September, 2008
The people others follow
One recent look involved tightly curled platinum blonde hair, bright red lipstick and tailored jackets. It seemed fresh and many people started to copy it. In fact, Christina wasn't starting a new trend, she was following one - specifically, a style set by movie star Marilyn Monroe more than 50 years ago. So trendsetters don't just invent looks that are completely new. They also know when to bring back something old.
How trends start is one of the biggest questions of our times. Everyone wants to know what's going to be "in", whether it's polka-dotted headbands or Converse shoes or boy bands. If a business knows what is going to become popular, they can make immense profits by supplying that product to the public. Therefore, people who have the ability to lead new trends are highly valued. Businesses often offer to pay these trendsetters to use and thus promote their stuff.
Want to become one of these trendsetters and have the cool stores begging you to wear their gear? Here's how:
1. Get Famous: To be a trendsetter, people must want to follow your style. But first, people have to know who you are! Madonna was a famous pop star before she started influencing the way teenage girls dressed. Taufik won the first Singapore Idol competition before companies approached him to advertise their goods.
2. Get Hip: Now that you're famous, you must be someone whom other people want to be like. They follow what you do and wear, because they think by doing so, they'll be considered hip too. This happens in the sporting world as well: footballers such as David Beckham and golfers such as Tiger Woods are talented, cool and stylish, so they inspire others to follow in their footsteps.
3. Get Smart: You may be hip and famous, but there are a lot of famous hipsters whose attempts into fashion have gone bust. Singer Jessica Simpson tried to convince people to buy wigs designed and produced by her own company, but it flopped because no one wanted them. Jennifer Lopez, the popular singer-actress, started her own clothing line, but no one bought her clothes because they just weren't interesting. To start a trend, you have to know what people like.
Youth Intelligence, a New-York based marketing research and consulting firm, studies how trends start and identifies cool items that are just about to become wildly popular. Founder Jane Buckingham explains that there are three stages: a macro trend, meaning a major change in attitudes, followed by micro-trends, then specific product trends. For example, around 2003, people started getting tired of exposed mid-riffs and youthful bubble-gum culture that had been popularized by Britney Spears, and started wanting something more conservative and timeless. That was the macro-trend.
Because they felt this way, they sought out clothes that were inspired by the past - the micro-trend. That's where Christina Aguilera stepped in, with her fashion sense inspired by the classic 1950s screen goddess Marilyn Monroe. She started to wear linen jackets and tailored white shirts, putting her hair in tight curls. These were the specific products. She was famous, hip and smart enough to pick up what people were starting to want.
So, there's a lot that goes into become a trendsetter and fashion leader. However, it all starts with becoming a person that other people want to be like.
How trends start is one of the biggest questions of our times. Everyone wants to know what's going to be "in", whether it's polka-dotted headbands or Converse shoes or boy bands. If a business knows what is going to become popular, they can make immense profits by supplying that product to the public. Therefore, people who have the ability to lead new trends are highly valued. Businesses often offer to pay these trendsetters to use and thus promote their stuff.
Want to become one of these trendsetters and have the cool stores begging you to wear their gear? Here's how:
1. Get Famous: To be a trendsetter, people must want to follow your style. But first, people have to know who you are! Madonna was a famous pop star before she started influencing the way teenage girls dressed. Taufik won the first Singapore Idol competition before companies approached him to advertise their goods.
2. Get Hip: Now that you're famous, you must be someone whom other people want to be like. They follow what you do and wear, because they think by doing so, they'll be considered hip too. This happens in the sporting world as well: footballers such as David Beckham and golfers such as Tiger Woods are talented, cool and stylish, so they inspire others to follow in their footsteps.
3. Get Smart: You may be hip and famous, but there are a lot of famous hipsters whose attempts into fashion have gone bust. Singer Jessica Simpson tried to convince people to buy wigs designed and produced by her own company, but it flopped because no one wanted them. Jennifer Lopez, the popular singer-actress, started her own clothing line, but no one bought her clothes because they just weren't interesting. To start a trend, you have to know what people like.
Youth Intelligence, a New-York based marketing research and consulting firm, studies how trends start and identifies cool items that are just about to become wildly popular. Founder Jane Buckingham explains that there are three stages: a macro trend, meaning a major change in attitudes, followed by micro-trends, then specific product trends. For example, around 2003, people started getting tired of exposed mid-riffs and youthful bubble-gum culture that had been popularized by Britney Spears, and started wanting something more conservative and timeless. That was the macro-trend.
Because they felt this way, they sought out clothes that were inspired by the past - the micro-trend. That's where Christina Aguilera stepped in, with her fashion sense inspired by the classic 1950s screen goddess Marilyn Monroe. She started to wear linen jackets and tailored white shirts, putting her hair in tight curls. These were the specific products. She was famous, hip and smart enough to pick up what people were starting to want.
So, there's a lot that goes into become a trendsetter and fashion leader. However, it all starts with becoming a person that other people want to be like.