2018 has been one of the most fashionably and socially influential years within the past decade. This year, many new fashion, social media and music trends have been introduced. Harvard-Westlake (HW) students have been impacted by these trends through liking posts on Instagram with viral posts, wearing clothing from brands and listening to popular music from up-and-coming artists.
Clothing was one of the most prominent areas in which trends rose. Social media influencers, models, actors and all sorts of celebrities have introduced many popular styles of clothing. Runways of fashion shows and red carpets also brought in new trends. Some of these include large statement jackets, logo-covered purses and white sneakers. Although some trends that were popularized this year were only big on the runway, many of them made it to the HW community. Everyday, students wear clothing of their choice, making their style apparent to their classmates. Students have worn Nike Air Force 1s, light-wash jeans of all rises and cuts, graphic hoodies and t-shirts and much more in-style clothing.
Accessories have also helped students make their clothes stand out. Students have accessorized with colored scrunchies on their wrists and hair, thigh-high printed socks paired with white sneakers, and dainty jewelry of all sorts.
When asked about her fashion sense for schooldays, Helen Sidon ’22 said, “Every day, I like to wear sweatpants and a hoodie to school. I do it in order to feel comfortable, and I like to wear clothes I can move around in. I think the best shoes in the game are Adidas Rod Lavers.”
Hailey Hubbard ’22 said “On a daily basis, I usually wear basic tee-shirts and comfy bottoms like sweatpants or leggings.” When asked about their style of clothing in a survey, most students responded saying that they dress for comfort when going to school and don’t put too much effort into their outfits. The top 3 trends that HW students mentioned were sweatpants, crop tops and “hypebeast” brands such as Supreme and Off-White. Students of all ages have worn clothes like these this year. A staple outfit for most girls includes a cropped tank top paired with sweatpants, white sneakers, and a scrunchie on their wrist. Many boys have been seen wearing joggers and basic tees and hoodies. Students at HW don’t feel the need to dress up for school and can easily pull off the effortless trendy look.
The top three brands surveyed students wear include Brandy Melville, Nike and Vans. Brandy Melville is a popular clothing brand for teen girls. Their affordable basic clothing items are a hit amongst HW female students, with seventh to twelfth graders sporting their apparel on campus. Nike is also an extremely trendy brand at HW. Male and female students wear Nike shoes, tops, and bottoms on a daily basis. Vans shoes have also been very popular this year, with over 60 percent of surveyed ninth grade students owning at least one pair of the trendy footwear.
Not only has clothing been highly influential this year, but so has social media. Instagram has a whopping one billion active users as of Aug. 2018, according to Statista. The Instagram explore page has popularized many memes and trends, bringing them to the HW student community. Some of this year‘s most popular Instagram trends are the “In My Feelings Challenge,” which was a dance challenge featuring Drake’s hit song “In my Feelings,” Fortnite dances, TikTok, and many more.
Students participate in these trends by liking posts with these mentioned in them or sharing them with friends. We surveyed the middle school about Instagram, and it was determined that 53 percent of students have an account, while 47 percent do not have an Instagram. Other popular social media platforms the HW students use include Snapchat, Twitter and YouTube.
Some of the most popular music albums of the year include “Sweetener” by Ariana Grande, “Astroworld” by Travis Scott, “Invasion of Privacy” by Cardi B and “Shawn Mendes” by Shawn Mendes. A majority of HW students listen to mostly Pop music along with Hip Hop/ Rap on music platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music.
Overall, 2018 was a trendsetting year and will pave the way for many upcoming trends in the new year.
