What happens if underconsumption becomes just another trend?

She points out that the current online obsession with underconsumption has its roots in disinfluence, which, she says, “started with the words, ‘You don’t need this.’ Then the people who wanted to capitalize on the trend said, “Don’t buy this, buy it.” The instead!’ I worry about how the news is being manipulated to benefit the consumption cycle we seem to be caught in.” Given the social media cycle and its emphasis on “next, next, next,” she fears that progress only could be short-lived. “How do we keep it going? How can we stop it from being a trend and think about how it should be normalized?”

Andrea Cheong, author of Why don’t I have anything to wear? and host of the podcast Fashion is our futureHer focus has always been on “sustainable shopping, not sustainable brands,” because as she says, “You can’t actually buy sustainability.” She believes that our relationship with clothing consumption is somewhat broken. “I don’t think anyone has really been taught how to shop [for clothes] Just like we’re taught how to buy food by reading nutrition labels.”

Why don’t I have anything to wear?: Spend less. Shop smarter. Revolutionize your wardrobe by Andrea Cheong

Like Barber, Cheong reminds me that what may seem like a brand new trend on your For You page is a longstanding practice in many communities. For example, she notes that clothing worn in some Asian cultures was transformed into pajamas or “housewear.” The only difference is that we now have a wider window for different approaches to consumption. Social media “has invited anyone who can download an app and upload a video to create content.” And before, when there was this elitist hierarchy of influencers or celebrities, now there’s a more democratized algorithm,” she says. Another driver of the movement is the backlash against excessive transport and the “swipe up for more!” culture of over-consumption of our feeds.

This won’t go anywhere…You’ll see the fingerprints of it everywhere.”

“People who have always done it will continue to do it, and maybe people who were insecure or embarrassed about doing it won’t feel as ashamed. [But] I don’t necessarily think it will lead to this big seismic shift in perspective,” says Cheong. What she finds interesting is that “people don’t do these things because they primarily think, ‘I’m so sustainable.’ They do this because it saves them money.” Ultimately, she believes, “It doesn’t matter how we get there. As long as people adopt these more mindful and conscious practices, they pursue the same goal: drive slower, buy less, use things more often.

“Calling it a trend doesn’t mean it just appeared. It means that it is actually super anchored in something. When someone hears the word trend“We view it as something fleeting,” she adds. “This isn’t going anywhere. It will manifest itself in a slightly different way, but you will see his fingerprints everywhere.”

Véronique Hyland is ELLE’s Fashion Features Director and author of the book Dress code, which was selected as one of The New Yorker Best books of the year. Her texts have already appeared in The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, W, new York Magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, And Conde Nast Traveler.