Norma Normcore and Gia Glamcore

“It’s actually more than a decade since science-fiction writer William Gibson first painted a picture of the look which has come to symbolise the normcore aesthetic. In his novel, Pattern Recognition, Gibson describes his logo-phobic protagonist Cayce Pollard as wearing: “A small boy’s black Fruit of the Loom T-shirt, a thin gray V-neck pullover purchased by the half-dozen from a supplier to the New England prep schools, and a new and oversized pair of black 501’s, every trademark carefully removed.” And it was this picture, of a fastidiously functional dresser, that inspired the New York trend agency K-Hole to coin the term back in October last year. “Normcore doesn’t want the freedom to become someone,” they announced in their Youth Mode report. “Normcore moves away from a coolness that relies on difference to a post-authenticity that opt into sameness.”

Confused? You will be. Beyond the jargon, this original notion of normcore is predicated on the desire to fit in rather than stand out. But the team behind the term believe that it’s been misunderstood and misappropriated by the fashion press. On the phone from their Manhattan office, 25-year old K-Hole co-founder Emily Segal explains the thinking behind this hyper-normalised styling: “There’s an exhaustion with trying to seem different. People are genuinely tired by the fact that to achieve status you need to be different from everyone else around you.” You can see her point. Fast fashion and the retailer’s ever-growing ability to track trends from street to runway and back again means subcultures can barely exist beyond the brands. Punk, indie, hipster – are all sold off-the-peg from Primark to Saint Laurent. Not only is youth culture big business (LVMH profits are on a par with Google), it’s everywhere.” (Vogue.co.uk)

Normcore wearers are people who do not wish to distinguish themselves from others by their clothing. This is not to mean that they are unfashionable people who wear whatever comes to hand, but that they consciously choose clothes that are undistinguished – except, frequently, for a highly visible label to impart prestige. The “normcore” trend has been interpreted as a reaction to a fashion oversaturation resulting from ever faster-changing fashion trends.

King of the norm core trend is Jerry Seinfeld. Not bothered by any trend, he brings the mom (or in his case dad?) jeans to a whole other level. Tucked in blouse, sporty sweater and massive sneakers. That, is norm core in a nutshell. Labels like Celine, Ganni, the revival of the Adidas Stan Smith shoe, Calvin Klein and COS. A few years ago trend watcher Lidewij Edelkoort already predicted the luxury basic trend. This will be a very long one without any logos in sight. However, with normcore the glamcore will also come. The opposite of normcore, glamcore will focus on beautiful polished looks. Think sequins, metallics and rich colours. Luxurious, mysterious and very gold indeed. Wanna invest in some glamcore items already? If the sparkle gets to you, you can already mix it up with some normcore gear. Go for that sequined jacket, metallic finish pants and some statement golden earrings a la 90’s Dolce & Gabbana. Noticed how Gia Glamcore brings a lot more sparkle in your life?