Swimming Against the Current
WHY I CAN’T GET DOWN WITH NORMCORE
It all started with a piece in American publication New York magazine in 2014, which coined the term “normcore”. It described the burgeoning fashion trend that saw thousands of young guns dressing head to toe in monochrome basics. Shades of black, white and grey roamed the streets.
The core theme seemed to be dissociation from the ostentatious, bejewelled style that ruled the mainstream. But soon, normcore became the mainstream and chain fashion stores cottoned on to the trend of white cotton T-shirts, coming out with their own lines of white, black and grey separates and charging an arm and a leg just to cover your arm and your leg with cheap polyester. 90s brands such as ellese, nike and addidas surged back into fashion, along with Calvin Klein sweatshirts and visible underwear labels above trousers.
The most fashion-forward are wearing normcore (normal + hardcore), some with a bit more darkness, which has been labelled “health goth”. Suddenly its cool to wear the most unimaginative thing possible. People follow this trend simply because its trendy- I can see years from now, the faces cringing at selfies catching themselves mid-vape, plumes of vapour masking their palpable insecurity.
I roll my eyes at pretty much everything, but my eyes have never rolled so far back than at the sight of a group of rich Edinburgh tweens outside the local chippie in their navy, black and white they paid for with the money stolen from their wealthy parents’ wallet. What frustrates me is that this is said to be an indication of serious high fashion, rather than just another trend. Street style blogs photograph millions of the same outfits, however unremarkable and run-of-the-mill.
I stand against normcore because it presents a deliberate lack of creativity to me. Is it no longer cool to be daring and different with one’s style? Is it de rigeur to try?
If so, I disagree, and rebel by being deliberately thoughtful with my style. I’m not going to be popping to Sainsbury’s dressed like '70s-era Bowie, but I’m not going to fork out hundreds for a Nike sweatshirt just because its what everyone else is telling me is cool. For what is true style if not unique to its wearer?
Alternative Odyssey
These days, anyone who refers to themselves as being "alternative" is labelled a “pretentious hipster”. But what this judgement fails to realise is that to be alternative is a rejection of the mainstream culture not simply to be cool or different for the sake of it, but because the individual in question is not compelled by the pop culture they encounter on a day-to-day basis. They reject the notion that they must conform to the mass media simply because its what is expected of them.
Oftentimes, those who idenitify as “alternative” are not regarded as cool or avant-garde. Alternative does not necessarily mean dressing like a cool space alien and going to cool nightclubs. Sometimes it is eschewing their own culture altogether, instead choosing to live true to what they themselves believe is important. That could mean choosing not to drink alcohol, not to go to nightclubs or abstaining from sex until marriage.
The pressure to conform is omnipresent and this ensures the individual feels the constant judgement from society et al. However, what develops is a steely resolve to stay true to their own thoughts, feelings and opinions. It allows for the individual to resist the pull of the current which can be persistent and seem tantalisingly comfortable. The mainstream presents an easier life, free of isolation from one’s peers and the constant judgement.
The triumph of the alternative is that it generally births some of the most remarkable people in history. From Albert Einstein to David Bowie, history is made by those who stray from the norm. For how can society develop without a leader to separate from the societal norms?
Alternative is not just about an unusual dress sense or a peculiar taste in music. It’s about deviation from the status quo. It demands the individuals to (pardon the cliché) “think outside the box” and swim against the mainstream. People will question them because those who reject the mainstream are suspect. When we look back at the era of McCarthyism, we see how individuals who spoke their mind were criminalised. Society is wary of those who think for themselves.
So today, think outside the realms of common thought. You don’t have to trip on LSD and see a leprechaun brushing the hair of an antelope. You just need to listen to yourself and your own gut.
-Jessica (Editor)