We asked our community of young people for their predictions on the biggest trends in fashion and music in 2001. Here's a sample of the opinions from members of our community aged 15 to 23. Enjoy!

Comfort over individuality will be the guiding principle in fashion for 2001.

I think people will wear whatever they want, old, new, vintage you name it
I think silver will be brought into the groove and neon colors seem to be catching on really quickly, even though it's not easy on the eyes!

The year 2000 had the tendency to draw people away from the raver or punk look and shift more towards the gap turtleneck and comfortable look. People seem to have stopped trying to dress in a way that will make them look different and everyone has just started to dress comfortably. (Myself not included).

casual, campy but sexy is a nice look
I think the sleek minimalist look has been done already in the 90's (that NY all-black look that was so big and is still somewhat). Leather is too impractical, high maintenance, and non-animal friendly. Rave culture has already influenced styles (parachute pants, visors, beaded jewelry). OLD NAVY, soon coming to Canada I think will be HUGE. Its style is not too dissimilar from Abercrombie and Fitch but Old Navy is cheaper and has really, really nice stuff and great ads.

Right now there is a tendency for a few cool, "ghetto" mainstream brands to be popular, but only for a little while.
Tommy Hilfiger was really in a couple years ago, started by black rappers wearing it in their videos. They took something so traditionally preppy and, well, white and made it trendy, and eventually almost every kid age 13-17 had something Tommy. There are other brands that fit in this category that are on their way out!

I think for girls a different sort of "black" culture will begin to influence us, not ghetto but more ... like Erykah Badu - kind of Caribbean-like with head scarves wrapped all around the head with a bun at the back, brighter colours, bigger earings, bangles... stuff like that. Also patterned and textured materials will be big.

I see fashion turning toward the simple modern look.
We've done the flashy fluorescents. We've seen the colours, the crazy cuts, and the tacky hair dos. I think that we are ready for sleeker cooler looks. I think that rather than wearing clothes that cry out for attention, people will start wearing single-coloured articles made out of interesting textured materials.

Fashion has a way of repeating itself.
The look of the 70's became very popular again a few years ago. The look is being updated by adding the influences of other cultures to the design, like the Japanese dragon print. As for the upcoming year, I believe the fashion trend will turn from 70's styles into a look from the 80's. For example one might find themselves spicing up a dull outfit with a rhinestone - studded belt, or by wearing large hoop earings. Wearing a few dangling bracelets will be in again too. Perhaps tight fitting shirts with hints of neon will be on shelves too.

In the previous year, many new synthetic materials were re-introduced. Polyester and such blends came back into style, resurrected from earlier times. 2001 will most likely see an increase in their use as DAILY clothing, not just for eveningwear.

Bye Bye Boy Bands
I have no idea if the boy bands will continue to be popular, I hope not but who knows.

The year 2000 kept the trends of mainstream music like the Backstreet Boys, N*Sync, Ricky Martin and other groups with attractive performers at the top, similar to the trends of 1998 and 1999. However, this year also threw heavy music into the mix, like Limp Bizkit, KoRn, Offspring, Linkin Park and Disturbed. I think that in Toronto, the music that will remain popular will be whatever Kiss 92 decides to throw on the air.

Deep yet catchy bass-lines will remain important in a good tune. Traditional instruments will become a more integrated part of technologically enhanced sound - improving every dimension of back ground music. Hopefully, there will be a movement away from the vapid, bubble-gum pop idolized by a shrinking generation of "teeny-boppers". Musicians like Eminem and Jay-Z have become tempered into a culturally accepted sound, retaining that underground rhythm which made them so popular originally.

As far as music goes, I think that boy bands will start to lose some of their popularity, and people will turn to music with a bit more meaning. I think that a few more radio stations will surface in the Toronto area with a wider variety of music.

Everything won't be so mainstream.
Within the music industry, most likely a mixture of high-paced remixed older songs along with anything that sounds nice that would compliment their attitudes at the time.

Music will remain the same with the fave being Energy Radio for teenage types with more emphasis on love and romance songs. Less rappers will be brought forth this year seeing as there has been lack of interest in them towards the end of this year.

Marketing will be more word of mouth and grassroots.
I think CD sales may go down in the next few years as more people get burners or MP3 players. I don't know how music will be distributed fairly over the net, but it's fair to say that intellectual property copyright is going to be killed by the Internet. We'll see a lot more diversity in music, more popular artists at a time, less domination by any one group or genre: fragmentation.