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Fashion Influencer Trends in Early 2022
The fashion industry has not had an easy couple of years as the pandemic disrupted consumer spending and supply chains.
However 2022 is looking promising. Traackr data shows that both the athletic and fast fashion categories are seeing an uptick in activity, while luxury is still falling behind.
Most interesting, but perhaps not-so-surprising, is the big uptick in video views. We are seeing a similar trend in the beauty industry, as influencers and brands continue leaning hard into video content on Instagram and TikTok.
So what are a few fashion influencer trends and that audiences are currently interested in?
Sustainability endures
In the past “greenwashing”, or the use of sustainability terms for marketing and PR purposes, has been a huge issue. But, some publications like Women's Wear Daily have reported the industry is looking to “legislation and restricted substances lists” to help address these concerns.
Our data shows that the number of fashion influencer posts about this topic have decreased over the past year. That being said, it is clear that sustainability is still an important topic for consumers, as engagements and video views continue to increase.
Sustainable Fashion Content Across All Platforms:
- -18% posts
- +135% engagements
- +150% video views
Topics that address sustainability in a more specific way are also on the rise. For example, thrifting has seen a rise in posts, engagements, and video views in the past year.
Thrifting Content Across All Platforms:
- +10% posts
- +7% engagements
- +34% video views
This specific category of sustainable fashion is becoming so popular that influencers are even making full blown businesses out of it. For example, TikTok influencers like Emma Rogue - who built a following reselling thrifted clothes - opened her own brick-and-mortar thrift store. She is just one of many.
Knitwear on the rise
COVID lockdowns might be ending, but consumers’ desire to be cozy isn’t.
Knitwear is the latest textile to capture consumer attention. Is it because of the coziness? The color? Or because it sits somewhere between Y2K and retro/boho fashion? We’re not sure. But even though the number of influencer posts have decreased over the past year, the number of video views from consumers has increased.
Knitwear Content Across All Platforms:
- -4% posts
- +18% video views
This trend is getting so big that knitwear design has become a high demand job!
Fashion goes virtual
It’s no secret that fashion is going virtual. Many brands are experimenting with a wide range of technologies to create new experiences and easy ways for their audiences to shop.
So what are some tech features that fashion influencers are buzzing about?
Our data shows that live stream shopping — which has really taken off in the beauty industry — is gaining traction amongst fashion influencers too.
Live Shopping Mentions Across All Platforms:
- +52% influencers
- +70% posts
- +673% engagements
- +394% video views
Our data also found that content mentioning “virtual styling” saw a 30% increase in video views over the past year as well. Could this mean that the pandemic has inspired a permanent change in how consumers shop? Will in-store shopping ever return to pre-pandemic levels?
About the data: All data above compares March 2020 - February 2021 vs March 2021 - February 2022, in order to a full year-over-year comparison.