Those OTT charms colonising Gen Z handbags? They’re a ‘joyful rebellion’

If Marie Kondo ever has nightmares, they probably look a whole lot like chaotic customisation. This fashion trend, which was coined by trend forecasting company WGSN, is being driven by Gen Z and involves using small accessories in a personalised, completely over-the-top way. We’re talking multiple charms that can be as big as a small Labubu doll (the latest global Gen Z obsession) hanging from bags, coat lapels, colourful ribbons tied to bag straps or intertwined with shoelaces, and more.

If Millennials were all about beige minimalism, then this trend sees the fashion pendulum swinging the other way. “I see it as a reaction to stealth luxury, which we saw before this, which was all very pared back, with subtle tones,” says Glynis Traill-Nash, former fashion editor and creator of the one-woman, fashion-based show In These Shoes. “Gen Z is growing up with global and financial uncertainty, so they’re all about affordable self-expression.”

Traill-Nash sees it as a positive trend because “there are DIY and thrifting elements to chaotic customisation, and it’s about expressing yourself through fashion in a maximalist, chaotic kind of way. The keywords everyone is using about it are ‘joyful rebellion’, and with so much crap going on in the world, these small moments of personal joy are what people are looking for.”

In fact, these small moments of personal joy have been given a name: glimmers. And those glimmers shine brighter when you can achieve your own look with materials you may have picked up cheaply at an op shop or by rummaging through your grandmother’s jewellery box.

This all makes chaotic customisation sound pretty egalitarian. So, naturally, the fashion world has taken notice – and it’s already cashing in on it. Brands such as Coach, Miu Miu and Loewe have come out with their own collections of bag charms, while footwear giant Crocs cleverly found a use for those little holes in its shoes, creating a range of plug-in charms called Jibbitz.

“This is always what happens with these grassroots trends,” Traill-Nash says. “The brands catch on and go, ‘Ooh, we can get some of those dollars!’ I think it’s antithetical to the homegrown nature of chaotic customisation because these brands are selling you the accessories and the personalisations rather than people finding them on their own. But I like the essentially democratic nature of this decoration: it needn’t cost much at all.”

We all know, of course, that fashion trends come and go with alarming regularity, so what’s the future for this one? “The pundits are saying it’s got legs well into next year,” Traill-Nash says. “I think that sounds right because it’s a reaction to the short-lived micro-trends that proliferate on TikTok and turn over so quickly. With this, there’s potentially greater longevity as you’re doing your own thing, it’s creative, and you can change your look every day if you want to.”

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