Fat Anna Wintour’s Fashion Squeeze: The Biggest Trend of 2020s Fashion is Cheap Dopamine

Words: Anastasia Vartanian

I’ve recently become obsessed with Vinted. (I know, where have I been?) But instead of buying clothes, what’s really got me is accessories. Bedazzled vintage necklaces at £10 a pop. Jewellery found in a charity shop repackaged with buzz words like “rockstar gf” and “y2k”. The excitement of finding a gem, contributing to the circular economy and not hurting your wallet. Win-win-win! Until you realise you’ve collectively spent £200.

The short-lived high created by buying these cheap trinkets got me thinking… does this explain the popularity of bag charms? Like lipsticks and perfumes before them, bag charms are a relatively cheaper way to buy into a luxury brand, while still obtaining that dopamine hit. Like a vape, it gives you a rush to open a new one, try a new flavour, a new shiny colour. (Well, maybe not you. But certainly me.)

But bag charms are old news. More recently, I’ve noticed the rise of haute stickers. Julie Kegels’ show in September featured luxe costume jewellery in the form of stickers. Influencer Lara Violetta wore one with a Vivienne Westwood corset the other day, so I predict it's only a matter of time until this becomes a trend. Ashley Williams’ latest show had models in Starface stickers, bringing to the runway a beauty trend that’s long since taken over TikTok. 

Phone charms, funky tights, even slogan tees: it’s all part of the craze for customisation, hyper accessorising and attainable purchases. For designers, it makes sense to create a cheaper product that allows supporters to buy into their brand who can’t afford to pay hundreds for an item of clothing. (We’re used to fast fashion prices and all own too many things, but that’s another conversation.) It’s a tried and tested model, not least for luxury houses that make the majority of their revenue from perfumes, lipsticks and bags.

“I think this fashion craze reveals something about our current culture. Addicted to cheap, instant gratification (i.e. shiny new toys) as opposed to something slower, perhaps more expensive but more nourishing and useful.”

However, the craze for customisation also reveals a trend of cheap dopamine hits in fashion. Once, clothes were cherished, worn time and time again until they were quite literally falling apart. With rises in mass manufacturing and synthetic materials like polyester, clothing became cheaper and cheaper. Tailors and boutiques were replaced by fast fashion high street shops, the high street was replaced by ultra fast fashion retailers online like Shein and Temu. When I was coming of age in the late 2010s, it was quite normal to buy a cheap new dress for a single party from the likes of Pretty Little Thing. I can only imagine it’s the same now–although the popularity of platforms like Vinted does inspire some hope!

The focus has shifted even smaller in recent years, it seems, to trinkets like bag charms, tooth gems, stickers. With the rising cost of living but a consumerist machine that’s bigger than ever, it’s no wonder that fashion in the form of cheap charms is trending. Online-native generations are advertised to relentlessly. Brands constantly release new drops, must-have products, collabs and capsule collections. The pace of trends has picked up, with micro trends sweeping through online spaces before falling out of relevance in a matter of weeks. 

So, how to support this appetite for consumption and novelty? Cheap dopamine hits as opposed to expensive, quality purchases. And the thing is, I love it. I’m not immune to it at all. I love feeling blinged out in my silly little accessories. Plus, I really love supporting young designers with small purchases. My recent buys include a hairband from London-based, Tumblr girl-adjacent brand Lucila Safdie, and an ironic T shirt from Trashy Clothing, a satirical Palestinian brand. 

But dopamine hasn’t just come for the products, it’s also affecting the way fashion is being broadcast and consumed. Just think of all the gimmicks we’ve seen on the runway in recent years: a bouncing breastplate, a spray-on dress, robot dogs, a man on fire… The Business of Fashion hit the nail on the head: “If major fashion companies long ago shifted their core focus from designing clothes to selling an aspirational image, today they are increasingly in the business of producing quick-hit entertainment to be scrolled on your phone.”

So, while I adore cute things as much as any gal, I think this fashion craze reveals something about our current culture. Addicted to cheap, instant gratification (i.e. shiny new toys) as opposed to something slower, perhaps more expensive, but more nourishing and useful. For instance, a good coat will protect you from the elements. WTF is a bag charm gonna do, except advertise your style and “individuality” to the world?

From processed food, to internet-induced brain rot, to dopamine fashion: we need to slow the fuck down. But, damn, I do love a sparkly accessory.