118 Trending: Is cosycore the new aesthetic of the season?
Is cosycore the ne w aesthetic o f the s eason?
With its cannon of ugly sneakers, plush jerseys, baggy tracksuit pants and old-school tracksuits, cosycore has hints of streetwear, athleisure and, yes, normcore. But it would be a mistake to dismiss it as a sloppier version of any of the above. Cosycore isn’t actually about not caring; it’s basically the fashion equivalent of no-makeup makeup.
Consider, for example, the ensemble Ariana Grande wore to walk her dogs in September: classic ’80s gym-teacherstyle sweat pants, a too-big eece zip-up and dad sneakers. It would have made for a relatable ‘stars, they’re just like us’ moment had the eece not been strategically oversized, with a chic cold-shoulder effect. Ariana nished off the look with her genie-high ponytail and a subtly co-ordinating Fendi bag. Examples of the cultural embrace of cosycore are everywhere: Fila, the South Korean streetwear brand traditionally sold at
Cosycore. The term entered the lexicon in 2014 the way much of today’s slang does – by appearing in a Reddit thread. And now the style is full-on mainstream.
discount retailers, is now available at high-end fashion stores.
In September, Paper magazine declared “looking like [you just woke up]” at Fashion Week the ultimate power move. Not surprisingly, experts say cosycore is a reaction, in part, to the trends that preceded it. “Fashion is like physics – for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction,” says Emma McClendon, an associate curator of costume at a fashion museum.
“We’re witnessing a pendulum swing from hyper revealing clothing to more modest and comfortable clothing.” In other words, say goodbye to the ‘hot-girl uniform’ of the aughts and early ’10s, from the Hervé Leger bandage dresses and platform stilettos to the crop tops and second-skin leggings of athleisure wear. Our attraction to cosiness is also a reection of the times we’re living in. “How we dress sends a message,” says Emma, “and it’s not surprising that at the moment the message many women want to send is about rejecting traditional power structures by dressing comfortably.”
“The message many women want to send is about rejecting traditional power structures by dressing
comfortably”
We may feel more empowered when we don’t have to consider the unsavoury repercussions that sexy dressing often entails: perpetually blistered feet, embarrassing nip slips and overall a heightened sense of vulnerability.
But there could also be a deeper reason for our gravitation towards all things comfort-driven – maybe it’s, on some level, a primal reaction to our dystopian times: the world is about to end! It’s a thought so bleak it kind of makes us want to go home – and put on a pair of sweats.