A group of teenagers who were born around the millennium and dressed in personalities are staring intently at the screen of their mobile phones, with their fingertips swiping quickly on social platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, with images with tags such as “Archive” and “Dark Academia”. The waterfall flow comes into view. “Gorpcore” is one of the most popular keywords. This fashion style born out of outdoor lifestyle is popular in the current trend.
Seeing the root word “-core” brings back memories of “Normcore” that was all the rage in the early 2010s. As the originator of the “Core” system, the combination of “Normal” + “Hardcore” first appeared in the serialized webcomic “Templar, Arizona” in 2008. Later, it was used in the report “Youth Mode: A Report on Freedom” released by the trend forecasting agency K-Hole in 2013 to describe the subculture that was different from the past, which strived for individuality, and was willing to wear simple clothes and integrate into the group’s life attitude.
A 2014 New York Magazine report titled “Normcore: Fashion for Those Who Realize They’re One in 7 Billion” made the word go viral, just as the anti-fashion trend of simplicity hit the media. Using the term to refer to a neutral and minimalist style, Normcore has gradually evolved into a synonym for “Effortless Chic”.
Hypebeast
One might wonder why these aesthetic names end in “-core”. It is said that this originated from the Hardcore movement of Punk music in the last century. Since then, the root “-core” has appeared in the names of musical branches such as “Doomcore”, “Horrorcore”, and “Darkcore”, representing the prefix noun as the core. The naming method of “-core” shows the group’s loyalty to the culture they believe in. Today, these visual styles originate from not limited to music, novels, movies, and lifestyles. The name “Core” means that it is not a single Wearing style, but a symbol of subcultural groups covering unique hobbies, habits, and ideas.
With the passage of time, personality alienation has once once more become the mainstream. In this era of extreme individualism, everyone can find groups on the Internet that are exclusive to their aesthetic preferences. Coupled with the promotion of online life by the epidemic, following entering the 2020s, a large number of different youth cultures have been rapidly differentiated on social media. This time, HYPEBEAST will take stock of these aesthetic styles named “Core” for you.
Gorpcore
Hypebeast
The term Gorpcore was born in 2017, when it was first coined in an article published on the fashion website The Cut. “Gorp” is an acronym for “Good Ol’ Raisins and Peanuts”, which refers to the mixed dried fruit containing peanuts and raisins used to supplement calories during hiking.
Gorpcore is not simply “outdoors”, the line between functionality and style is very delicate. You can wear the latest outdoor products from brands like Arc’teryx and The North Face, or choose from mid-century Stone Island, Patagonia, Nike ACG. In terms of appearance, it is different from the “Techwear function” with Cyberpunk as the background color. The color matching of Gorpcore is more casual and diverse. The common bright colors of traditional outdoor equipment such as lake blue, emerald green and bright orange can be integrated. Also relatively Oversized.
Gorpcore enthusiasts are keen to search for pioneering outdoor gear from the 1980s to the early 2000s, such as Stone Island and CP Company during the Massimo Osti era, Oakley before the acquisition, and Nike ACG during the “double lungs” era. Of course, it is not limited to vintage. Emerging brands such as ROA Hiking and OCTI that draw inspiration from outdoor sports, as well as personalized customized products launched by designers active on social media, are also in the scope of Gorpcore players.
Gorpcore is undoubtedly one of the most influential styles of the moment. Promoting outdoor clothing to enter the hall of elegance, Virgil Abloh wore an Arc’teryx Alpha SV jacket in the LV show. Outdoor manufacturers make good friends, and unexpected joint names such as Gucci x The North Face and Jil Sander x Arc’teryx are gradually coming out.
Dadcore
Hypebeast
Dadcore has been one of the mainstream styles since 2017. At the Balenciaga Spring/Summer 2018 men’s wear conference, the “father” wearing the oversized Power Suit walked through the show holding the child’s hand. In the early days of his debut, popular menswear designer Kiko Kostadinov loved to share the clothes of old people on the street on social platforms, and the designs that were inspired by them were often jokingly called “old man walking the bird”.
The reason why it is called “daddy style” is because these items that were popular in the last century and then gradually became outdated, most of them are often worn by parents in the impression, which also means that Dadcore does not have a fixed matching framework. Fishing vests, wide-leg pants, Hawaiian shirts, New Balance retro running, Oversized sports suits, Power Suit blazers are all common items in Dadcore. Polar fleece, jackets, hiking shoes, fishing vests, and fisherman hats commonly found in Gorpcore are also one of Dadcore’s options.
The most well-known Icon of Dadcore fashion is Steve Jobs, whose matching formula “New Balance 99X series running shoes + Issey Miyake custom black turtleneck + Levi’s 501 jeans” at Apple’s new product launch conference for decades is still popular. .
Thriftcore
Hypebeast
The visual presentation of this style can be roughly guessed from the literal meaning of “thrift” in “Thrift”. Thriftcore emphasizes that the used items are found at the Thrift Shop (a cheap thrift store that sells donations from charities) or Garage Sale (garage auction) at very low prices, so the quality of the clothes is much worse than that of ordinary vintage shops, and the style is generally Vintage Tee , fat Air Force jackets, sabotage sweaters, etc.
The early works of “Eastern European duo” Gosha Rubchinskiy and Demna Gvasalia were transformed through oversized, old, destroyed and other methods, reflecting the life of young people in Eastern Europe in the post-Soviet period, just in line with the sense of “poverty” required by Thriftcore, so they are wearing It is of great reference value in styling. Vetements and Balenciaga’s Fall/Winter 2017 collections are very similar, these ill-fitting, cheap, shabby clothes that look like they’ve just been picked up from a dumpster. Thriftcore style challenges the boundaries between a haute couture show and a flea market.
Cottagecore
Hypebeast
Following Gorpcore, another aesthetic style, Cottagecore, has also entered the public eye in the past two years, especially among girls. Cottage means “hut, cottage”, and it’s easy to understand what it means following seeing photos on social media with the hashtag “Cottagecore”. These photos are often paired with farms, wooden houses, picnics, pottery and other scenes and warm and nostalgic tones, showing a cosy field atmosphere, somewhat similar to the familiar “idyllic style”.
Cottagecore allows people who are eager to return to nature due to the constraints of the epidemic to immerse themselves in the fantasy of rural life. Slightly loose cut, pure cotton, linen and other natural fabrics, floral, lace, straw and other pastoral elements, covered with low-saturation “Nourishing Earth Tones” such as camel, coffee, oatmeal, and lavender.
It’s reminiscent of Loewe, who was creating similar imagery long before the style became popular, and Jil Sander has been adding more muted tones to his collections in recent seasons. The popular Jacquemus in the past two years can be regarded as a brand that interprets Cottagecore in place. The designer Simon Porte Jacquemus, who is from the southern French countryside, not only integrated a strong pastoral flavor into the design, but also brought the show to his hometown.
Cryptidcore
Hypebeast
Fans of urban legends and supernatural phenomena probably had fantasies regarding “exploration teams” in their childhood, and this has gradually developed into an aesthetic system in recent years – Cryptidcore. “Cryptid” refers to unproven mystical creatures, belonging to “Cryptozoology” – the branch of pseudoscience that proves the existence of such entities. The term first appeared in 2014, when a mythical creature enthusiast posted a Tumblr post depicting related imagery, such as “T-shirts in souvenir shops depicting local urban legends and monsters.”
In the early 1970s, a new breed of horror TV emerged in the West—with hosts acting as detectives, taking viewers nightly to forests, sewers, haunted houses, and more to explore supernatural phenomena like vampires, UFOs, and more. This type of show set off a wave of adventure among teenagers at the time and remained popular until the early 2000s.
Therefore, Cryptidcore’s dressing system mainly draws visual inspiration from casual wear from the 1970s to the 1990s, such as flannel shirts, sweaters, jeans, OS striped sweaters, Converse Chuck 70, cargo boots and other soft and comfortable retro singles as accessories, as well as souvenirs such as hats, badges, keychains, etc. The old wrinkled canvas backpacks usually contain “adventure equipment” such as old-fashioned DVs, Polaroid cameras, compasses, flashlights, and pocket knives.
In 2021, the Cryptidcore style will gain huge popularity on TikTok, and the audience is mostly fanatics of supernatural stories, old-fashioned sci-fi movies, and alien documentaries. Readers who want to try Cryptidcore may wish to refer to the protagonists in various fantasy adventure movies and TV series, such as the current Netflix hit series “Stranger Things”.
Kidcore
Hypebeast
Kidcore is an aesthetic nostalgic to the children’s pop culture of the 90s-early 00s. Thanks to the virality of TikTok and Instagram, Kidcore has received a lot of attention in 2020, with searches for the term skyrocketing 2,439% on Etsy in just 3 months from June to September. Kidcore can also be found in designs from JW Anderson’s Autumn/Winter 2022 collection to Frank Ocean’s jewelry brand Homer.
This aesthetic is equivalent to a modern interpretation of childhood memories, and “childishness” is the most important feature. Therefore, Kidcore’s modeling colors are mostly red, yellow, blue and other highly saturated primary colors, or pink, purple, light blue and rainbow colors. From screen images like Hello Kitty, Sesame Street, Teletubbies, Hasbro toys to Takashi Murakami’s playful creations, all can be part of the Kidcore theme. Stickers, bodysuits, tie-dye t-shirts, cartoon prints, denim overalls, knee-high striped socks, Crocs rubber shoes, plush toys, candy or gem-shaped accessories, bright wigs, and more are some of the more notable styling features.
Goblincore
Hypebeast
Frogs, snails, mushrooms, moss, swamps, rocks, etc. in the natural ecology of forests are usually considered “ugly and disgusting”, but in recent years, an aesthetic trend that draws inspiration from them has begun to sweep the world. “Goblin” is a goblin with dark green skin in Western legends. As the name suggests, “Goblincore” is an aesthetic system related to nature and fantasy.
Since its rise to fame in 2020, Goblincore has gradually gained traction, especially among the LGBTQ+ community. Searches for “Goblincore” on Etsy will skyrocket 652% in 2021, and Instagram’s 2022 Trends report touted it as one of the fashion events to watch. At present, the hashtag has more than 1.1 billion views on TikTok, and the “r/goblincore” section on Reddit has accumulated more than 45,100 members.
The imagery patterns mentioned above usually appear in the Goblincore modeling, and the color matching is mostly dark green, light brown and other earth tones, and the texture is the pursuit of shabby and dirty vintage taste. Like second-hand vintage knit jumpers and cargo pants, it’s a great addition to a Goblincore look. Goblincore aesthetic blogger Ana Arrants, who has 78,000 followers on Instagram, told HYPEBEAST, “When I mix clothes, I occasionally try to think regarding what a tree would wear.”
Although it has not been accepted by mainstream fashion, it has been able to see similar visual styles from the designs of many brands in recent years. If you want to match the Goblincore atmosphere, you can find suitable items from designer brands such as JetPack Hom(m)e and STORY mfg. that integrate natural and vintage elements. At the same time, Goblincore also has something in common with other “Cores”, such as @organiclab.zip and other accounts that share the aesthetics of Gorpcore, and occasionally include some photos of Goblincore imagery.
Hypebeast
In addition to the 7 more popular “-cores” mentioned above, in recent years, “Bloggercore”, which is obsessed with the style of fashion bloggers in the early 2010s, and “Earthcore” which pays attention to natural environmental protection and prefers earth colors, etc. Fan culture website Fandom has dozens of aesthetic styles in the name of “Core”. At the same time, it will be found that many of these styles are visually very close, and they are indeed a “father-son” relationship with each other, because some hobbies and details are divided into different subcultures, just like Mods, Skinheads, Casuals These subcultures popular in the last century Generally, it reflects the continuation and evolution of culture.
