Runway or TikTok: Who’s Really Setting Fashion Trends Now?

From fashion weeks to viral feeds, who really shapes what we wear.

POSTED 16.12.25 04:40 BY TASNIM MIAH

There was once upon where you’d open a Vogue magazine, see a runway collection, and that would dictate what we wore at that time. The silhouettes, the layers, the bags — runways dictated everything. But with TikTok and influencer culture taking over, I'm starting to wonder if runways are the main stage anymore?

How Influencers Are Changing the Trend Cycle

On one hand, I open Instagram and see Molly Mae setting a trend to a hundred thousand followers overnight. Influencers like Molly Mae can launch a fashion trend with just one viral post. Molly Mae had the girls (including me), scrambling in Zara just for *that viral leather jacket*. It got to the point where the jacket was sold out within days, and it was rebranded on TikTok as “the Molly Mae jacket”.

Why Runways Still Matter

That’s not to say runways aren’t important. For me, they still set the tone for fashion trends. Designers create visions that trickle into mainstream fashion. Like for me, the Stella Maxwell 2025 Fall Runway collection perfectly represents what I love to wear during winter. All the baggy silhouettes: coats and blazers, cozy colors. So, yes, there are elements of my everyday dressing that I want to scream: editorial, off-duty runway model.

But there’s also a shift where fashion feels more personal and immediate. We’re less concerned by what the elite designers are creating for the top supermodels, and more influenced by real, everyday people we connect with from all over the globe via social media. And that’s beautiful.

So, to me, runways do still matter, and you’ll always catch me taking notes from what the top designers are putting out, but equally, I am looking through my feed, searching for trends that make me feel alive!

Step into your editorial era, 2025-coded — these are my Fizzypicks:

BRUUNS BAZAAR
Double-Breasted Belted Trench Coat
$557.00

Runway or TikTok: Who’s Really Setting Fashion Trends Now?

How Influencers Are Changing the Trend Cycle

Why Runways Still Matter

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