TikTok is more than just a social media app, it’s a cultural powerhouse. Originally known for viral dances and quick comedy clips, the platform has become one of the most influential spaces for shaping trends across music, beauty, lifestyle, and fashion. With millions of users scrolling through videos daily, TikTok has redefined how we discover, follow, and participate in trends. Within my blog, I will be doing a deeper dive into fashion and how TikTok is reshaping the way we dress, shop, and express ourselves. This blog will explore the ever-evolving world of fashion trends, the viral nature of hauls, and the rise (and fall) of microtrends sparked by creators and influencers on TikTok.
I chose this topic because of my interest in how TikTok has become such a powerful trendsetter. As a Public Relations student wanting to work in social media marketing, it is eye-opening to watch from a consumer perspective on how these fashion trends drive consumerism and businesses. Generation Z and Millennials grew up using a similar app to TikTok called Musical.ly. This app was a platform for users to lip-sync to songs and post short performance videos. However, in 2018, Musical.ly was acquired by a Chinese tech company called ByteDance and merged into their existing app, TikTok. What started as a platform for dancing and lip-syncing quickly grew into something much bigger. TikTok quickly took over the internet with its fast-paced content, creative freedom, and personalized algorithms. TikTok has now evolved into a cultural hub where trends are born, identities are explored, and entire industries, like fashion, are being transformed.
From the hashtags #OOTD and #GRWM to these very niche aesthetic communities created through TikTok’s community, like the “clean girl” and “cottagecore,” the app has created a revolving runway for fashion that magazines and fashion shows never could. Influencers completely change the way trends emerge, spread, and evolve. Unlike traditional celebrities or runway models, TikTok creators often feel more relatable and accessible. They’re filming from their bedrooms, talking directly to their followers, and styling affordable pieces from places like Amazon, Target, or thrift shops. This casual, everyday approach makes it easier for viewers to see themselves in these looks and to want to recreate them instantly. TikTok does not just showcase fashion trends, it drives them.
In my series of blogs, I plan to look at how TikTok’s algorithm accelerates these trend cycles, how and why certain looks explode seemingly overnight, Influencers and their involvement in cycling through these trends, and what this means for the future of sustainable fashion and consumerism. I want to conduct interviews, speak to professionals, and overall understand how this all plays into overconsumption.
Maguire, Lucy. “The Vogue Business Tiktok Trend Tracker.” Vogue Business, 18 Apr. 2025, http://www.voguebusiness.com/fashion/the-vogue-business-tiktok-trend-tracker.
“Musical.Ly and TikTok Unite to Debut New Worldwide Short-Form Video Platform Upgraded App, Titled TikTok, Now Available Globally – Newsroom: TikTok.” Newsroom, 2 Aug. 2018, newsroom.tiktok.com/en-us/musical-ly-and.
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