Normcore

Normcore

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Updated Aug 11, 2015 at 03:07AM EDT by Brad.

Added Feb 28, 2014 at 06:33PM EST by Don.

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About

Normcore is a humorous fashion trend in which artists and others associated with the "hipster" subculture emulate Middle Americans by wearing ordinary clothing with dull or muted colors.

Origin

On October 19th, 2013, the trend forecasting group K-Hole[1] published a trend report titled "Youth Mode: A Report on Freedom,"[2] which proposed a new emergent aesthetic titled "#Normcore" encompassing a functional, comfortable fashion style and an attitude that embraces sameness rather than individuality.


NORMCORE Once upon a time people were born into communities and had to find their individuality. Today people are born individuals and have to find their communities. Mass Indie responds to this situation by creating cliques of people in the know, while Normcore knows the real feat is harnessing the potential for connection to spring up. It's about adaptability, not exclusivity. NORMCORE SITUATIONAL NON-DETERMINISTIC ADAPTABLE UNCONCERNED WITH AUTHENTICITY EMPATHY OVER TOLERANCE POST-ASPIRATIONAL YOUTH MODE: NORMCORE Normcore understands the process of differentiation from a nonlinear perspective. It's addicted to the toolkit provided by YOUTH MODE and never wants to put it away. Normcore doesn't want the freedom to become someone. Normcore wants the freedom to be with anyone. You might not understand the rules of football, but you can still get a thrill from the roar of the crowd at the World Cup. In Normcore, one does not pretend to be above the indignity of belonging. Normcore moves away from a coolness that relies on difference to a post-authenticity coolness that opts in to sameness. But instead of appropriating an aestheticized version of the mainstream, it just cops to the situation at hand. To be truly Normcore, you need to understand that there's no such thing as normal.

Spread

On October 25th, 2013, the pop culture blog Bullett Media[7] published an interview with several K-Hole collective members, who shared their thoughts on what it means to be "normcore."

"Obviously self-image has always been a more distant, maneuverable extension of the self, but the Internet gives us total freedom to disengage the two. At the end of the day, we’re still ourselves. The blankness of Normcore deemphasizes self-image to promote a more fluid sense of self. It allows you to experience more things, both on and offline."

On February 24th, 2014, NY Mag[3] published an article about the emerging fashion trend, which referred to the style as “mall clothes,” “blank clothes” and a “dad-brand non-style you might have once associated with Jerry Seinfeld.” On February 26th, writer Tavi Gevinson posted a tweet joking that normcore should be a nudist movement.




On February 26th, That same day, Gothamist[6] published an article highlighting photographs of several tongue-in-cheek examples of normcore fashion (shown below).



On February 27th, GQ[5] published a list of "10 #Normcore Essentials Every Man Should Have," including Costco white T-shirts, stonewashed jeans, Patagonia fleece jackets and white tube socks, Teva sandals and New Balance sneakers.


10 #Norm core Essentials Every Man Should Have* BY JIAN DELEON PREVIOUS 1 / 11 | NEXT →

The same day, several other news sites reported on the trend, including Flavorwire,[8] Styleite,[9] The Guardian,[10] Jezebel,[11] Gawker[12] and The Daily Dot.[13] Also on February 27th, the Twitter feed of the clothing retailer Gap posted a tweet that they had been stocking "#normcore" clothing for the past several decades. According to the Twitter analytics site Topsy,[14] there were over 2,600 tweets containing the hashtag "#normcore" that month.




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