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Associated Press

TikTok and its bite-sized videos arrived in its current form in the United States in 2018 as a global version of the Chinese app Douyin.
Today, the social media platform is deeply woven into the fabric of American consumerism, having shortened the shelf life of trends and revamped how people engage with food and fashion.
The popularity of TikTok coupled with its roots in Beijing led the US Congress, citing national security concerns, to pass a law that would ban the video-sharing app unless its Chinese parent company sells its stake.
Both the company, ByteDance, and TikTok have sued on First Amendment grounds. The First Amendment to the US Constitution protects the freedom of religion, speech, the press, assembly and the right to petition.

While the platform faces uncertain times, its influence remains undisputed.
Interest in bright pink blush and brown lipstick soared in 2023, for example, after the cosmetics were featured in TikTok videos with looks labelled as “cold girl” and “latte” make-up.
An abundance of clothing fads with quirky names, from “cottagecore” to “coastal grandma”, similarly owe their pervasiveness to TikTok.
Plenty of TikTok-spawned crazes last only a week or two before losing steam. Yet even mini trends have challenged businesses to decipher which ones are worth stocking up for.
Most of the more than 170 million Americans who use TikTok belong to the under-30 age group coveted by retailers, according to the Pew Research Centre, based in the US.
Whether fans of the platform or not, shoppers may have a #tiktokmademebuyit moment without knowing the origin story behind an eye-catching product.

What made TikTok such a trendsetter compared to predecessor platforms? Researchers and marketing analysts have often described the platform’s personalised recommendation algorithm as the “secret sauce” of TikTok’s success.
The company has disclosed little about the technology it employs to populate users’ “For You” feeds.
Jake Bjorseth, founder of the advertising agency Trndsttrs, which specialises in Generation Z, thinks the app’s use of an interest-based algorithm instead of personal contacts to connect like-minded people is what gave TikTok the edge.
TikTok also changed the standard for what was considered desirable in social media content.

The beginner-friendly platform featured videos made without filters, lighting set-ups or production-level audio. TikTok creators could develop more intimate relationships with their followers because they appeared more authentic, Bjorseth said.
The platform has plenty of critics. Some experts argue that TikTok, like other social media sites, can be addictive and promote unnecessary spending.
Others accuse TikTok of encouraging harmful behaviour, like girls engaging in skincare rituals intended for older women.
Yet for all the detractors who will not mourn TikTok if it goes away, a vocal base of fans hopes it does not come to that.
Fashion and accessories
Casey Lewis, a trend analyst based in New York, said TikTok’s clout in the fashion arena first became apparent to her when videos about Birkenstock’s Boston clogs overtook her “For You” feed in 2022.
As the number of TikTok videos exploded, creators advised their followers where they could find the suddenly sold-out clogs.
Lewis thought it was odd since her brother, whom she described as a “frat boy” and not a fashionista, wore the cork-soled comfort shoes at university.
“I’m not a psychologist, but I’m sure there’s some psychology where your brain goes from thinking like, ‘How weird? Is that fashion?’ And then suddenly you’re obsessed with it,” she said.

The pace with which TikTok-shaped trends pop can be dizzying. In the past year, the hot pink ensembles of “Barbiecore” coexisted with the deliberately unsexy looks of “dadcore” – think chunky white trainers, baggy jeans and polo shirts.
The linen-draped “coastal grandma” aesthetic gave way to “eclectic grandpa”.
While the rotating cast of “cores” may not drive their adherents to buy entire wardrobes, they are “influencing spending in small ways, and that adds up”, Lewis said.
Daniella López White, 21, a recent university graduate on a tight budget, said TikTok influencers provided tips on finding affordable clothes but also connected her to plus-size creators featuring fashions for larger-bodied women, which made her more confident.
“Those TikTok trends really helped me figure out what parts of my body I want to accentuate and feel cute in, and still incorporate my sense of style,” she said.
Food
With easy-to-follow cooking videos and clever hacks, TikTok became a go-to spot for home cooks during the Covid-19 pandemic. The platform made humble ingredients a star and earned endorsements from various celebrities of the food world.
“Every day, honestly, I am blown away by the creativity from the FoodTok community,” restaurateur and chef Gordon Ramsay said in a TikTok video in late 2023.
Like the clothing styles of earlier eras, foods that had fallen out of fashion were resurrected via TikTok. US sales of cottage cheese jumped 34 per cent between April 2022 and April 2024 after videos promoting cottage cheese ice cream, cottage cheese toast and other recipes racked up millions of views.

Ben Sokolsky, the general manager of sales and marketing for US-based dairy company Daisy Brand, said cottage cheese is seeing its highest sustained growth in nearly 50 years. The curdled milk product used to be a “secret sensation”, but social media helped expose new customers to its benefits, Sokolsky said.
Topics that went viral on TikTok have even spawned analogue equivalents. In summer 2023, TikTokker Olivia Maher posted what she called her “girl dinner” of bread, cheese, pickles and grapes. It was a hit, with more than 1.6 million views. A handful of “girl dinner” cookbooks soon followed.
But the eagerness to try trendy foods had a downside. A 14-year-old in Massachusetts died after trying a challenge involving an extremely spicy tortilla chip that appeared on TikTok and other social media sites.
An autopsy of the boy, who had a congenital heart defect, found that eating a large quantity of chilli pepper extract caused his death. Paqui, the maker of the chip, pulled it off the market.
Beauty
TikTok has upended the cosmetics industry by causing ingredients to get labelled as the next miracle cure or to be avoided and featuring videos of people gleefully applying or panning the contents of their latest shopping hauls.
Influencers on TikTok and elsewhere have made freckles an asset with clips showing how to add faux ones with eyebrow pencils or broccoli florets.
The “clean girl” aesthetic, a renamed version of the no-make-up make-up look, prompted both luxury and pharmacy brands to rush out their own versions of skin tints and lip oils.

Some veteran users of TikTok have noted the platform is almost too good in its role as both a tastemaker and a shopping search engine. A popular category of beauty videos shows influencers “decluttering” drawers filled with piles of barely used lipsticks, blushes and eyeshadow palettes.
Though the desire for clicks can encourage creators to follow the same hair and make-up trends, TikTok’s defenders credit the platform with forcing brands to create products for a wider range of skin tones and hair types.
Tiffany Watson, who currently has more than 31,00 followers on TikTok, says the platform has promoted a more inclusive image of beauty compared to other sites.
“I see more diversity on TikTok because [with] every video you’re swiping, you’re seeing somebody new,” she said.


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Fashion

Latte make-up, cottagecore, girl dinner: how TikTok has changed the way social media works

Plenty of TikTok-spawned crazes last only a week or two before losing steam. Photo: Reuters

“Latte” make-up (pictured), “girl dinner”, “coastal grandma” – there is no end in sight to TikTok and its trends. Photo: TikTok

Participants hold signs in support of TikTok outside the US Capitol building in 2024 in Washington. Photo: Getty Images

The “eclectic grandpa” look was popularised on TikTok. Photo: TikTok/@gabrielleproulxx

“Coastal grandma” was a popular fashion trend on TikTok. Photo: TikTok/@lexnicoleta

A teenager in the US died after trying after trying a challenge involving an extremely spicy tortilla chip that appeared on TikTok and other social media sites. Photo: Paqui

Interest in bright pink blush soared in 2023 after it was featured in TikTok videos with looks labelled as “cold girl” make-up. Photo: TikTok

Office wear gets sexy twist in viral TikTok trend worn by Jennifer Lawrence, Bella Hadid

Jennifer Lawrence attends the Christian Dior womenswear autumn/winter 2024-25 show at Paris Fashion Week on February 27, 2024. Photo: Getty Images

Jennifer Lawrence attends the Christian Dior womenswear autumn/winter 2024-25 show at Paris Fashion Week on February 27, 2024, showing off the “corporate sleaze” look that has become a viral TikTok trend. Photo: Getty Images

Bella Hadid, seen here in New York on May 2, 2024, was an early adopter of the “corporate sleaze” style. Photo: Getty Images

Kate Moss rocks a corporate sleaze look as she leaves a restaurant in Notting Hill, England after dining with Taylor Swift on June 11, 2024. Photo: Getty Images

How TikTok’s ‘Sandwich King’ lives, breathes and dreams about his extraordinary creations

Dubbed “The Sandwich King” on TikTok, Owen Han has millions of followers across social media for his ASMR-style food videos. Photo: Brendan North

Han’s Chinese grandmother’s shrimp toast recipe was the first video he posted online. Photo: Ren Fuller

The cover of Han’s book.

Han draws inspiration from places he has visited, including Hong Kong. Photo: Brendan North

A Peking duck wrap challenges the definition of what a sandwich is, according to Han. Photo: Ren Fuller

‘Creativity saved me from darkness’: Tiktok’s Kudasai Girl, Devin Halbal, on how social media changed her life

TikTok star Devin Halbal, also known as Kudasai Girl, who identifies as a trans woman. She tells the Post how she connects with her followers, and how creativity inspires her and has increased her self-esteem. Photo: Instagram/@devinhalbal

Devin Halbal, who identifies as a trans woman, became a TikTok star in January 2024. Photo: Instagram/@devinhalbal

Halbal says her creativity saved her from darkness and sadness. Photo: Instagram/@devinhalbal

“I think happiness transcends borders and language barriers,” says Halbal. Photo: Bryan Wood

Halbal talks about her relationship with her followers as being like an episode of Black Mirror. Photo: Instagram/@devinhalbal

Halbal rose to fame quickly when her TikTok videos went viral, and talks about maybe moving into K-pop or acting in the future. Photo: Bryan Wood

Beyoncé, Dolly Parton lead Western wear fashion trend as TikTok flaunts new styles and searches for hats, boots soar online

Beyoncé in a photo from her new album Cowboy Carter. The singer is among celebrities including Dolly Parton, Pharrell Williams and Rajesh Pratap Singh who are riffing on traditional Western wear men and women’s styles, which are also trending on TikTok. Photo: TNS

Pharrell Williams walks the runway during the Louis Vuitton Menswear autumn/winter 2024-25 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on January 16, 2024. Photo: Corbis via Getty Images

Fashion model Bella Hadid (right) wears a cowboy hat during The American Performance Horseman by Teton Ridge at Globe Life Field on March 8, 2024 in Arlington, Texas. Photo: Getty Images for Teton Ridge

A model walks the runway for designer Rajesh Pratap Singh at Lakme Fashion Week on March 13, 2024 in Mumbai, India. Photo: Getty Images

A pair of Paris Texas cowboy boots. Photo: Paris Texas

Dolly Parton performs at the NFL game between the Washington Commanders and Dallas Cowboys on November 23, 2023. Photo: @BradyMalloryTV/Twitter

How the crookie, a French cookie-croissant fusion, took over TikTok to become the latest ‘insane’ bakery trend

Crookies at Maison Louvard, the Paris pastry shop of creator Stephane Louvard. After going viral on TikTok, the hybrid between a cookie and a croissant has become the latest pastry craze. Photo: AFP

Stephane Louvard with a tray of crookies at his pastry shop in Paris. Photo: AFP

A sign advertises crookies at Louvard’s Paris pastry shop. Photo: AFP

Dominique Ansel’s cronuts shook the dessert world in 2013. Photo: AP 

Lifestyle

Fashion & Beauty

Entertainment

Food & Drink

TikTok has been setting trends since 2018, from latte make-up to dadcore. What makes it such a trendsetter compared to other platforms?


Latte make-up, clean girl, girl dinner, coastal grandma – there is no end in sight to TikTok and its trends and, while the platform faces uncertain times in the US, its influence remains undisputed.
