Tie-dye is a dying technique that literally consists of dying a piece of fabric with knots and ties. It got very popular during the hippie movement at the end of the 60s and 70s, but it was already used in India and Japan where it was called “shibori” where they used a blue dye to create unique designs
But it wasn’t until the hippie revolution that it became a popular trend in occident. This was a time where everyone in the Woodstock festival wore handmade tie-dyed t-shirts showing their creative freedom and often connected with the psychedelic movement.
Over the years, tie-dye has kept the meaning of creative freedom from the hippie movement but we also connect it to the innocence of summer camp where one of these activities was tie-dying your own designs.
Tie-dye in 2019
This year, many designers have included tie-dye as their starring print in their collections. Some of them are Dior, Stella McCartney, Paco Rabanne, and Chloé. The reason? we are living a similar situation from the 70s: street demonstrations fighting for social equality and against wars. Sometimes, fashion has some political connotations and this is one of them.
The hippie movement is a collective movement but at the same time is individual. Fighting for the same reasons but having respect for everyone’s differences. Tie-dye represents exactly that, each piece of clothing that is dyed is completely different, never the same but when you see many people wearing the same style you already connect them to the same beliefs and social movements.
Tie-dye has always been connected to the youth culture and today’s is very similar to the one from the 70s. Both of them fight for the same rights: gender and social equality, no violence, and environmental protection.
When we talk about environmental issues in fashion, many brands have taken notice that they should start looking for sustainable solutions in production and materials. That’s why handmade and DIY are the two most relevant trends in fashion with the customization of clothes, making them unique for the wearer. Tie-dye is one of those trends that you can make yourself at home and it’s closely related to upcycling.
All these reasons point to the fact that tie-dye is the print of summer 2019 and with a huge probability that it’s translated into the next year in new ways. This winter, we can see it as well but in more subtle and dark tones and kaleidoscopic prints.
Would you dare to wear this trend?