A Dose of Reality: TikTok Influencer Lennie Nelson's Fight Against Microtrend Mania

Photo courtesy of Lennie Nelson's Tik Tok.

Written by Ellie Levin

Branding Executive

Using her TikTok platform (@the_happihippi), South Dakotan and self-proclaimed "granola girl” Lennie Nelson appeals to her nearly 200K followers by combating the idolization of microtrends. Nelson integrates humorous and insightful commentary into her content, all while raising awareness about important sustainability issues.

Microtrends, defined by Zorraquino's digital marketing dictionary as “one-off, short-lived trends in specific markets,” are notoriously known to have some of the fastest life cycles in today's fashion industry. Along with the microtrend itself, the negative consequences that often accompany these trends are just as quickly forgotten.

Nelson’s work highlights the controversial conversations surrounding poor labor conditions in fast fashion. For example, she emphasizes the true cost of extremely cheap-priced clothing, stating, “If you are getting that for $1.58 off AliExpress, that kid's not getting paid.”

 "When it costs us nothing, it's costing someone absolutely everything,” Nelson says. This underscores a prominent pitfall of constantly chasing microtrends: while they may seem harmless on the surface, they often come at a significant cost to workers behind the scenes. 

She also points out the distinct downside of a new microtrend becoming prevalent in society. “The conceptualization is all about recycling, reusing, mending, but if we know anything about fast fashion, that's never how it works,” Nelson says. 

Nelson also highlights the ironic contradiction: a trend's positive foundation doesn't necessarily prevent negative consequences. Through her platform, she encourages her followers to understand that there can be downsides even for microtrends based on positive issues. For instance, Nelson references the Terra Futura trend, a futuristic aesthetic blending themes from environmentalism, Frutiger Eco and Solarpunk. While the trend stems from positive traits, it inevitably adds to the never-ending cycle of novelty turned waste.

Another critical aspect of the impacts of microtrends is the overwhelming lack of originality. “Something that genuinely scares me about the 2025 microtrends is that they all seem to have this intention of like cosplaying authenticity, manipulating personality into something that you can buy rather than something you curate,” Nelson says. 

The tendency to "buy" a personality rather than cultivate one's own leads to a dependence on trends and a diminished sense of individual style. This sentiment is echoed in her plea—“Lord forgive us; we know not what we're doing, we know not how to dress ourselves”.

Nelson further showcases microtrends’ superficiality. “I was alerted today that someone had already forgotten about the Mob Wife trend; we're so brain-rotted we don't remember what happened three months ago,” Nelson said. 

Microtrends lack the staying power of genuine societal movements or personal style choices, speaking to cultural amnesia, where trends are embraced and discarded with alarming speed, preventing any real engagement or meaning.

Nelson offers a much-needed dose of reality in the fast-paced world of microtrends. By drawing attention to the hidden costs of these fleeting fads, Nelson's work is a call to action, prompting her audience to critically examine their consumption habits and appreciate the value of sustainable practices, originality, and a more conscious approach to fashion. Ultimately, she encourages us to move beyond the superficial allure of microtrends and cultivate a more authentic and conscientious relationship with what we wear.