Here's another article I wrote for Scriptus -I forgot to post it here but better late than never!
--
Doe
normaal!
While the
rest of Scriptus* celebrates flamboyant wizards (think Dumbledore’s hats and
beard adornments) and colourfulness, I have opted to differ by introducing about
fashion’s latest development, normcore.
Paradoxically enough, this trend proclaims that being cool is being normal,
boring even: it is about not standing
out. Yes, dear reader: continuing with last issue’s meta-theme, normcore is
fashion negating itself, fashion trying to not
look fashion-y (that is, glamorous and spectacular). The term was coined only
last October by a ‘trend agency’which claims that “there's an exhaustion with
trying to seem different.”. According to them, normcore “moves away from a
coolness that relies on difference to a post-authenticity that opts into
sameness” (whatever that means). The idea seems to be rejecting the notion of
using clothes to assert one’s unique identity: for normcore, dressing up,
making an effort, is trying too hard (hence the return of comfortable and even
ugly shoes to fashion). But although they are associated with “the idea that
one doesn’t need their clothes to make a statement”, ‘normcore’ clothes, too, make
their own statement: “I don’t need clothes or fashion to show that I’m
special”.
Make no mistake,
however: normcore is not anti-fashion. In fact, it has been fully integrated
into fashion: lately, many designers**, with Céline as their leading example,
have been presenting simple, monochromatic, non-flashy clothes –and are of
course cashing in on our ‘rejection’ of fashion. They have also popularized
traditionally ugly, practical items of clothing that no self-respecting
fashionista would dare be seen in a few years ago, the most ubiquitous example
being Birkenstock-type sandals (bonus points if you wear them with socks!).
So what does this bland, blank way of dressing
say? It is pretty hypocritical: Although it claims to rebel against fashion, it
is actually just another fashion trend, albeit one that allows for less
diversity and creativity. Fashion is important because it gives people options,
the possibility to express their personality or mood with their clothes.
Normcore, on the other hand, negates one of the most important things that
fashion offers us: the opportunity to have fun with our image, to be creative
and even a little extravagant.
On the other hand, getting over this minor identity
crisis (“am I just another unsuspecting victim of trends and ideology?”), and
realizing that there’s little we can do to change the fact that normcore
influences the way we dress, let’s have a look at the bright side of things: normcore
might not be so bad after all. For starters, you no longer need impossibly high
heels to look cool –quite the opposite, in fact. Clothes must now be
comfortable, and the wearer must feel at ease in them (something that,
admittedly, has not been a major concern for fashion in the past). Secondly,
wearing clothes that are pared-down and simple in design allows to direct the
focus more towards details such as fit and quality. When everyone is wearing
jeans, the way to ‘do fashion’ (or in this case, normcore) right is to find
jeans that fit you well and flatter your body type. When everyone is wearing
black blazers, you want yours to be well-cut and made from a nice fabric –and
so on. This (hopefully) allows consumers to have more agency: the benefit of
embracing ‘boring’, basic, normcore style is that, rather than focusing on what
is in, the consumer will concentrate
on their own needs. When essentially every store has a version of a basic
garment, the consumer no longer has to settle for anything less than perfect
–provided that money is no object, of course.
*more or
less
**who were
obviously promptly copied by Zara, etc. etc.
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