Gen Z: VSCO Girls

THE NEW WAVE OF By Ryan Jones Ty Freeman & Kevin Greenhaw

Illustration & Design by Michaela Henry

Pair of Vans, Scrunchie, Kanken backpack, and Hydroflask

GEN Z VSCO GIRLS

A new Internet trend is sweeping the nation. VSCO is a Internet attention– seeking movement that is affecting more and more female teens’ sense of styles. VSCO girls are a new branch of Generation Zs who emulate the photo-sharing app called VSCO. It shares a lot of similarities with the app pinterest, but the question is, how did VSCO create this atrocity? Does VSCO approve of the trend that the teens have started? The short answer, as stated from New York Times, fortunately, is no. “VSCO, for its part, mostly eschews influencers.” Take a look at the facts about this hot new trend.

One may wonder, what exactly is a VSCO girl? Kalhan Rosenblatt at NBC News describes the VSCO girl as “the latest teen iteration of ‘preppy’ style with a casual beach-inspired flair.” In short, a VSCO girl is the latest and greatest trend that is more of a persona than an actual lifestyle, making it contrast from other trends such as silly bands. Becky Hughes of New York Times states that ”the VSCO-girl “lifestyle” is less about the app itself than accouterments like Crocs (decorated with charms); handmade Pura Vida bracelets; the aforementioned Hydro Flasks(covered in stickers); Fjällräven Kånken backpacks; Burt’s Bees and Carmex lip balms; Vans sneakers; and Mario Badescu facial spray.”A great word to describe the trend would be fashion. In conclusion, the term vsco girl embodies the latest trend in fashion for young Gen Z females.

Does VSCO take ownership for what it has created? ”Because the app, which has 20 million weekly active users, doesn’t reward particular kinds of posting behavior, it won’t take credit for the spread of the VSCO-girl aesthetic. “It’s actually teenage girls starting it,” said Julie Inouye, a VSCO spokeswoman, in a phone interview. So VSCO is providing the platform, and leaving it up to teenage girls to do their thing. “They started to tie in these things that they own. But other companies are happy to lay claim to — and capitalize on — the phenomenon” – New York Times. Vsco doesn’t take credit for creating the VSCO girl, but other companies are starting to take the credit and using it as a marketing strategy. Since VSCO does not endorse its Internet trend, who does? What is keeping the VSCO girl trend alive? What companies are taking advantage of this trend? In economics, following trends is an easy way to get cash. This is the case for many companies with the new Gen Z trend. New York Times states,”Vanessa Skaggs, who works in Pura Vida’s marketing department, said that the photo (a Hydro Flask covered in save-the-turtle stickers) had six times as much engagement as the company’s average post” Many companies, Pura Vida being an example, uses the trend which is taking the Internet by storm for company growth. Who can blame them? Most companies see huge dividends for following trends. A similar example would be when Disney bought Star Wars because it had a high following. As one might guess, the VSCO trend is very popular on social media platforms, but not the platforms. NYT states, “There are more than 422.4 million videos tagged #vscogirl on TikTok, most of them parodies.” That’s right, TikTok is the motor for the VSCO girl growth. VSCO isn’t really that popular of a platform. VSCO gets most of its “clout” from the comedic/ expressive platform TikTok.

Despite all of its prevalence and popularity, if one were to dig deeper, the true nature of the VSCO girl is that she is a character on social media. VSCO does not boast its VSCO girl phenomenon to the public. In short,while real VSCO girls do exist, the VSCO girl is a broader term similar to the means of Internet phases like silly bands, Pokemon Go, and more recently, Eboys/Egirls. Eventually, the “save the turtles” trend will end but VSCO hopes that this Gen Z trend does, in some weird way, build its social media reputation.

GENER ATION FAS HUN By: Michael Obi, Kamahl Grant, & Ashley Nation

It’s not just clothes. Its fashion, and it’s one of the most popular outlets for GenZ-ers to express their thoughts and emotions in a unique way. In a world where mega-stars push certain shoes, brands, and fabrics toward us, teenagers and young adults are breaking away to define their own fashion by looking at old and new sources for inspiration. With social media being the most popular way to share pictures, information, news, and much more, these stars, or influencers, have found a way to reach out directly to their fans and interact with them more than they ever could before. It’s not just from high-end fashion brands, influencers have used their power to help bring brands back from the dead, along with the act of thrift shopping. Macklemore tried his best, but it wasn’t on a major incline until the surge celebrities resorted back to them for vintage finds. The saying goes, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” There is no denying this in the world of thrift shopping. Often referred to as vintage, the styles have resurfaced on multiple fashion platforms, and Millennials have meshed these “antiquated” articles of clothing with their individual modernistic flairs by stepping out of the box of predictable contemporary fashion and bringing back articles such as overalls, baggy jeans, and Birkenstocks. The goal is to keep the look minimalist, but also add an “it” factor to help This article is a summary of the popular fashion trends of Generation Z. It discusses the past styles and ideas that have shaped this generation’s fashion sense as well as the current influences and phenomenons that young adults are gravitating towards from a new perspective that will make students connect the way they dress to sources never considered GenerG before.

stand out from the crowd. That “it” Factor is why vintage clothing and thrift shopping is so sought out. They are pieces that are unique to certain areas that can’t be replicated. Rather than the name of the brand giving the clothes value, it’s the design and exclusivity that sets it apart.

Additionally, fashion today is heavily influenced by street wear, a fashion movement heavily influenced by skating, hip-hop, and basketball. The blend of street wear into high fashion began in the 90s when skaters began mixing common brands like Carhatt and Levi with brands like Gucci and Louis Vuitton. This showed that consumers were willing to buy high end brands, and this phenomenon has only increased since then as a result of celebrities who Gen Z’s follow. The brands that they wear, influence a new wave of fashion from designer and casual wear, to loafers and Jordans.

Essentially, Generation Z’s fashion is characterized by unpredictability. Many people who like certain brands may also like clothes on the completely opposite spectrum, and they will often mix them in the most bizarre ways through the new desire for vintage styles and thrifting. There will always be mass followers of popular trends from celebrities, but Generation Z hasn’t gradually gone down one fork in the road. They’ve chosen both.