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The Hollister jean skirt is taking over the lives of high school students.

There comes a time when the air feels a little thinner and the blazing heat of summer starts to fade. People shift their calm state of mind to the rush of new beginnings that define the back-to-school season. A new rush of shopping for bags, supplies, and the perfect back-to-school outfit. However, the “perfect outfit” this year wasn’t just perfect—it was the same… everywhere. An unoriginal, Hollister jean skirt. 

In 2000, Abercrombie & Fitch formed a conglomerate brand called Hollister, and diverged from their top-tier, sophisticated clothing lines for adults to a more cost-friendly, trendy brand for teens. This new brand was an immediate success, filling teens’ closets with new styles, and the overconsumption of Hollister clothing had begun. The brand has stayed trendy throughout the years, but recently, during the summer of 2025, Hollister has had a surge of popularity. When their new summer clothing line hit the shelves, it was beyond popular, filling teen girls’ closets with an identical sense of style and selling out of stores and online. This skirt features durable denim and built-in shorts added for comfort and ease. The Hollister jean skirt.

The Hollister jean skirt is a new pandemic; rather than COVID-19 in 2020, this one involves girls everywhere showing up to school in the same unoriginal piece of denim. From the TikTok For You Page to reels on Facebook and Instagram, this new fashion fad has been everywhere. But this product is popular for good reason. The convenience of this skirt is unparalleled by most other skirts being sold right now. With its built-in shorts to its way of matching everything, it is a good addition to any girl’s closet. Although it may be versatile, this resulted in an extreme lack of originality in students’ back-to-school outfits this year. It seemed from a glance in the school hallways, at least one girl could be seen styling the same jean skirt. It was as if students were required to wear a uniform, except this time it was not forced; it was intentionally chosen. 

Walking into school on the first day felt like walking straight back into the Hollister store in the mall. From light wash to dark wash, or even the embroidered designs on some, this skirt was everywhere; it could be seen in every direction. This wasn’t just fashion; this was uniform. I personally have fallen victim to this fast fashion trend. The same skirt sits directly in my dresser, freshly washed from the first day. This shared look may not have been very diverse, but this unoriginal piece of clothing created a surprising sense of unity. There is a lot of pressure to find the “perfect back-to-school outfit,” but when looking around, there wasn’t just comfort in knowing that this outfit was cute, but that everyone had the same idea.  

In 2020, COVID-19 eventually faded, but never went away completely; in a couple of months, these skirts will be crumpled up on dirty floors or on a chair full of laundry, being replaced by the new viral trend. This may be another effect of fast fashion, but this skirt will always be a staple in a teenage girl’s closet. The 2025-2026 school year will be filled with conformity, collective identity, and Hollister denim–the year of the Hollister jean skirt pandemic.