Futaba Tsushinsha Co., Ltd. has released the results of the "2026 Survey on Fashion and Media Among 'Fashionable Gen Z,'" conducted in collaboration with Bunka Fashion College.
The survey targeted 960 students enrolled at Bunka Fashion College, of whom 74.3% were aged 18 to 21.
It aims to clarify how these "fashionable Gen Z" students, who are also fashion trendsetters, interact with social media and other media and buy fashion, as well as their interests and visions of the future. It shows signs of 2026 trends and insights.
How Gen Z Uses Social Media and Platforms
Among the social media and platforms they usually watch, "Instagram," "YouTube" and "TikTok" continue to play central roles. Instagram showed a high usage rate of 91.2%.
Notably, the new video recording app "setlog" has emerged with a usage rate of about 25%. "BeReal.," which peaked the previous year, is analyzed as being on a downward trend in use.
Futaba Tsushinsha analyzes that use of music subscription services grew 7.3% from the previous year, and that demand for "listening while doing something else" is expanding amid busy daily lives.
New Trends and Broadening Interests
In the free-response question "Things, experiences, services and apps you have recently found 'new, interesting or trending,'" the most frequently named was "setlog." It appears to be spreading rapidly as an app for casually sharing "unfiltered one-day vlogs" with friends.
The range of uses for generative AI is also expanding. Interest was shown in a wide variety of uses, not only conversation tools like ChatGPT but also creative and daily-life support such as AI virtual makeup, trying on colored contact lenses, travel plan suggestions and 3D conversion of fashion designs.
In food trends, voices responding to real physical sensations and textures that are "chewy and stimulating" stood out across genres, such as "Mocchurin," "malatang" and "squishies."
It also became clear that there is interest in a "nostalgic, retro orientation," such as Heisei-era dramas and CDs, and a tendency to find new favorite artists to support, such as "CORTIS," "Monaki" and "Trooper Salute," starting from TikTok. The language-learning app "Duolingo" also appeared, owing to collaborations with the open-world RPG "Genshin Impact" and others.
Fashion Brand Purchases and Admiration
In "Fashion brands and shops you bought from this year," first place was "Uniqlo," second was "ZARA" and third was "GU." The mainstream style combines these basic wear items with secondhand and recycle shops, adding individuality with designer, trendy Korean, American casual, Japanese street and Y2K girly items.
In "Fashion brands and shops you admire and check even if you don't buy from them," "Vivienne Westwood" and "Dior" tied for first with the same number of votes. They were followed by "Chanel" and "Balenciaga," creating a contest between the rebellious avant-garde brands that have long been popular and classic luxury brands. Dior in particular rose sharply from 11th place the previous year.
The attention on luxury brands is thought to be driven by news such as director changes, flagship store and cafe openings, ambassador appointments and exhibitions, along with social media and video posts by influencers and celebrities, and by "unchanging value."
Many brands appeared on both the purchased and admired lists, including "Comme des Garçons," "Rick Owens" and the Korean brands "SCULPTOR" and "COYSEIO." This suggests they admire these brands as something whose worldview and designs they actively watch and adopt.
Trends in Where Fashion Items Are Bought
As a place to buy fashion items, "online shopping" remains the most common at 72.9%. However, "brand physical stores and street-level shops" rose sharply by 28.8 points from the previous year, reaching 50.7%.
"Secondhand and vintage shops" (50.3%) and "select shops" (28.4%, up 5.4 points from the previous year) also grew. Futaba Tsushinsha analyzes that this suggests a return to purpose-driven physical stores in search of designer and rare items.
Meanwhile, purchases at "department stores" and "large shopping malls" are on a downward trend, and people seem to be heading to more purpose-driven stores.
Ranking of "People With Good Taste"
A total of 1,450 names were given as "people with good taste," and the "multipolar trend," in which each respondent's preferences diversify, continued this year.
First place went for the third year in a row to YouTuber and brand director "Asagiinyo."
Many K-pop girl group members are concentrated near the top, with BLACKPINK's "JENNIE," aespa, XG and IVE's REI among those ranked. This showed that "Korean-originated sensibility" forms one part of the standard of Gen Z taste.
Others in the top ranks include people from a wide range of fields, such as "Kakibuchi Momono," "Nana Komatsu," "Ano," "G-DRAGON" and "Yohji Yamamoto."
Survey Overview
This survey is conducted continuously as a collaboration between Futaba Tsushinsha and the Fashion Promotion Course of the second-year Fashion Distribution Department at Bunka Fashion College. It regards students enrolled at Bunka Fashion College as "fashionable Gen Z" and aims to understand their fashion purchasing attitudes and media contact trends.
This is the sixth survey since it began in 2021, with 960 students enrolled at Bunka Fashion College responding. A feature is that many international students from around the world responded.
Survey method: Web survey
Respondents: 960 students enrolled at Bunka Fashion College
Survey period: June 24 to July 4, 2026
Survey planning and fieldwork: Futaba Tsushinsha Co., Ltd.
Cooperation: Bunka Fashion College, second-year Fashion Distribution Department, Fashion Promotion Course
Survey questions: Regarding Bunka Fashion College's owned media "prop": lifestyle trends and interests, shopping, things they want and want to do, services and apps they find interesting, social media and media contact behavior, fashion item purchasing behavior, people they find stylish, cool, cute or whose posts they follow, cosmetics and beauty habits and information touchpoints, situations in which they use generative AI, and more
