IF there’s one thing most Gen Zs know about, it’s fashion.
With an abundance of inspiration from TikTok to Pinterest to Instagram, it’s no wonder why so many teenagers and young adults are leveling up their fits, able to make the most stylish of looks using the simplest of clothing.
If you’re someone who loves fashion or just wants to branch out your sense of style a little bit more, here are some style icons you can follow to know what to wear no matter what the occasion may be.
If you’re into the sleek, minimalist look, Ida Anduyan is a great source of inspiration. Often donning black and white outfits on her social media, Anduyan uses a mix of unique pieces as well as simple basics to make for classy, timeless outfits.
To make her outfits pop in even more, she focuses on even the smallest of details – adding accessories like shades and cute keychains, for example, or styling your hair in an eye-catching way – to make for a more unique look.
Her Instagram and TikTok accounts are also a great help if you’re trying to figure out how to pose for your next fit pic. She’s also not one to gatekeep; if you’re looking to steal her style, she has several videos posted to her TikTok about the brands that she wears, even providing links to some of the clothes she wears in her videos.
Looking for someone who can rock a statement piece like no other? Francheska Lhian Nicolas is the one for you.
Nicolas looks at her style as that of Androgynous Fashion, often mixing skirts and bulky tops in a lot of her fits, though she notes that she’d rather not put a label on how she dresses, because she’s still figuring out what she loves and just wants to dress freely.
They draw a lot of inspiration from drag queens, as well as anyone they may encounter whose style mesmerizes them. To put together their outfits, they have all their clothes saved onto their phone’s Notes app, writing down how to style these pieces and also getting inspiration from Pinterest to further help them out.
They added: “It’s [euphoric] when what you’ve created in your mind looks and fits you perfectly in real life. I love turning a piece of fabric into something beautiful, complicated, and something you don’t expect.”
Nicolas urges others who may want to dress like her to go after their passion, push beyond their comfort zones, and dress up how they’ve always desired. It’s in doing this that you’ll be able to find comfort and euphoria in life – that you’ll be able to fall in love with yourself over and over again.
Serving a mix of minimalist, edgy, and/or sporty looks, Coco often gets their fit inspiration from the media they consume, like the shows or films that they watch.
“I relate to a specific era or character that I want to embody and take inspiration from,” they shared.
They also love getting inspiration from watching normal, everyday people walk by, looking at what others are wearing, and using it to create an outfit with their take on it.
Coco bases their outfits on their plans for the day, also taking into account how they feel, so they know if they’re going to dress casually, formally, or outdoorsy.
“I put effort [into] how I dress because it’s a form of self-love and self-expression,” Coco explained.
“I’m the type to plan out my makeup, hair, and outfit the night before, and I just love the process. I love taking references from people or places or emotions and using makeup and clothes to express myself!”
For Coco, anyone can wear whatever they want, no matter their gender, sexuality, height, or weight.
Fashion for them is whatever you make it out to be; they believe that you should focus on how you feel on the inside above all else.
Though her style choices often vary, Sanguyo describes her style as inspired by Japanese Street Fashion. Her fits are extremely diverse, but whether she’s wearing a frilly babydoll dress or an oversized suit jacket, she’s sure to look fly in it either way.
Sanguyo often gets her inspiration from pegs on Pinterest as well as fashion pages on Instagram like Tokyo Mode Snap, Identidad Magazine, and Arcana Archive. After looking for some fitspiration, she then mixes her own sense of style into it.
Whether it be hot or cold, none of that matters to Sanguyo. She wears whatever she wants to wear 24/7, and encourages others to do the same because constantly worrying about what others may think of you is just an absolute waste of potential.
“I dress up the way I do because fashion is unbelievably therapeutic for me,” she shares.
“I don’t dress for any external validation, I dress to express myself. I dress the way I do because this is what I’m comfortable doing. I dress the way I do because this is simply what I like. I dress the way I do because I feel more confident in doing such things.”
As a self-proclaimed maximalist hubadera, Kalaw’s style is perfect if you’re looking to style pieces in a way that’s simply out of this world.
“I love layering pieces to create new textures, but at the same time showing off skin, because loving my body has always been the goal,” Kalaw, an advocate for body positivity, shared.
Kalaw puts her outfits together by focusing on one item of clothing and then finding different colors that go along with that piece, either adding pieces that complement or contrast the colors found within her starting piece.
Through fashion, Kalaw hopes to empower people, just as the way she dresses has empowered her.
“I want to inspire people into being their true selves, and to have fun with their style because that’s what it’s meant to be,” she said.
“The more comfortable and happy you are with your looks, the more you feel the sense of overcoming all the things you need to conquer through the day – at least, that’s how I feel.”
