“Fashions fade, style is eternal.” – Yves Saint-Laurent

All of a sudden every look or fad is something-core, at least via the internet. It seems like someone is discussing a new core aesthetic every day, whether due to our faster-paced fashion cycle or designers’ desperate need to produce new stuff to prevent being boring. So, here are some of the most popular core aesthetics of today!

Cottagecore:

In the late 2010s, this aesthetic, characterized by bucolic rural or wooded locations, shabby-chic homes, comfortable cardigans, and prairie skirts, spread like wildfire on Instagram. However, cottagecore has since been carried in a more enlightened direction by a spectrum of varied groups. Earlier participants were properly chastised for romanticizing, oversimplifying, and glossing over a domestic, agricultural existence they understood nothing about, as well as for glorifying colonization. There are a number of related, natural offshoots that are all motivated by the urge to get off the grid.

Fairy-grunge Core:

Throwback grunge is becoming more and more popular online, thus it stands to reason that the mystical and inhuman have become its counterpart. The fairy-grunge Core was born during the epidemic as a result of teenage fashionistas who transformed into magical manifestations of themselves. Dressed as grunge fairies, also known as fairy goth, is one way that people have expressed their desire to relive their youthful adolescent fairy fancies. Fairy-grunge Core uses dark color schemes in addition to neutral, earthy hues as its primary style elements. Flowy skirts, lace, torn tights, ribbons, knitwear, and leg warmers,  are a few prominent fairy grunge looks.

Wednesday Core (gothcore):

Wednesday-core refers to wearable gothic fashion; yet, including a few daring items won’t be a risk. It was named after Jenna Ortega’s character in the freshly released Netflix series Wednesday. The ghastly young girl of the fictitious Addams Family, Wednesday Addams, is recognizable by her black collared frock, braided ponytails, and fixed stern look. Her brooding fashion sense was updated for the Netflix series Wednesday. Picture Doc Martens, oversized coats, large sweaters, and excellent layering.

Barbiecore:

This is a frilly, popular aesthetic that draws inspiration from the Barbie doll from Mattel’s heyday in the latter years of the 1990s and early 2000s. Everything about it is pink, blonde, plastic, cheery, form-fitting, conventionally glamorous, and uncannily flawless. It has been fueled by paparazzi images taken on the set of Greta Gerwig’s upcoming Barbie movie.

Work Cited:

Velasquez, Angela. “The Complicated World of Fashion Cores.” Sourcing Journal, Sourcing Journal, 13 Apr. 2022, https://sourcingjournal.com/denim/denim-trends/fashion-cores-staples-trends-cottagecore-normcore-gorpcore-edited-trendalytics-337148/.