Could lo-fi aesthetics and UGC revolutionise fashion?

Is fashion changing? Is the lo-fi aesthetic we’re seeing here to stay, or, like much in fashion, quite transient? How are creators factoring into all this, with user-generated content? We asked a host of people in our network what today’s fashion landscape looks like.

Fiona Miranda — Account Director at M&C Saatchi Talk

In a way, it already has. We’ve already seen a clear shift away from overly polished, curated content on social media, with Gen Z at the forefront of a movement toward authenticity. And a push for realistic beauty standards, genuine emotions, and the rawness of everyday life. Zara embraced lo-fi aesthetics in its advertising campaigns, signalling this trend is about more than just responding to tighter budgets. It’s helping brands bridge the gap between high fashion and everyday consumers, by presenting fashion as both desirable and attainable. Will lo-fi aesthetics eventually go out of style? Perhaps — but for now, lo-fi reigns as a powerful tool in reshaping how fashion connects with its audience.

Trinity Taylor — New Business and Account Manager at Lucky Generals

What Lo-fi aesthetics and UGC are doing in the fashion world is pushing authenticity and relatability to the forefront. Brands are embracing this raw, unpolished vibe, which resonates with consumers looking for more genuine content. Platforms such as TikTok and Instagram give everyday creators the power to shape trends, making fashion more community-driven and spontaneous. I also love how influencers can now promote brands in ways that feel natural to them — without a rigid script or the confines of a studio shoot. It’s completely redefined what it means to represent a brand. That said, glossy, high-production campaigns still have their place and can deliver stunning, iconic moments. Today’s fashion landscape thrives on the balance between both approaches, and that’s what makes it so exciting.

Matt Garbutt — Director of AI & Creative at Brave Bison

A natural output of the conversation that UGC provokes is the product feedback loop, giving brands real-time feedback from audiences to iterate and improve their products more rapidly. Some brands, like Uniqlo and Burberry, are taking this a step further by involving users directly in the design process, creating products that better meet what people want. Feedback can be inferred, too. Off the back of the conversations that UGC provokes, with all the micro-trends that brands tap into, AI-powered sentiment analysis can now give fast, nuanced understanding of sentiment towards specific products and looks. This deep, data-driven insight allows fashion brands to make more informed decisions about product and future direction.

Scarlett Carson — Account Manager at SocialChain

Social and fashion are both plagued by one thing: micro trends. Often lo-fi and UGC content styles are fleeting moments for brands to jump on. For luxury fashion brands, these trends are key to engaging a Zoomer audience, where a brand’s heritage isn’t as essential to younger consumers. Marc Jacobs are the masters of low-fi content from a high-end perspective: ‘sh*tposting’, jumping on Sylvanian drama and dipping their ‘tote’ in UGC content with hyper-specific creators like Nara Smith. To see this style of content from a high-end brand feels like a revolutionary peek behind the curtain. But it’s a slippery slope from keeping up with the FYP to endorsing harmful micro trends, and this is where fast fashion brands risk, at best, a desperate bid to stay relevant and at worst, backlash. As always in the fashion industry, it’s one rule for high-end and another for the rest. 

Tebo Mpanza — Co-founder and Client Director at Unfound Studio

Absolutely. As traditional high-production campaigns lose their impact on social platforms, at Unfound, we’re seeing lo-fi aesthetics and user-generated content (UGC) emerging as a game-changer in fashion. The new wave of consumer craves authenticity and a genuine connection with brands, making polished, over-produced content less engaging. Brands like Burberry and Rimowa are redefining their content strategies by integrating lo-fi styles into their storytelling, creating short-form content that resonates deeply with their audience. This shift highlights how even premium brands are embracing more relatable, everyday content, aligning with the unfiltered, unscripted nature of UGC. By adopting lo-fi aesthetics, fashion brands can enhance engagement and build stronger connections with their audience, adapting to a digital landscape that values what’s real.

Chengcheng Li — Account Hero at Superheroes Amsterdam

The real revolution in fashion today is its growing inclusivity. Gone are the days when high fashion was limited to glossy magazines and exclusive storefronts. Fashion has been democratised, and today’s consumers only engage with brands that reflect their own identities. While the rise of the lo-fi aesthetic taps into the desire for diversity and authenticity, it’s not the only alternative to polished, high-fashion imagery — nor should it become the ultimate way fashion presents itself. What makes fashion exciting is its celebration of exaggerated characters and its power to inspire. It draws from reality and culture, transforming them into something romanticised or fantastical to empower diverse identities. But today’s consumers want more. Beyond representation, brands, especially luxury ones, are expected to continually reinvent themselves — embracing digital and social platforms to deliver fresh, innovative, and memorable experiences.

Henry Collins — Managing Partner at redpill

Fashion brands who adopt these principles will not only revolutionise their industry, but the success of their marketing strategies, too. Nowadays, in a digital ecosystem where the lines between social, influencer, and e-commerce are increasingly blurred, consumers are increasingly drawn to this real, lo-fi, UGC content, because it feels much more accessible and authentic. Pair this with more diverse and niche ‘everyday’ creators, fashion brands in particular, are able to further revolutionise their marketing strategies by creating lo-fi transaction-driven content that’s cheap to produce and builds trust at the same time. What brand wouldn’t want that?

Doğukan Palaman — Art Director at UNIT9

A quiet revolution in the fashion world is reshaping the concept of authenticity through lo-fi aesthetics and user-generated content (UGC). As the era of flawless photoshoots and idealised models comes to an end, people are now seeking faces and bodies that reflect the diversity of their own lives. The rise of everyday people in fashion shows a shift, where trust is found not in the unattainable, but in what feels familiar and genuine. Lo-fi embraces imperfections, turning rawness into a new standard of beauty, while UGC empowers consumers to be both the inspiration and the storyteller. However, while UGC and lo-fi aesthetics don’t idealise professional models, they can sometimes lead to the idealisation of influencers’ lives. As people see lives similar to their own, a fashion product gains acceptance within communities, increasing its potential to go viral whether within niche or broader audiences. Ultimately, brands are building stronger connections with communities and making fashion more accessible to everyone.

Featured image: sofia lyu / Unsplash