The target market that my collection is appealing to is young and fashionable women in their mid 20s. They are probably middle/upper middle class and make around 50,000 dollars a year. They work at a job where she is allowed to dress in a non stuffy, exuberant fashion. They live in a big city where popular fashion trends are consistently on display. They enjoy buying clothes frequently and being an active part of the local fashion community. They surround themselves with likeminded people, others that would also purchase from our collection.

The buyer of this trend is someone who has a cooler personality. She is seen frequently out and about wearing cute outfits. They enjoy the nightlife and are the life of the party. Our buyers frequently buy secondhand clothing and enjoy upcycling. They are always traveling and don’t like staying in one place a lot. They have a job that allows their busy lifestyle. Their wardrobe is huge as they are always buying pieces, they try to get rid of clothes when they can but tend to get attached easily. Our buyers value sustainability and want to reduce textile waste.

The trend that I have decided to base my research on is metallic clothing. It has been seen continuously on the runway in the 2023/2024 seasons, Miu Miu and Balenciaga headlining the movement whilst brands like Ralph Lauren, Chanel, etc following suit. Metallics being used in clothing has been since back to the 1930s, the shiny fabrics representing stars and their mysterious aura. It was a statement of wealth and exclusivity due to the rarity of metallic fabric in that era of fashion. Metallics have been jumping in and out of fashion ever since then. It tends to be popularized whenever there seems to be a jump in technological innovation incorporated in society/uncertainty of where we will progress further. It started as being worn only for special occasions due to the glamorous nature, any other situational wear being seen as tacky, but as of lately it has emerged into being seen in more casual wear. The rise of the trend today can be traced to a sort of nostalgia of the early 2000s. People nowadays have a nihilistic view of modern technology, feeling like it’s taken over our lives. People want to go back to a time in which technology was new and cool and we didn’t depend on it for everything as much. Metallics have always represented the future, the fact that it is trending now showcases our embracing of technology and innovations as an inevitable part of our growth as a society.

The fabrics used are synthetic and often paired with other synthetic fabrics as well as just straight plastic. Obviously, the fabrics are metallic. The silhouettes nowadays tend to be a little bit baggier to help emphasize the shifting colors and to give a more mesmerizing effect while the wearer walks. The colors tend to be more neutral with silvers and golds and other colors you typically think of when you think of metallics. Very minimal accessories as to not distract from the lustrousness of the fabric.