Rom-Comcore, Old Money, Indie Sleaze: here’s what we’ll be wearing in 2024.
We have already talked about the revival, if we can call it that, of trends and fashions from the past by Generation Z. The term is called anemoia, i.e. the love of vintage, the desire to live in the 80s, 90s, 2000s; the belief that one was born in the wrong era and its consequent idealisation of everything that, due to an age problem, one could not live (or wear).
In short, those who have actually lived them, know very well that some trends from the 90s and early 2000s would be better left in the past, instead of bringing them back, but so be it. All the trends from the 80s that we find today, for example, are reworked according to a pink lens, poetised and absolutely adapted to contemporary times.
Here, then, that even the widest baggy, once ungainly and somewhat awkward, are modified to correspond to a current aesthetic ideal of beauty: tighter at the waist, enhancing the backside. Not to mention make-up: working out a ‘90s look, with the cosmetic products available in the ’90s, is quite different from doing so today, in an era when products have become more specific and threefold.
After this premise necessary to understand the aesthetic matrix of the newest generation, we can trace a clear path of what the trends of the last few years have been: those that have dominated tiktok and instagram feeds, streetstyle, and then arrived on the catwalks.
After logomania, minimalism, normocore, gorpcore; rather than observing designers and fashion maisons, young people with extravagance have drawn from TV series, programmes and films: this is the case, for example, of the sudden obsession with corsets and fancy dresses, both of which can be traced back to Bridgerton, called Regencycore, or, the current 80’s Barbiecore, a trend just exluded with the release of the film Barbie, one of the rare examples of collision between the catwalks – particularly Valentino’s Pink PP fashion – and Pop culture.
As Steve Dool, bran director of Depop, put it, all this feverish rush for the latest trend that has little to do with the creations of stylists, is the increasingly premature fruit of a society that is advancing at an accelerated pace and we only have to look at the upcoming film and TV series releases to see what’s in store for us in the future.
Let us now look in detail at all the trends that will dominate our feeds and streetstyle in 2024.
Rom-com Core
The protagonists of romantic comedies of the 80s and 90s represent the perfect synthesis of the anemoia phenomenon: romanticising one’s own life through a nostalgic style worn by a character we loved in the past.
This, in a nutshell, is Rom-Comcore: whether it’s the ideal of the busy, sweet British woman like Bridget Jones in ‘Bridget Jones’s Diary’ or Kate Hudson in ‘How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days‘, the Rom-Comcore aesthetic is very spontaneous and perhaps unrefined, but absolutely authentic like Bridget’s oversized culotte. The Rom-Comcore style is decidedly unformal, a little scruffy and messy, just like the characters they refer to: for those who embrace it, life is a movie, complete with its own makeover montage.
@remass
Grunge (or Indie) Sleaze
A big trend from the past is re-emerging among Depop and Pinterest searches, according to a study of the most searched queries conducted from May 2022 to May 2023, which, they predict, will definitely gain power in 2023: the return of Indie and Grunge Sleaze.
In other words, a style between Kate Moss and Amy Winehouse of the late 2000s and the very current Bella Hadid and Julia Fox. Sexy and deliberately unconventional, the Indie Sleaze and Grunge Sleaze is an aesthetic that harks back to the indie and grunge subculture of the mid-2000s and the style of the pop stars of the time, but revisited in a contemporary key by the latest Bottega Veneta and Diesel collections. What does this aesthetic consist of?
It cleverly subverts the indie subculture of the 2000s, leaving its rebellious and provocative matrix intact, but adding a less DIY and more chic touch from some luxury fashion houses. So the tank tops allow a glimpse of the bralette, perhaps designed by Miu Miu. Sleaze thus appears messy and a little ‘dirty’, but it is all absolutely studied down to the smallest detail. The fashion of 2024 will also be dominated by the return – revisited – of Indie and Grunge.
@90sbaby2000s_teen
Futurecore
Dystopian clothes, futuristic eyewear and cyber streetwear: Pinterest searches on Futurecore are on the rise. Dua Lipa was the spokesperson for the retro futurism style, raising its profile. So metallic silver garments, cuffs and mechanisms to slip between the fingers of the hand, sky-blue and cloud-white minis and crops, hooded garments: all trends which stem from the retro-futuristic movement of the 1960s and are making a mainstream comeback.
Like Rom-Comcore, there is also a subset of this trend: the return of the Galaxy print, already seen during Dior Men’s Pre-Fall 2023 show in Cairo; although they will never be a dominant Futurecore theme, but rather a copy-paste of 2010s fashion.
@2ynthetic thrift haul 📁 #cyber #futurefashion #techwear #softtechwear #thriftwithme
Glitchcore
Glitchcore, literally ‘system error‘, is an emerging cultural movement with roots in digital culture, visual art and electronic music. It is a subculture that celebrates the flaw that occurs in digital media, such as images or sounds, and which is reinterpreted as an art form and style, as has emerged from the latest trends. It emerged at the same time as the pandemic, at a time of great emotional and practical upheaval, as a feeling of nostalgia for something never experienced, called ‘anemoia‘, mainly by the younger Generation Z who imagined, and hypothesised, the aesthetics of the 2000s.
Glitchcore is a dystropic re-examination of the ecstatic Y2K, contextualised in a frustrating and worrying historical moment like quarantine.
Glitchcore’s stylistic signature revolves around the distortion of form, mainly translated into colourful and disturbing prints, the use of saturated colours not found in nature, the fragmentation of images and lines, as well as the addition of pixelated elements, binary codes and decomposed signs: the aim is to provide a chaotic and surreal, edgy and futuristic image. Disconnected and hyper-coloured symbols that we will also – and above all – find in the 2024 fashion trends.
@aesthel Glitchcore outfit reveal!! I actually have a glitchcore monster girl oc but im stuck trying to pick a name for her 🤔💿🖤 #glitchcore #weirdcore #fashion #cybergoth
Old Money
Lady Diana‘s elitist, simple and elegant look is illustrative for understanding another future and thoughtful 2024 trend, Old Money. The Family Rich style consists of refined and absolutely no-logo vintage, made of silk scarves, pearls and Barbour, which takes its cue from the looks of holidaymakers on the Côte d’Azur, Portofino or Courmayeur in the 1960s and 1970s. Here we are not talking about pop stars, supermodels or rich divas, but about icons such as Jackie Kennedy, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, the Agnelli family and Lady D.
Money can buy many things, but not style: this concept is at the basis of this 2024 trend, and teenagers seem to think so. Tired of streetwear and logos in sight, they dream of a world made – still – of tailored suits and silk clutches for men, and organza and silk dresses for women, flaunted amidst socialites and exclusive parties.
Nothing to do with the new stars, from the Kardashians to the Ferragni: those who have inherited money and know how to spend it, shun any kind of vulgarity.
@amira.bessette Updated version ☺️ #oldmoney #oldmoneyaesthetic #oldmoneyoutfits #oldmoneystyle #oldmoneylifestyle #oldmoneyfashion #fyp #amirabessette #viral
80s Barbiecore
Those who thought the Barbie style was dead were sorely mistaken. Thanks to the release of Greta Gerwig‘s much-anticipated film starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, the pink look of the world’s most famous pink doll is back in vogue, this time, spiced up with the activewear aesthetic of the early 80s. Images of Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling dressed in neon roller-skater outfits that looked straight out of the 1980s went viral and Depop is betting that once the film is released, users will once again be obsessed with the ‘decade of greed‘.
The demand for all sportswear styles related to the golden age of aerobics is also expected to increase, including hyper-coloured anoraks, lurex bodysuits and other fitness-related garments.
@jackie.wyers BARBIECORE: A Makeup Tutorial🛼👱🏻♀️🎀 Would you wear this makeup? Obsessed with the new trailer & can’t wait for the Babrie inspo to come! For all the products I used / how to DIY this look – full videos for my tutorials on YT! @barbie #Barbie #BarbieTheMovie #barbiecore #makeuptutorial
Conclusions
The year 2024 promises to be an exciting time for global trends: a fascinating mix inspired by the fashion of the past but with a contemporary twist. Today’s generations, led by Generation Z, are demonstrating a strong propensity for vintage and a poetic reworking of trends from the 80s and 90s, making conscious buying choices that are increasingly focused on eco-sustainability and creative reuse. All 2024 trends emphasise how, on a variable scale, fashion will move more and more towards second-hand purchases, loved pieces and vintage.
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