Though the 2010s aren’t too far behind, a look back reveals how much things have changed—especially in fashion. The single most impactful 2010s fashion development? It came not from Milan, New York, or Paris, but from Silicon Valley. We’re talking about Instagram. For much of history, sartorial innovations have had to do with advancements in textile technology or with new silhouettes that suddenly exaggerated or revealed certain parts of the human form.
The industry had tired of the “obvious” high-low collaborations and it needed to raise eyebrows and get heads scratching in order to stand out even more. Attention spans were shrinking at a breakneck speed due to the volume of available information and entertainment on the Internet, and designers learned they could dangle a new shiny collaboration or capsule collection in the public’s faces to hold their attention—even if only for a week or less.