Nowism, Coming to a City Near You

visionary

Magda Rod recently took her LA boutique Visionary on the road.

We are a society used to getting immediate gratification so why wouldn’t we want clothing as quickly as we can get a Big Mac?

The shift in consumer desire to want more now has led us, over the years, to the current state: body care and electronics being sold in vending machines, a craving to know more about where your friends are 24/7 through social media and those energy drinks to help you move faster to get everything, you know…now.

Eco-designers and boutiques are not exempt from this Nowism.

From Pop-up shops in major cities where designers can have a temporary storefront (and for a short time only!) to Etsy sites (once scoffed at by many designers I know) to create limited editions with their end-run fabrics, the race is on.

These pop-ups offer what Trendwatching.com calls “temporary brand manifestations that add an element of surprise, urgency, and must-have/must-see to shopping, dining, entertaining, lodging, exhibiting and so on.”

And with this quest to quench the insatiable with what’s new NOW, we don’t have to wait until January to buy our spring dresses at our favorite boutique before they’re bought out. We can buy them now. We may even be able to ask the seller to modify them for us.

The lines have become blurred. What kind of an effect does this have on your own purchases where once you planned seasonally? And when it’s eco, immediately, how eco is it?

Some words of advice: With all that is Nowism being forced down your throat, keep yourself in check with what you really need despite the hype and yes, even the immediacy of the vending machine.

Can you imagine designers promoting something like pencil skirts in all sizes in a machine in your city? Would you buy one?

Amy DuFault

Amy DuFault is a conscious lifestyle writer, consultant and fashion instigator. She resides in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.