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Hi, everyone and welcome back to happy hour. 欢迎回来酒馆. Hi, 安澜.

Hi, Lulu, hi, everyone.

So, can I propose the topic today?

Emm, I never quite like it when you say that.

Don't worry, this one is going to be so difficult for you.

Yeah.

This is the topic I know for a fact that you know very little about.

Okay.

Well, do you know pop culture?

No.

Exactly. So, in terms of pop culture, you're the equivalent of a 70-year-old grandpa.

Yeah, okay.

Yeah. Well, I mean you don't seem to agree with that. Okay, then let me test you on a few words.

Okay, yeah.

Do you know what is gorpcore？（户外运动风：把正经户外机能装备，当成城市日常穿搭的潮流风格）

Is that like the core of a gorp?

What is a gorp then?

Like a type of fruit or something?

Okay. What about normcore? (极简穿搭风，刻意穿得像普通人、不抢风头，以 “融入人群” 为风格，2014 年火起来，也是后来 gorpcore 的前身。)

Mhm....

Ok. You've tried, you've tried. Now imagine a guy who's wearing a windbreaker made for mountain climbing.

Okay.

But you're just going to get coffee. You've got cargo pants, you've got hiking shoes, but you have never climbed a mountain in your life.

Oh, yeah. I've seen lots of people like that.

That's gorpcore.

Oh, okay.

All right. And imagine someone wearing very ordinary, basic, unbranded, unremarkable clothing. So, they're not standing out.

Mhm.

In fact, they're blending in.

Okay.

What is that?

I'm gonna make a stab and say that's normcore.

Exactly, think Zuckerberg.

Oh, okay.

Think all of these big tech guys, I think they really, sort of perfected normcore.

Okay.

And the next one is easy.

Imagine you are romanticizing rural life, sourdough starters, vintage linen dresses, reading poetry and frolicking in a field. You probably own like a chicken or want to.

Oh, I know this one, cottagecore.

Yes. That's easy, isn't it?

Yeah. That's quite easy. Okay, I get that.

But it's not just the cores. Have you ever heard of the word aesthetic?

Yeah. I… like old money aesthetic.

Good for you. So, this is usually used in replacement of a trend.

Okay.

But then again, it's more like your entire personality is revolving around it. Imagine slick back bun, gold hoop earrings, minimal makeup, you drink green juice and you've never had a bad skin day in your life. This is the clean girl aesthetics.

Oh, okay.

You must have seen it with some celebrities.

Yeah, yeah. I just always thought that was just, I had no idea what it was really.

So, can you guess what we’re gonna talk about today?

I’m assuming we’re gonna talk about taxation.

Thank you. We’re gonna talk about core and aesthetics.

Okay.

All of these social media labels.

Okay. So why exactly there are so many cores, why there's so many aesthetics.

Exactly. Why does every single vibe, every microtrend, every visual identity now have a name? And what does it mean that we're all speaking this language fluently, even you, to some extent.

Well, yeah. So, we're gonna break down the vocabulary, the culture. And also, this weird paradox because it's something that is meant to be individual. But essentially, it's all copied and pasted.

Exactly. While we were chasing individuality through all of these cores and aesthetics, we become all the same.

Exactly.

Yeah. So, let's get into it. Let's start with some definitions because the core, C-O-R-E suffix isn't random. It comes from the word core.

Yeah.

The center, the essence, the heart of something. And when you add it to a word, you're saying this is the essential vibe of that thing.

Well, yeah. And this term has exploded.

Exactly.

And it's been used to describe all of these fashion trends that used to change by the decade, but now just rise and fall in a matter of weeks.

Mhm.

So, let's build up a very quick dictionary everyone should know. Well, everyone should know this week.

Exactly, probably started with normcore. This is the OG one, this is the original.

Okay.

Like I said, think about Zuckerberg.

Yeah.

It's the deliberate rejection of trends.

Basic jeans, plain T-shirt, trainers.

Dressing down.

Yeah.

The anti-fashion fashion statement.

Okay.

It’s saying I'm so confident. I don't need to try.

Well, yeah. And there's also what was it, Barbiecore as well.

Oh, I keep forgetting you have a… although you don't have a child, you have a niece.

Yeah.

Yeah. When Barbie movie came out, Barbiecore. As you can imagine, they all wanted to be Barbie pink. They wanted to dress up with Barbie elements.

Yeah.

Bright pink, everything, glitter, platform shoes, hyper-feminine. The whole doll-like glamour, exploded around the movie and just painted the internet pink but for a summer.

Yeah, exactly.

And then cottagecore. I know you have done research about this one.

Well, yeah. That's really why I know about it because we did an episode about it, didn't we?

Did you like cottagecore?

Mhm.

Okay. That answered it.

I do like gardening and nicely baked bread is delicious, I guess?

I think cottagecore is usually for girls. I can't imagine you in a really flowery, rural dress.

Well, only at weekends.

Frolicking in the fields.

Well, I definitely won't wear that to the studio. Yeah, so cottagecore is like romanticizing rural life, baking bread, growing your own herbs, vintage dresses, basically this strange fantasy of a simple rural lifestyle.

Sounds ideal to you. I mean, minus the vintage dress bit.

Well, yeah, yeah. Making your own jams does sound quite nice really.

Okay. But it's not just about the dresses. It's not just about attire and fashion sense.

Yeah.

Have you heard of the dreamcore and weirdcore?

Not really.

You ever heard of liminal space and back rooms?

Yes, I know that.

So from back rooms就后室风潮and then there is梦核和怪核. So dreamcore is more the surreal, nostalgic, dreamlike imagery with sort of discordant music in the background.

Okay.

I'm sure you've seen some of those videos.

Yeah, yeah. But I'm just wondering how you could make that into a fashion.

It's not a fashion. This is what I'm saying. Core does not mean fashion trend. It means a whole vibe.

Okay.

So, it can be a vibe about a person, but it can also be vibe about certain type of artistic expression.

Okay. I think I'm somewhat understanding. I'm somewhat under... getting it. And yeah, I guess I’ve also seen underconsumption core.

Oh, okay. The whole lifestyle about saving money.

Yeah. So, kind of like mending things, showing off their worn-out shoes, for some people half empty shampoo bottles. Just the way of saying look at me I don't like to spend money, I don't like to waste things.

We used to just call that poverty.

Well, exactly. But now people do that by posting videos on the latest iPhone.

Yeah. I mean they just say I'm under consuming.

Exactly.

So, you have cores that are about buying things, you have cores that are about not buying things, the same system produces both.

Well, yeah. But then you got the aesthetic label.

Yeah.

And that's slightly different, isn't it?

Yes. That is more a specific visual language that is more about trend because aesthetic.

Yeah.

In itself it's about how you look.

Well, yeah.

The understanding of beauty.

Well, yeah, so old money aesthetic, so kind of wearing tweed, beige pearls. That's all quiet luxury.

对, 静奢风嘛.

Yeah.

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文稿校对：梅薇薇 & Jenny

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