Why we love to reinvent ourselves from time to time

Anais Loeppky, Web Editor

Nothing feels better than an annual — or even seasonal — rebrand. Whether it’s for a birthday, the start of a new semester, or a way of bringing in the new year, there’s something satisfying about reinventing yourself from time to time.

But why does it feel so good? Maybe it’s large corporations convincing us that every new season requires a new wardrobe.

Or maybe there’s something deeper at play.

The concept of ‘eras’

These mini reinventions can manifest in many ways—a new haircut, a change in your wardrobe, or picking up a new hobby. In the age of social media, these little changes have become part of our online identities. We often call them eras, or new aesthetics, turning an ordinary fresh start into something we can publicly share and occasionally shop for.

As it turns out, this is more than a social media trend. There are actually psychological reasons we love the occasional rebrand.

This is commonly known as the “fresh start effect”. A variety of studies have shown that people are most inclined to pursue goals following significant events.

These events are referred to as temporal landmarks. Events like the start of a new semester can create a psychological separation between who we were before and who we want to become in our next chapter. 

These temporal events provide a sense of division between two points in time. They allow us to create mental distance between our current selves and our past mistakes or habits.

Why we love to reinvent ourselves

It is undeniable that the beauty industry has a central part in this rebrand culture. It is well established that we are drawn to a fresh start, and the beauty industry offers an easy, public way to express it. 

Sometimes the easiest way to represent a personal rebrand is through a simple change in appearance. This could be a haircut, a tattoo, a wardrobe refresh, or even something as small as a new manicure. 

The beauty industry has practically built an entire empire around this feeling. 

Research on consumer behaviour suggests that people are particularly drawn to new products when they are thinking about their future selves, making the idea of a fresh start surprisingly easy to turn into a shopping opportunity. A new semester suddenly becomes the perfect excuse for a new makeup routine, just as a new year can make an entirely new skincare regimen feel necessary.

We can see this at play on campus all the time. For many Mount Royal University (MRU) students, a new semester comes with a few trips to the mall and a variety of cosmetic appointments.

The Reflector asked 25 MRU students about their own seasonal rebrands and what the recent back-to-school season entailed for them.

One student shared just how much goes into rebranding yourself. 

“The week before school I got my hair done, nails done, lashes done, a spray tan, I went shopping, and I don’t even know what else,” she says. “Honestly, I probably spent over a thousand dollars, but that’s the best part of back to school.”

Many of the students talked about the excitement of these seasonal resets. Another student shared that she likes to create mood boards ahead of a new season. 

“I feel like the planning and anticipation is the best part of a new school year,” she says. 

Brands love a rebrand

Brands are well aware of this too. We see the autumn decor hitting the shelves in July, and sip our first pumpkin spice latte in August.

Social media plays a substantial part in this. Beauty trends can become a personality. ‘Clean girl’ or ‘coquette’ style can easily go from a trend to a part of identity.

Social media has made beauty unusually good at creating this sense of urgency. Trends move quickly, and our feeds constantly show us new ways we could present ourselves. 

Suddenly, the lip product we were obsessed with three months ago feels dated, and the skincare product we had never heard of yesterday feels like something everyone has always owned.

We reinvent ourselves because a new season permits us to change, and the beauty industry is ready with a product for every possible version of who we might become next.

The underlying pressure

For some students, a seasonal rebrand is simply fun. For others, social media can make the pressure to keep up with whatever is currently trending a little harder to ignore.

One MRU student said she notices herself gravitating toward certain products after seeing them repeatedly online.

“I’ll see something on TikTok like five times, and suddenly I’m convinced I need it,” she says.  

Ultimately, the appeal of a seasonal rebrand is not entirely about following trends or buying something new. 

Studies show that the fresh start effect suggests that temporal landmarks can change how people think about their goals and give them a stronger sense of separation from past behaviour.

The beauty industry and social media have simply created more ways to act on that feeling. A new semester can become a reason to change a routine, or experiment with different aesthetics. 

For MRU students, seasonal rebrands seem to be a popular way of giving yourself a reason to try something new. 

The psychology behind the fresh start effect helps explain why these moments can feel so motivating, while social media and beauty culture give students countless ways to express that change. 

Reinventing yourself from time to time can be a fun way to mark where you are now and look forward to where you are going next.