Fashioncore is a term that refers to a particular aesthetic or style within the broader realm of fashion. Often determined by distinctive characteristics, such as a particular color palette, clothing items, accessories, guidelines or overall style. In the fashion realm these “cores” have always existed, however with digitalization and social media such as Instagram and TikTok dominating our generation, the fashioncore phenomena is ever more hyper present in our day-to-day.
It has been proven that fashion trends are cyclic, 20 years they say, the difference today is with the speed of viral social media and global cultural exposure, the double decade rule has been time-warped into what seems to be a 2 seconds rule, fashion movements are developing not only at a hyper pace never seen before but also proliferating on a new life cycle causing trends to last less but have very niche sub-trends branching out. By definition trends come and go, and are defined by cultural references and can be influenced by many elements going from vintage movies to current global news, it is only natural to say that with more global awareness the consequences are more trend awareness and stimulation.
The fashion biorhythms of our decade might be faster but are way more rich in themes, we won’t saturate the umbrella trend by saying its “just” Gothcore, we would see these fashioncores being tagged as Dark-Academia, Pastel Goth, Gorecore, Devilcore…and so on for all the pillar trends we know and more. This is just a tangible example on how these core trends have developed densely in details that support this specific sub-genre. Instead of substituting the mother trend, it is as if we are living in the fashion era of mother trends having very well developed off-spring.
Even if it is known that fashioncore is characterized by a distinct set of visual elements, themes, and clothing choices that embody a specific fashion culture or trend, these fashioncore styles often emerge from various subcultures, music genres, or youth movements, and they tend to reflect the values and attitudes associated with those communities. These styles can vary greatly and evolve very quickly, pushing designers to create more fashion stunts and more fashion viral moments to stay ahead of the game. Fashion experts keep observing these evolving core trends and share our opinion on the subject that relate to them to keep style relevancy and decipher the myths and legends that change fashion culture so swiftly.
Finding out how to embrace your own fashioncore aesthetic at this fast paced rhythm is not for the weak and on the other hand if you have already a well identified main aesthetic, then, having all of the sub genres and nuanced versions of this main trend can be a new and refreshing outlook to brighten up your main style and wardrobe. If you are curious to learn our predictions on what are going to be the top core trends of 2023 take a look!
Author Tanny Onsalo
As Creative director, fashion forecaster and style consultant, Tanny has worked for the magazine Vogue as Global Editorial Expert and led multiple global tentpole editorials. She directed the fashion forecasting of trends for Vestiaire Collective, spearheading the Fashion Journal, Newsroom and annual fashion data reports. Fluent in the language of ideas, the fundamentals of her narrative are creativity, storytelling and global cool hunting.