The Transformation of Fashion Expression in the Social Media Era
Abstract
The rise of social media has fundamentally transformed fashion expression, shifting from a traditionally elite-driven model to a user-generated and community-driven culture. Algorithmic recommendations, visual engagement, and influencer marketing have contributed to the emergence of the "seeding economy" and "persona-driven consumption," where fashion trends spread rapidly through digital platforms. This shift has significantly influenced young consumers' fashion choices, encouraging them to engage with trends in new ways. However, it has also given rise to issues such as fast fashion, aesthetic homogenization, and consumption anxiety, as individuals feel pressured to keep up with rapidly changing trends. Moreover, the "filtered culture" of social media reinforces identity dilemmas, where users seek self-expression while simultaneously conforming to standardized beauty ideals. This article mainly discusses, against this backdrop, how people's fashion expressions on social media shape and influence identity, as well as how social media promotes fashion consumption.
References
- China Internet Network Information Center. (2024). The 54th Statistical Report on China’s Internet Development.
- Kaplan A M, Haenlein M. Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media[J]. Business horizons, 2010, 53(1): 59-68.
- Boyd D M, Ellison N B. Social network sites: Definition, history, and scholarship[J]. Journal of computer‐mediated Communication, 2007, 13(1): 210-230.
- Rocamora A. Mediatization and digital media in the field of fashion[J]. Fashion Theory, 2017, 21(5): 505-522.
- Leaver T, Highfield T, Abidin C. Instagram: Visual social media cultures[M]. John Wiley & Sons, 2020.
- Kawamura Y. Fashion-ology: An introduction to fashion studies[M]. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2018.
- Blumer, H. (1969). Symbolic interactionism: Perspective and methods. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
- Miladi N, Messaoud M B, Alkhateeb G, et al. Digital youth in Qatar: Negotiating culture and national identity through social media networks[J]. Journal of Arab & Muslim Media Research, 2022, 15(2): 151-177.
- McQuarrie E F, Miller J, Phillips B J. The megaphone effect: Taste and audience in fashion blogging[J]. Journal of consumer research, 2013, 40(1): 136-158.
- Weiyan L I U. A historical overview of uses and gratifications theory[J]. Cross-Cultural Communication, 2015, 11(9): 71-78.
- Meraz S. Is there an elite hold? Traditional media to social media agenda setting influence in blog networks[J]. Journal of computer-mediated communication, 2009, 14(3): 682-707.
- Masuda H, Han S H, Lee J. Impacts of influencer attributes on purchase intentions in social media influencer marketing: Mediating roles of characterizations[J]. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 2022, 174: 121246.
- Dick S, Heavin C, Vasiliou V S, et al. The design of a digital behaviour change intervention for third-level student illicit substance use: a persona building approach[J]. 2020.
- Zafar A U, Qiu J, Li Y, et al. The impact of social media celebrities' posts and contextual interactions on impulse buying in social commerce[J]. Computers in human behavior, 2021,115: 106178.