When You Wish Upon A Star
It’s a millennial world out there, and their fondness for childhood nostalgia has sped up the fashion cycle about two decades. It’s only natural that a generation that is more likely to identify with a Disney princess over their horoscope sign would make authentic Disney Store apparel a cazhhh fave.
Refinery 29 recently tapped into the Disney fad with their latest video dedicated to fashionistas who only want to dress in Disney. If 500 pairs of mouse ears is your thing, all I have to say is you do you.
I was well-aware that the Disney fad existed, but it wasn’t until the trend infiltrated fashion week that I really started thinking that this fantastical style hasn’t quite run its course yet – it’s only amping up. This January, Disney-themed attire hit the runways for the first time with the Disney Villains x The Blonds collection at NYFW.
Being a runway show, the Disney collection was a looser interpretation of the style with no mouse ears in sight. Instead, The Blonds drew their inspiration from colors, patterns, lots of latex, and the overall menacing come hither vibes of a classic Disney Villain. Paris Hilton fittingly made a cameo as a Cruella de Vil – esque character.
After doing a little more research on my end, I discovered that this phenomenon is known as “disneybounding.” Much like grunge, disneybounding started as an underground culture for millennials who wanted to dress in costume at the park, but aren’t technically allowed because they’re adults.
To go skirt around Disney’s policies, the fanatics started pulling together outfits that hinted at the notion of a character. According to Broadly, disneybounding was able to catch fire because the brand resonates so strongly with the generation.
Consumer reports have also show that Disney consistently ranks as the most intimate brand for millennials. While we can’t tap into anyone’s personal psyche or hours of Disney Princess marathons, we do know for sure that fashion loves an underground culture.
