion industry because of their easy care and comfortable wear but leach micro-fibers into our water every wash. There are more sustainable materials available, but they require much more care. We are unwilling to put in the time and effort to take care of our clothing, leading them to have a short life, and forcing us to stay stuck in the cycle.

Designing a New Cycle

The problem is not that we are stuck in the cycle, the problem is we are stuck in the wrong cycle, an unsustainable, unethical, and unhealthy one. It convinces us that we need to stay on top of what’s new and dispose of our perfectly good clothes, forcing us to choose either for ourselves or our environmental and human well-being. Although our current habits are detrimental, fashion itself is a beautiful tool that allows us to adapt to change and express ourselves. Can we create a new cycle? A cycle that allows us to engage in habitual shopping without supporting fast fashion’s inhumane manufacturing processes, through platforms that create a clothing exchange community; where we can regularly browse and develop relationships that will help us feel good about ourselves? A cycle that allows us the freedom to alter our style without polluting our water or contributing to climate change, where companies have a symbiotic relationship with consumers; where customers supply the materials and designers use that to produce innovative designs? A cycle that encourages us to care for our clothing without making us put in extra effort to do so, with washing machines that can detect and alert us when our clothes might be damaged before we damage them? We can create a new cycle, but to do so we must consider our perspectives, and how we use clothing to feel stable in an unstable time of our lives.