2040: THE FUTURE OF DRESS CODES
Credit: Geraldine Wharry
As the world attempts to open up again, and we slowly start to re-enter the office in some regions, we can't ignore the fact that this past year of mostly wearing loungewear and that one zoom shirt, has strongly influenced what we now want to wear at work and in our everyday lives.
Dress codes are as old as clothing itself. For centuries, clothing has been a wearable status symbol; fashion, a weapon in struggles for social change; and dress codes, a way to maintain political control.
Dress codes evolved along with the social and political ideals of the day, but they always reflected struggles for power and status.
Fashion has a longstanding relationship with both social and personal identity, and is one of the most visible expressions of it. The way we dress can communicate to others how we portray ourselves in different social situations, underlined by social expectations and norms.
Even in today’s more informal world, dress codes still determine what we wear, when we wear it— and what our clothing means. People have in the past feared losing their jobs for wearing braided hair, long fingernails, large earrings, beards, and tattoos. And even when there are no written rules, implicit dress codes still influence opportunities and social mobility.
Have you ever thought about the message your clothes send and how your environment shapes what you wear?
With this in mind, June's theme in the Trend Atelier Community is:
The Future of Dress Codes
The theme was the idea of community member Susan Muncey who is a writer, trend forecaster and slow fashion retailer. An article drawing on years of her academic research on dress codes and provide her brilliant angle will be published in June. Stay tuned!
In the presentation & workshop hosted June 8th for the Trend Atelier Community, we navigated 6 Future Tribes for 2040 pen profiled by Geraldine, reflecting their beliefs, choices and their environment.
So who are these tribes?
“When I was young there were beatniks. Hippies. Punks. Gangsters. Now you’re a hacktivist. Which I would probably be if I was 20. Shuttin’ down MasterCard. But there’s no look to that lifestyle! Besides just wearing a bad outfit with bad posture. Has WikiLeaks caused a look? No! I’m mad about that. If your kid comes out of the bedroom and says he just shut down the government, it seems to me he should at least have an outfit for that.”
2040: FUTURE STYLE TRIBES
- The Optimalist
This tribe is about optimisation of the self and of the planet. From energy conservation to recycled materials, this tribe has evolved out of countries and industries reinventing themselves to be fully regenerative (ie zero waste and fossil fuel dependent) and focused on wellbeing. The rise of bio materials such as algae, cactus and eucalyptus will have spawned new aesthetics. The personal expressiveness of this tribe may come through function, not shape and this tribe. The Optimalist will celebrate the natural qualities of bio materials such as colour fading, irregularities and natural ageing, whilst also embracing tech as a connector to the environment and enhancement of the self. They may also favour bio-hacking to optimise the body’s biology with clothing that allows for micro dosing, tarot card or planetary mood readings whilst giving instant feedback on your biometrics.
- - The Oxygen Ephemeris
With the world’s population expansion, experts predict the majority of the human population will live in cities and we will build in height. This means a redefinition of living spaces, public transportation and health due to conditions of living at higher altitudes. This Oxygen Ephemeris will thrive in an altered and unnatural environment and potentially luxuriate in the new possibilities. This remains to be seen as it could be a very exclusive and class-led tribe, not adhering to rule for the many, but could mean a market for clothing that can accommodate oxygen needs and tap into aspects of space wear as well as futuristic couture.
- - - The Fantasy Hacker
For many up and coming as well as established designers, and the end user (ie consumer) , digital collections are just the logical step forward. Video game enthusiasts are already spending billions on items such as skins. “Increasingly, we will see digital collections and garments free from physical and creative restrictions become part of the fashion landscape,” says Rachel Stott of the Future Laboratory. This future tribe thrives in the Direct-to-Avatar economy (D2A), also known as “Digi-Sapiens” a term coined by Kerry Murphy, founder of The Fabricant. Clothing will accommodate haptic feedback sensors. As an avatar the Fantasy Hacker will be able to chose between living as a fantastical creature or an identical version or its IRL self. The wild card may be that as the internet becomes splintered and if China’s policies don’t change and it continues to dominate, this space will be controlled, tracked, subject to propaganda and punishments. That remains to be seen and will be shaped in the 2020s.
- - - - The Hustler Eternalist
Our 4th tribe comes out of a world population that is ageing. According to a recent New York Times report, it is expected that by mid century the majority of the human population will be at an advanced age. And already we are failing to reach replacement numbers when it comes to birthrates. This means a redesign of the functionality and ease of our clothing. It means designing for different types of bodies and abilities. It also means shifting to a greater culture of care when so far we very much ignore the silver generation. Gen Z will be in their 40s but spearhead a movement of clothing for all, not just inclusive of genders and race, but also age inclusive. The businesses that will have understood these shifts early on in the 2020s will dominate the style industry. This tribe will be about creating opportunities regardless of age, redefining “youth” as a mindset and going back to ancient traditions of honouring all generations.
- - - - - The Everyday Eccentric
The Everyday Eccentrics are about shifting gender and work identities. Rejecting labels is what this tribe is about and it loves to play with personas (think David Bowie of course). Modern men are already breaking traditional gender norms and it is becoming more popular for men to wear dresses on runways and even red carpets. The most progressive thinking in this regard comes from the Gen Z cohort who have embraced a shift to more universal aesthetics. How will company dress codes change in the future? How will ‘masculine’ dress codes evolve? As the 2020s eschewed a society fostering zero-judgement, the everyday will be eccentric and notions of banality and blending in may be turned upside down.
- - - - - - The Rewilding Egalitarian
This tribe sees clothing as an act of growth and rewilding, focused on personalisation, extending a garment’s life through modularity and replacement parts. Data and craft will be used to empower clothing that combines mass production and personalisation. This tribe will favour uniforms that can easily be changed and updated, upcycled with certain parts replaced, especially areas where wear and tear are more likely, to avoid letting go of the entire garment for no reason. This will change the way seams and threads are used, as well as the way snaps, pockets and fasteners are applied, thus modifying the entire aesthetic of a garment through its reusability. With food scarcity more common, this tribe will also be composed of farmers who are also artists and influencers, with an enhanced taste for transformational workwear combining that which accommodates both working with the earth and recording a podcast.
What Tribe do YOU think could exist in the Future?
By Geraldine Wharry & Trend Atelier research assistant Coline Rialan
