IS DUBAI READY TO GLAM DOWN?
Hold on to your big hair and even bigger heels: the no-fashion fashion trend, Normcore, has landed. Carly Hobbs and Judy Cogan ask the ladies behind style portal The Fashion Hub to sum up the latest UAE style revolution, with surprising results...
Let us introduce you to Normcore, aka the latest on-trend word to slip into the fashion lexicon.
The phrase was coined by New York Magazine to describe a new dresseddown, anti-style trend.
Think flats and laid-back attire, jeans, Converse, a polo neck – some people describe it as ‘Dad-brand’ and the trend du jour is completely ironic because those who naturally fall into this bracket really don’t care about fashion at all. ‘The Duchess of Normcore’ Kate Middleton, or the too-talented-to-give-a-hoot Jennifer Lawrence for example.
Bland is big, with all the trendy tongues wagging from the FROWS of London, Paris, New York to Twittersphere about the ‘vanilla’ approach to dressing.
But the real question is, while undone and nondescript is being picked up by fashion followers elsewhere, will the oddball trend take off here in the UAE?
Our plethora of super skyscrapers and lights shining bright already work as the perfect backdrop to glittering bling-tastic brunches, parties and ladies’ nights – we’re all dressed up with everywhere to go!
Indeed, the jewel in UAE crown is that we love to get our glam on. So will our ladies and gents opt for an utterly unconventional style swap? Is this just another fashion forecast that will be dismissed in a country that loves its showy signature look? Will we need to ditch the high-heels and grab some Converse?
gets its fashion groove on and investigates…
The norm
Forget immaculate cuts, the highest of heels and everything encrusted with gems, Normcore is asking style kings and queens to pull back. “The Normcore trend is basically clothes or accessories that aren’t traditionally embraced by the mass market – things such as Birkenstocks, sneakers, oversized jeans – it’s a hybrid of Jerry Seinfield and Leandra Medine,” explain founders of style portal The Fashion Hub, Parisa and Lydia Birgani (the-fashionhub.com),
The British/ Persian sister duo, based in Abu Dhabi but regular visitors to Dubai, blog their way through their various roles as stylists, brand ambassadors and collaborators – to name but a few of their trendsetting tasks.
They love that new twist movements like Normcore are
Think flats and laid-back attire, jeans, Converse, a polo-neck – some people describe it as ‘Dad-brand’