From The Campus: How Students Are Navigating Fashion And Fitness Trends During Summer Break?

Summer is officially here. As the temperature soars, students resume for holidays. Tang sales hike up and the young adult demographic finds itself scrolling all the more on their smartphones. Some follow a trend and others await a miraculous summer glow-up. What is funny is that every year, around the same time, everyone pays a lot more attention to fast-changing fashion, not just apparel but lifestyle too. Here, we focus on those very niches and how these trends that may sometimes start as a social media spur can turn into internationally followed fashion swear!

The power of a simple white dress can’t be undermined. These days summer dresses are doing the rounds not just in print. Solid, nude colours and polka too are making quite the statement around. Why limit ourselves to just dresses? As internship season for students rises, an increasing number of them find a need to shop for formal apparel, which brings us to the plain, yet evergreen, Pencil Skirts!

With cotton, khaki, denim, and so many other options to choose from 2024 gives- latex and leather(faux) to choose from. Yes, you heard us, latex in summer! With bright colours not fully dying out, the retro fashion of bringing back corsets, burgundy and the cult favourite colour black is making rounds. Kriti Karla, currently doing a corporate internship, says, “I can’t possibly lay enough emphasis on how great a skirt makes me feel. I feel confident, corporate, and dare I say, sexy!”

One thing that summer does for students is allow them some ease enough to not abide by a rigid code of conduct set by their institution. The Glazed Doughnut trend dies out, and with that, nails in summer 2024 are bolder and brighter! So, whether you fancy dipping your toes into a whole new colour, brightening your tips with some chrome, or putting a modern, colourful spin on the classic French, there’s something for everyone. Transparent French, Go Green tips, Crystal couture, Chrome 2.0, and Rainbow Tips are some trends that young adults follow today.

If one cares to follow, the evolution of makeup in the past five to seven years is astonishing. With makeup showing inclusivity to all demographics and genders, it is a statement of a person's character. Gone are the crazies behind the 2016 bold black smoky eye looks and cakey heavy foundations. The year 2024 has evolved into makeup that amalgamates itself with skincare to bring people lightweight and sustainable products.

Minimalism has made its way into people’s lives. With the summer sweat bothering everyone, having a light base on the face will aid the skin. That being said, makeup is in one way or another not a want among the youngsters of today, it serves as some form of a need. Sandra Po—an international student here on a basketball scholarship—says, “Makeup to me means something that hides my acne and something that doesn’t look unnatural.”

Lately, netizens are obsessed with “Korean Glass Skin”. This trend deals with achieving the flawless skin people have been dreaming of forever. A “no makeup” makeup look conceals and looks natural on the skin. With even men increasingly looking into skincare, newer products are being introduced to suit the needs of different customers. Netik Gore a 19-year-old finance student, states laughingly, “My girlfriend forced me into the apparently healthy and aesthetic habit of using sunscreen daily and an exfoliator at least once a week.” For the most part, teens and young adults are the target audience for these products

With this generation prioritising health over other things that are important, going to the gym as a teen has become very normal. With the evolution in the way students choose to spend their time, we see the progression from one generation going down to play, the other at home in video games and the newest prioritising gym time. A lot of resources are available if one is struggling to lose or gain weight, Natural supplements and the importance of having balanced protein-included meals are available on the net. The very fact that innovation has led people to understand that one may not have to sacrifice taste to be healthy after all. Healthy yet guilt-free recipes are all over the internet and a lot of these are student-friendly, not heavy on the pockets and vegan for those interested. Rayan, a student whose main holiday goals are to get fitter and learn to cook, says, “I learn of at least one healthy recipe on a daily basis, and I try and make them in my free time. I've shown a lot of interest in making weighty protein brownies”.

With this, we also see consumption in the caffeine department increase. A fun survey was conducted by the campus reporter to find out exactly how many people between the ages of 12 and 22 consume coffee. The results weren’t shocking at all! About 70 % prefer coffee over any other beverage or mostly tea. Almost 33% of the crowd that consumed coffee were under 16. When asked why exactly some prefer coffee over other beverages, Neena, a student intern, says, “I’m addicted now but I guess I started consuming coffee on weekdays to get through long assignment nights.” Another person said, “Because it’s cool.” Medical research conducted shows coffee can affect a person’s sleep patterns in the long haul and maybe that is why so many of us are turning out to be insomniacs. Sleep deprived, yet very productive and evolving.