Fashion trends come and go, either reflective of a decade gone past or using more modern day concepts to create something entirely new. Currently, there is a rise in fashion from the 1980s, with blazers and military jackets coming back into style. However, there is a new concept that is shaking the fashion world: gatekeeping.
The concept of gatekeeping is not new nor is it exclusive to just fashion, many other circles take part in gatekeeping something about their niche interest. However, gatekeeping comes at a certain cost for social media.
In May, there was a situation that went viral where TikTok influencer Cat Limket shared her experience at a Los Angeles flea market, where a girl would not share where she had gotten her boots from.
She was blasted on the internet for not being a girl’s girl or gatekeeping a pair of boots that could be easily shopped online, all because she did not want people copying her.
With this situation, it sparked controversy of how big of a deal gatekeeping is, and what good does it do for the community?
Those who are not in favor of gatekeeping, say it does not promote community and promotes exclusivity which is already a problem in fashion spaces. In a HighSnobriety article titled “Read This Before You Decide to Work in Fashion,” writer Eugene Rabkin shares his opinion on gatekeeping.
“(Fashion) nods enthusiastically to demands for inclusivity with token gestures,” the article reads. “Fashion’s gatekeepers keep the gates tightly shut, promulgating the you-can’t-sit-with-us mindset.”
Many of the people against gatekeeping think this concept is elitist and reinforces old ideas in fashion that people have to act and dress a certain way to be included in a subculture. Some feel like it can exclude those who genuinely have an interest in the group.
Despite its faults, gatekeeping is not all that bad.
With today’s trends on social media, there is no self-curation for clothes anymore, but just replicating what someone on TikTok says to wear.
This year alone Kendall Jenner went viral on social media for wearing a $2 Hanes tank top, something people have been wearing for decades. Something people could find on their own while doing a Google search. With trends like this, it is hard to believe others would not want to gatekeep their more interesting items.
The Haute Diary, in the article “Yes, I’m Gatekeeping. No, I’m Not a Hater,” shares they will be gatekeeping until further notice for this same reason: no one curates their own clothes anymore.
“Now, discovery is often replaced by consumption,” the article said. “Aesthetic has become a fast-moving commodity, not a cultivated expression.”
By getting asked where something is, the curator can feel like they are just another trend which will disappear in a few months, when it is truly authentic to who they are.
The trend cycle is already moving faster than it ever has. When an article of clothing gets traction on social media in the winter, it will be called ugly by summer. It is not limited to just clothes, a new water bottle becomes the talk of social media at least once a year.
This movement is mainly due to social media and how easy it is to procure a trendy item. When something gets popular, people will buy it, talk about it incessantly so everyone else will start to get bored.
Suddenly, without much time even in the spotlight, the sweater everyone was rushing to buy is deemed ugly or not worth the price tag. With a cycle as fast as it is moving, some do not want their favorite piece of clothing to turn into a trend that will not even stay until the year is over.
Gatekeeping is here to stay and there are solid reasons that not everyone has to know what everyone is wearing.
Olivia Russo, a senior journalism major, is LV Life editor of the Campus Times. She can be reached at olivia.russo@laverne.edu.
Olivia Russo is a senior journalism major with a concentration in print/online journalism and a minor in criminology. She is the Editor-in-Chief for the Campus Times for Spring 2026. She has previously served as the News Editor, LV Life Editor, a photographer and a staff writer for the Campus Times, as well as a staff writer and photographer for La Verne Magazine.
