The Role of Fashion Trends in Circular Economy

Fashion is characterised by constant change through trends. Based on an examination of specialist literature, the paper asks whether there are strategies of sustainability within the framework of a circular economy of the textile industry that are compatible with this constitutive element of fashion, or whether fashion inevitably ends in overconsumption and must therefore fundamentally reform itself. The focus is primarily on resale practices that can extend the useful life of products. The question arises in what way second-hand fashion participates in a transformation of fashion objects, which could also lead to a transformation of the attachment to trends. The requirement for fashion to contribute to the self-dramatisation of the postmodern subject is also reflected. The most important result of the study is that second-hand fashion can be trend-oriented in the sense of representing megatrends, and that it can be considered a constitutive element of a circular economy. The motives of consumers for buying second-hand fashion also need to be researched in more detail, especially with regard to the question of whether a new consumer attitude within the fashion system is emerging in resale practices. In the end, a plea is also made for a variety of sustainability strategies.