By Valentine Fabre
Sarah Flint SS23
Can the multiplication of "core" trends and personal style be compatible, and what if by partaking in social media trends we are in fact losing our sense of self-identity?
If, like many others, you use TikTok and Instagram on a daily basis, then it is likely that you have come upon the suffix "core". Whether you were looking for fashion inspiration, saw a video of a trend forecaster talking about the upcoming aesthetics, or simply showed up on your feed against your will, nowadays it is almost impossible to dodge the numerous new trends that come and go at an alarming speed. From Cottage-core to Dark Academia, what if this constant succession of short-lived trends has in fact developed a negative impact on personal style, and on a more global level, on over-consumption?
Do you sometimes feel like you have lost track of what fashion is about? What the current trends are? What is in "cheugy" or what to avoid at all costs? not to worry, you're not alone. The multiplication of "cores", as a substitute for "style", is making it increasingly hard to keep track of everything, but is it also making it hard to keep track of our own selves. what do we like? or what fits our own selves? Filtering through Cottagecore, Y2k, Kidcore, Balletcore, the Clean Girl Aesthetic, and more recently Barbiecore, becomes an arduous task, specifically when it is repeated according to the trends’ quick rotation.
Emma Fridsel at Copenhagen Fashion Week spring-summer 2023 (Left) - Raimonda Kulikauskiene/Getty Images
The commodification of trends into even more ephemeral "cores", is leading us, as consumers to adopt entire styles rather than specific items. By delimiting and thoroughly separating trends into specific categories, a new need for disposable items is created. When searching ‘Y2K fashion’ on Google, the number one rising related query is Shein. "Cores" are seemingly not about the love of fashion, but rather a desire to fit in within a certain category of people, or trend. An ironic continuity for the first core that was invented.
Back in 2014, in a desire to dissociate edgy fashion enthusiasts and others that did not aspire to great style singularity, the term “normcore” was coined by K-Hole founders, Greg Fong and Emily Segal. Normcore, in itself, aimed at creating a limit between those that see the power of social normalcy and those that wanted to stand out at all costs. Today, with the multiplication of "cores", we have reached another extreme: one where nothing seems authentic and everything can be said to be driven by fast fashion sales, whilst normalcy feels almost pointless.
Edward Berthelot / Getty Images
Just like everything in life, our attention span for fashion has immensely decreased, "Youth have the consumer power; youth are digital natives and are conditioned to short time commitments" said Andrew Reilly and Jana Hawley in their 2018 research, "The result is an industry now predicated on micro-trends." Because, yes, "cores" are the micro trend. Conceptually, "cores" are changing the idea of items being thought of individually. as now they are thought of as wholly aesthetic. A maxi skirt is no longer just a maxi skirt, it is cottagecore. This may lead to the eventual loss of consumers seeing the versatility in different styles of clothing, feeling the need to replace wardrobes every time a trending "core" changes. Whilst personal style is an exploration of self, aesthetics are a trigger point of desire, making "cores" who we aspire to be, rather than who we really are.
Sometimes, personal style can also turn into a "core". Thus, it's safe to say that "cores" may essentially be harmless for the fashion industry and people at large. However, what if both were intrinsically linked? What if there were no more "cores"? It is fair to admit that "cores" are the result of fast fashions' intensive marketing, which has led us to think that in the pursuit of uniqueness, we always need more.