Even if you’ve never downloaded TikTok, you’ve probably still heard of a “-core”. Used as a modifier to describe a type of aesthetic — for example, cosy nature lovers have been rebranded as devotees of “Cottagecore”, while fans of a maximalist lifestyle are lovingly embracing “Cluttercore,” apparently.
However, over the last few years “-core” microtrends have become prolific, to the point of exhaustion. Every day it feels like a niche, nonsensical one drops (coastal Grandmacore, anyone?), with the term now symbolic of our always-on, endless scrolling culture.
