Minimalism: the lifestyle trend surging through fashion and beauty
Sleek, sharp and succinct. Social media is seeing the fashion and beauty worlds collide by enhancing their mediums through the minimalist movement.
(This article was originally posted on the Fresher Mag website. At the time of publishing on Substack, the website domain is unavailable, hence why I have reposted it here. Enjoy!)
With both industries, the basic blueprints include using what you currently own, bringing the elements back to the basics, and the “less is more” approach. It’s a lifestyle that can be performed by all walks of life due to the flexibility of being able to be executed in different forms as well as providing varying interpretations.
Where did the minimalism concept first appear?
Minimalism first appeared in the 1950s-1960s as a form of revolt from the then-popular abstract art form, with the goal to remove any metaphors, symbolisms and other meanings from the medium so that the viewer can see the art for what it is.
“What you see is what you see”, the quote by artist Frank Stella accurately depicts the minimalist intention of being literal. It is often seen with a minimal broad colour or tone with
sharp geometric shapes and little to no detail provided. It's popular in other scenes other than fashion, beauty and art. For example, architecture, interior design and even music can be created with a minimalist style.
Figure 1: Frank Stella, The Marriage of Reason and Squalor, II, 1959.
The minimalist lifestyle shot up into modern popularity through the 2016 Netflix documentary Minimalism which follows Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, AKA The Minimalists on their book tour around America. The Minimalists challenge the perspective on what it means to be successful and happy in life by using this movement as a tool to revolt against overconsumption.
The documentary also views the lives of people from all walks of life and how they practice minimalism in their lifestyle, as a way to prove that there’s more than one path to the ‘American Dream’ other than climbing the corporate ladder.
Figure 2: Minimalism (2016), A docuseries by Netflix.
Another Netflix series that valued minimalism was Tidying Up with Marie Kondo (2019), which focused on decluttering items and keeping valuables that “sparked joy” or needed. Although the intention was to help families in their quest to tidy up their homes, it also helped them question what they should own, how to value life, and how to reconsider and rediscover items.
Both Marie Kondo and The Minimalists released a new series in 2021, called Sparking Joy with Marie Kondo and The Minimalists: Less Is Now, respectively.
Minimalism in fashion holds similar standards. Seemingly arduous from an outside standpoint, there are different ways to express the minimalism concept through fashion. Using the “less is more” approach for buying clothing items is great for sustainability, promotes less wastage and also is a tool to advocate the slow fashion movement.
Popular shopping events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday engage the consumer to buy more items however using a minimalist mindset counters this concept of buying for the sake of buying. It challenges the idea of what it means to find value in items.
Figure 3: Tidying Up with Marie Kondo via Netflix, 2019.
Fashion minimalism doesn’t just mean monotone clothing and owning the least amount of clothes you can own. There are some resources for anyone wanting to stick their toe into the minimalist mindset.
A popular course of action includes the wardrobe capsule, a breakthrough to simplify the wardrobe situation. To build a capsule wardrobe, you wear a selected amount of items for the season so that all items can be mixed, matched and ultimately loved.
Another resource that follows this route is Project 333. Project 333, mentioned in the Minimalism Netflix documentary, is an extreme fashion challenge where participants can only wear 33 items of clothing in 3 months - which includes accessories and shoes. It follows the same values as the wardrobe capsule by using and loving what you currently own. Classic, versatile fashion staples are normally chosen as part of their minimalist wardrobe while also providing room to accentuate your style.
However, there are some negatives with the wardrobe-purge solution. For instance, having a limited selection of clothing to last a period of time does not cater for weight fluctuation. Although these solutions provide an opportunity to save money by buying less, ironically this can mean that buying a couple of good quality, timeless pieces can be expensive at first.
For skincare and beauty, minimalism has begun to take notice in the last couple of years. The “shelfie” (a photo of the shelf that holds your skincare) reigned over the Instagram feed, taking hold of the viewer with overcrowded products that were commonly colour-coordinated. Some enthusiasts, however, stepped back and refined their products to level with their necessities and values.
This framework battles the issue of overconsumption in the beauty industry which is a win for sustainability. It is increasingly a huge asset to a brand now that consumers value placing their money towards supporting brands that care for the environment.
Skin minimalism can be exemplified in many ways, the most popular being practising with a restricted skincare routine, like a skin ‘detox’. The foundation of minimalism in skincare is the basic routine; purely a cleanser, moisturiser and SPF. These three products are notably known as the backbone of a good skincare routine because they are religiously part of every top-notch skincare routine.
Peeling back a skincare routine is practised when someone has compromised their skin barrier in some way: by sun exposure, using harsh products, or using too many products - to name a few. This provides time for the skin to heal, retain and rebuild the skin barrier.
Brands can also follow suit to minimalist ideas through packaging and tailoring their brand by executing simple ideas for their products rather than complex, inspired from the inside (ingredients) to the outside (branding and packaging).
Figure 4: Typology
Skin minimalism can have some negatives as well. Having a simplified routine with fewer products can mean that you may not be providing your skin with ingredients and treatments that are catered to your skin’s particular concerns, leaving out important key ingredients that help with your skin’s best interests in terms of optimal health.
With both the beauty and fashion industries having similar overconsumption issues, minimalism is deeply rooted in the minimalism idea that flourished from art - the revolution of renouncing current trends, current ideas and the current way of living is minimalism. If there’s anything to learn from minimalism let it be this: Minimalism has the potential to fit into our lives not as trends but instead as a more gratifying way to live life.
“Love people and use things. Because the opposite never works.” - Joshua Fields Millburn
Not sure where to start? Here are a couple of brands that value minimalism
Minimalist Fashion brands:
Sir The Label
Bassike
St. Agni
COS
Minimalist Beauty Brands:
Aesop
The Ordinary by Deciem
Typology
The Inkey List
All & Sundry
Series mentioned:
Minimalism (2016)
The Minimalists Less is Now (2021)
Tidying Up with Marie Kondo (2019)
Sparking Joy with Marie Kondo (2021)
For information and resources on Minimalism: