VAPOURWAVE- The wider causes of trend

Culture, politics, society and technology all contribute to the wider causes of trend that many will be naive to believing. Seemingly to most individuals these topics and areas are completely unrelated regarding what we choose to wear. Many trends that have occurred in fashion prove this idea and prove that fashion is affected by wider causes.

As our world has become more digitalised and internet revolving, it has opened up new creative opportunities for the millennials . Almost anyone to contribute to creating content on the internet. The early 2010s saw a genre of music emerge exclusively from the internet, curated by a digital youth culture. It was the first music trend to be fully globalised that was could be fully contributed to via someones room. 

Vapourware; the cyber trend. This can be described as a music genre that is based upon the fascination with 80s and 90s smooth jazz and elevator music. The tracks are manipulated, usually slowed down and chopped from pre-existing songs. However, Vapourware doesn't just stop at music production, a whole subculture revolves along side it. This subculture is based upon consumer capitalism and popular culture. Fashion has been influenced from the artwork produced by this genre, focused on technology and advertising of previous decades. Logos such as Sega, Pepsi, Google, Nintendo, Windows and Fiji water are paired together with outdated PCs, glitch art, renaissance sculptures, web design palm trees and Japanese letters. This makes a surrealist image that is characterised as the 'Vapourware aesthetic'. 

Vapourware has grown from music to art to fashion. Although always and still being very niche due to never hitting mainstream society it shows how fashion can be shaped by societal influences such as capitalism and a consumer culture. 

It started just over a decade ago and some aspects are still influencing the fashion trends of today. Consumer brands are being worn as fashion all over the world, for example Coca Cola, PEPSI, DHL etc. It could be said that Jeremy Scott was hugely influenced in this field with his 2014 Moschino collection. 

Vapourware fashion is still around today with brands such as public space and vapour95. Additionally a new cyber stylised digital platform has emerged allowing users to create their own content called 'okgrl'. Vapourware pioneered digitally and has calved the stepping stones for how the internet can create trends. 

What will be the next trend that arises due to a response to a political, social, cultural movement? If the internet can make a cyber trend as a reaction to capitalism, then the future holds endless opportunity.