Has Gen Z Dressing Changed Style Forever?

Style, Trends

Has Gen Z Dressing Changed Style Forever?

By Manfred Lu
August 24, 2021

A screen cap of HBO’s Genera+ion, a new Gen Z centered TV show.

If you have been to Fort Canning Park recently, you will start to notice a difference in the way these avid picnic-goers are dressing. No, we are not referring to the cottage-core all-over-linen styles of dressing. We are referring to the young men and women sporting a mullet in an oversized vest styled with only a T-shirt and cargo pants. They embrace the socks and sandals trend, have a vintage (presumably Salvatore Ferragamo) bag on the side and stacked beaded necklaces.
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But who are these people and why are they hanging out at such an unassuming place? The choice of the TikTok-obsessed hang out spot has its reasons. You see, back before COVID-19 was a thing, the one place that best exemplifies how young people — particularly those between 18 to 25 — were dressing was Clarke Quay. But now that clubs are not open, the scenic, demure spots of Fort Canning Park has become the new, most infamous hang-out spot among Gen Zs. It is where you would notice how Gen Z dressing is so different from that of other past generations.

There is no way to best explain what Gen Z style is. Why? Because the internet raised Gen Zs, and they are heavily exposed to past counter-cultures that happened long before they were even born. They are a generation that romanticises almost anything they see, having never been exposed to vast cultural shifts the same way previous generations did. So it became a culture of bringing things back instead. How Gen Zs dress is influenced by many things — there is Y2K, there is cottage-core, even the beatnik style is back.
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However, they are not the first to have tried this. In fact, everything that has been described so far has been attempted by Millennials, but mistakes were made. In other words, Gen Zs get what Millennials got wrong. The skinny jeans that once liberated Millennials who had to suffer through wide-leg gauchos and low-rise flares in their own youth have now been cancelled by Gen Zs. Instead, 1970s silhouettes have become the new adaptation. Think flare and cigarette jeans. Cringe-worthy oversized printed sweaters that once had a geeky dog have been replaced with chunky vests knitted with quirky 1980s colours. So a lot of changed since then.

What truly separates Millennials from Gen Zs is the perceived image of glamour and luxury. You see, Gen Zs are more financially stable, frugal, health-conscious, gender non-conforming and body-positive than any previous generation. The shift in habits became obvious when fashion campaigns suddenly became conceptual, straightforward and nostalgia-obsessed. It is a long way from just a decade ago where “sex sells” was the only way to approach fashion advertising imagery. The youths of today are simply not interested in the fantasies fashion can provide, but leans towards the realities that come with it. That is why socially-conscious brands — such as Coach, Gucci and Balenciaga — are now Gen Z mainstays.
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Will we ever grow from this? Of course, but the habits “Zoomers” have adopted will most likely stay. And if the pandemic has taught us anything, it is that times have truly changed. The moment of this new generation has truly arrived, and whatever has come out of it so far has been quite impressive.