by 2023 won’t be remembered as the year the Titanic tour submarine disappeared, or even the year Maya Jama and Stormzy got back together. No, it will be remembered as the year we put a bow on it. Because increasingly I think we’ve finally reached the top of the bun trend cycle, where we’ve surely – surely – grown tired of the bun-ing of hair, clothing, nails, technology and beauty; We found something else to tie. On TikTok, #bows has had over a billion views (no joke); John Lewis has seen online searches for “pink ribbon” quadruple.
“I’m like a magpie with ribbons: I pick them up whenever I find a special one at the local haberdashery or in gift wrap, and pop them into my signature ribbon bag,” says style influencer Luvyute, who regularly posts outfits to her adorned with bows. 108,000 followers “Sometimes I add a bow to something that’s so unnecessary it’s almost ridiculous, but that’s the point, it’s just about being cute and making things your own.” Who adds that her followers are equally obsessed. “They always ask me where I find my ribbon and my decorations,” she adds.
She’s not the only one delving into the absurd, as TikTok’s latest trend encourages creators to place bows on random objects like wall studs, ice cubes, TV remotes, pickles, and even sertraline bottles. With over 11,000 posts already taking part in the trend, it’s belated bowing at its finest – a fitting tribute to a year in which the motif dominated catwalks, red carpets and Instagram OOTDs.
Case in point: In the fall/winter 2023 and spring/summer 2024 fashion month circuits, bows were heavily featured in a variety of collections, including Miu Miu, Simone Rocha, Sinead Gorey, Commes des Garcons, Selkie, Sandy Liang, Max Mara, Moschino and many, many more. This year we’ve also seen devoted celebrities like Gen Z megastar Olivia Roderigo be extremely loyal advocates of this – having worn a laced corset from Fanci Club to the Driving Home 2 U premiere in March and a cute mini Chanel 1994 dress heavily decorated with bows just a few months later. Blackpink’s Jennie is also not seen without a bow in her hair, nor is newly discovered literary it-girl Julia Fox, who wore multiple bow-themed outfits during her latest Down The Drain press tour.
Although the bow was historically considered a utilitarian accessory in the Middle Ages to keep garments in place, it has since become a symbol of all things feminine, dizzy and flirtatious. Perhaps the biggest bun influencer of all time, Marie Antoinette (who reportedly spent 20,000 francs on hair ribbons) was revived in TikTok edits of Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette, Dilara FındÄ’s Dark Versailles Halloween Ball ±koÄŸlu and Generation Z’s enduring obsession with the flirtatious obsession.
Now, you may be wondering why an 18th century figure is an It-girl of 2023, but by becoming Queen of France at just 19 years old, she has been immortalized as the eternal teenager, and in a year of “math girls.” ”, “girls dinner”, “hot girls walk”, Barbiemania and the Eras Tour, that makes it a fashionable product.
“The ‘childhood’ trend was everywhere this year; from TikTok styles to Barbiecore, which will take over in the summer,” agrees Natalie Dickson, director of women’s luxury at FLANNELS, who has found brands like Miu Miu, Commes des Garçons and Ganni, “that make the super feminine aesthetic of a way that makes her always feel great and not too sweet,” performed extremely well this year. Rental platform Hurr also saw a massive uptick in bow-related clothing, with a fierce appetite in particular for the Saloni Camille dress from best-sellers and Miscreants’ crepe Cupid dress with bow detail gloves, which they once again link to “a rise in kitsch (and nostalgic) trends in TikTok and popular culture.”
“In the past, it seemed like we had to reject anything ‘feminine’ to be taken seriously, so I think wearing a bun – which is possibly the pinnacle of ‘feminine’ – is like reclaiming your childhood,” says the young man of 26 years. -Old Jasmine, who has been making a steady bow to her job as corporate marketing director this year. “Last year I couldn’t imagine giving a presentation at a Friday wrap-up meeting, as my old self would think my bosses thought I looked young and naive. But now she makes me feel safe,” she adds.
However, in TikTok’s increasingly viral echo chamber, trends can quickly collapse. “Often, in fashion and in life, women are required to distance themselves from childhood in favor of austerity to justify future intellectual pursuits, as if both cannot exist at the same time,” says the fashion commentator Alexandra Hildreth. “Unfortunately, I think it’s gone from something that originally started as an inside joke to an infantilization of women’s interests.” Hence the aforementioned absurd and false trend currently circulating on TikTok.
Then there’s the capitalist co-option of anything viral, with female empowerment catnip for brands to commodify (after all, Barbie was just a big Mattel ad). In September, The Cut published an article investigating the so-called “Bow Tax,” according to which almost identical items (albeit with an added bow) will have a huge price difference. See Miu Miu selling a white cotton T-shirt for $650, and almost the same shirt with a black bow around the neck for $950. Or Balenciaga selling a pair of black laces for $15, but those same laces tied into bows and placed on a pair of silver posts for $250.
With these two things in mind, maybe it’s time to accept that we’ve peaked and leave them home next year. I for one can’t look at a piece of tape the same way after seeing them tied around a phone screen displaying someone’s separate text.
