How the Downfall of the "BBL Epidemic" Will Affect Fashion

What is “BBL fashion”?

The internet piped up with investigative quips into certain celebrities getting their body enhancements, particularly in the derrière area removed or greatly reduced. This may seem like an odd thing to notice, but when you constantly share images of yourself and are heavily photographed it’s to be expected that people will notice even the most subtle of changes. I’m not here to police women’s bodies. Do what you want in a safe and healthy way. I’m here to explain, in my opinion, why the “BBL epidemic” as some people refer to it was to have a downfall, and the impact it will have on fashion. BBLs may be experiencing a decline, but I believe like breast augmentations and liposuction, it’s here to stay.

If you are a user of Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube you may have come across “luxury aesthetic”, “old money aesthetic”, and “feminine energy.” Some people use these aesthetics to distance themselves from women that could fall under the “bad bitch aesthetic”, that is long hair, wigs, long nails, tight clothes, high heels, and designer accessories. I’ve even seen courses and tutorials on “how to land a wealthy man” by tapping into your “feminine energy” and looking “classy.” If you look at the basics of it, it’s similar to the “gold-digging” outlook they have on the “bad bitches” of the world. They distance themselves from them by way of fashion and style as to way to present themselves as “deserving” of a well-to-do man. They typically work in the same circles or adjacent to the men they aim to win over.

While I have seen this catered mostly to white and East Asian women, I have seen Black women go after these aesthetics as well, particularly the “Black Girl Luxury Aesthetic.” I personally think this correlates to the increase in Black women going back to relaxed hair. As I mentioned in the video, this is not be saying that natural haired women can’t fall into the “luxury aesthetic”, it’s more so me saying that some women are going grooming themselves to be seen as more “desirable”, “feminine”, and not as “radical” as other women. Of course, if you want to wear your hair straight or relaxed, I don’t care. Do you. I am focusing on people that want to present themselves in a way that they think will attract certain men.

This shift could cause a change in the fashion industry, but I don’t see “BBL Fashion” or the likes of Fashion Nova taking a fall yet. Vintage archive pieces are very popular now in the fashion world. Designers are re-issuing looks from previous collections and the likes of the celebrity and non-celebrity are looking to get their hands on vintage pieces. The fast fashion industry is making replica pieces of them as well. While the fashion industry is still not very size inclusive today, it definitely was not in the past. Clothes were not designed to suit this curvaceous body type. Without alterations and tailoring, the clothes would not flatter their shape at all. Thinness has been the ideal standard in the fashion industry for quite some time if not all the time. If you notice the types of vintage clothing shared and referenced on social media, you will see the models and wearers of those clothes were all thin.

We haven’t seen much of high fashion incorporate extended sizing let alone a curvier straight size body on their runways or even in what they sell. People are leaning into non-formfitting clothes that are designer or give off the impression that they are designer. What? You thought all of the “feminine” and “classy” idealists were wearing only designer. They aren’t and there is nothing wrong with that. A lot of people don’t invest in their clothes, but will invest in handbags and accessories. The fast fashion lifecycle has impacted higher-end fashion. For various reasons, some people also don’t want to seen or pictured wearing the same outfits which is why a lot of people don’t invest in their main wardrobe or even in investment pieces. It’s easier for them to have a designer bag held by the strap in their hand with a simple black dress from SHEIN rather than a full head-to-toe designer look. The motive is that you don’t have to “have money” in order to “look like money.” I think we will see fast fashion companies follow this trend as well and incorporate more flowy garments and a-line dresses and skirts into their offerings.