Over the past month I have kept trying to conceptualize normcore, perhaps giving more credit than I should to the blasé fashion movement (or anti-fashion movement, rather). The past few years fashion subcultures had been inspired by efforts to standout. Clothing with loud prints (think donuts and Bart Simpson), cutouts, high-low, oversized Jeffrey Campbells, pastel lipstick, neon - the list goes on. I would call it a strange blend of the big-and-loud eighties and the aesthetic of a late nineties teenager taking fashion advice from a Lisa Frank backpack.
Now it seems as though fashion has matured. Rather than looking to Saved by the Bell or ironic captioned stills from King of the Hill, fashion is grasping for the complete opposite. We are making a time jump to the early 00s where Sex and the City reigns and the efforts to stand out are at a minimal. But by setting oneself apart from those that strive for the abnormal, are those that work hard (though, they may think by being minimalist they are not trying at all) to make themselves "normal" standing out in the end? Or do they even really care? The normcore movement is oozing with irony and, yet, the aesthetic is appealing and right on time whether those that consider themselves a part of the in-group think so or not. Fashion works in cycles and in due time the ones still "stuck" standing out will gravitate towards normcore (maybe not as a lifestyle, but as a trend). Eventually being normal will be...normal again. Is the next move to standout? Is fashion always about fluctuating between these two modes?
(The nineties fashion Tumblr users around the world praise.)
(Massive trenches, loafers, easy-going style - Sex and the City reigns supreme.)
Well, if we continue to move on this path of working our way through the nineties and 2000s (not to say other decades are not serving as inspiration) we will eventually hit the next line of trends. Soon we just might find ourselves idolizing 2004 Nicole and Paris and ironically sporting Von Dutch caps. Leather pants with a lace up crotch or Jnco wide-legged jeans could be our new future. What sounds absolutely dreadful (in my honest opinion) could be the post-normcore. With Naomi Campbell in Phillip Plein's fall 2014 show sporting a look reminiscent of Nelly in the "Ride Wit Me" video, the reality of an early 2000s aesthetic is upon us. Arguably it is already here with its microscopic crop tops, shimmery accessories and chunky shoes but on the flip side, those were also popular in the late nineties. There is so much more I could go on about, but I feel as though I am exhausting my point. Overall, normcore is more than likely here to stay for the next year or so. I like it (though, not necessarily the attitude surrounding it), as I have always admired minimalist fashion. Just be prepared for what is to come and understand that Jnco jeans could be a fashionable reality once again.
(Naomi Campbell in Phillip Plein's fall 2014 show - Fashionista)
(I would have killed for these outfits in 5th grade - More photos here!)
