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Recent wonderland cover shoot

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A pastel-splashed Parisian fashion editorial shot by photographer Axle Jozeph and styled by our Editor-in-Chief, Toni-Blaze Ibekwe.

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Brands that inspire me and will be applying to for my placement.

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Jonny Johansson | BoF 500 | The People Shaping the Global Fashion Industry

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Founder and creative director of Acne Studios. He has a very different approach to fashion with his brand. His design style and narratives for his collection are really inspiring to me.

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Jonny Johansson | BoF 500 | The People Shaping the Global Fashion Industry

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Starting with a range of 100 pairs of unisex denim, he and his partners created a Swedish cult lifestyle brand that has expanded globally.

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From #Cottagecore to #Gothcore, what the data says about the rise of 'core' aesthetics

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WGSN analysts take a data deep-dive into the rise of 'core' aesthetics, the beloved trends that people are talking about right now, where they began and what's coming up next.
Gen Z's social media influence has become a large proponent of today's trend cycle, with the cohort having their finger on the viral trend pulse and the platform to share it.

Enter fashion 'cores' - niche aesthetics that have gained momentum across social media. In its simplest form, a fashion 'core' is the amalgamation of two features: an aesthetic and the term 'core'. #Cottagecore, the homely trend synonymous with puff sleeves, gingham and wicker baskets, is the perfect example of this combination. While these '-core' trend monikers help to package and create buzz around a trend, the fashion items and details that underpin it often have a longer history which can be tracked over time to better understand the trend's commercial relevance.

Fashion Week Streets / Yuhan Wang / Tanner Fletcher

Pulling inspiration from places such as catwalks and cultural shifts, the use of predictive analytics can help to better understand the origins of these viral trends. WGSN's predictive analytics tool TrendCurve+, which leverages over five years of historical data to better predict trends, forecasted the prairie blouse, a #Cottagecore staple, to grow 1.1ppt YoY into S/S 24 within the US women's woven tops mix.

Throughout the onset of 2023, online conversations pertaining to an array of various 'core' trends saw 1.5ppt growth, reaching 2.4% penetration of social conversations YoY.

#Core aesthetics social mentions over time

WGSN's proprietary data suggests that conversations surrounding fashion 'cores' have gained momentum in recent years. Social mentions surrounding '-cores', including the outdoorsy #Gorpcore, vibrant #Barbiecore and aquatic #Mermaidcore are all contributing factors. In addition to social, data points across search, retail shelf, catwalk shows and consumer sentiment are combined to better understand the evolution of these trends. TrendCurve+ forecasted the performance jacket, a style synonymous with #Gorpcore, to grow by 1.1ppt YoY into S/S 24 within the US men's jacket mix.

S/S 23 'core' aesthetics: performance review

WGSN's proprietary data showcases which aesthetics were front of mind across social media throughout S/S 23.

#Mermaidcore on the catwalk: David Koma / Louis Vuitton / Denzil Patrick

Online conversations surrounding #Mermaidcore - aligned to #AquaticGlam, one of WGSN's Key Trends for 2023 - saw 0.3ppt growth, reaching 0.3% penetration of total online conversation YoY, while #Cottagecore reached 0.5% penetration.

Winter season 'cores'

As temperatures drop and the A/W fashion seasons approach, one question remains: what colder weather 'cores' will begin to take shape?

"Mixing a subversive and rebellious spirit with feminine undertones, #GothLite themes gain momentum across youth, influenced by subcultures and driven by a desire for escapism in a world of uncertainty," says Marina Giustino, a strategist at WGSN.

#GothLight on the catwalk: Chopova Lowena / Alessandra Rich / Christian Dior

Although it may be too early to be considered a 'core', online conversations surrounding 'goth' aesthetics have grown 0.2ppt since 2021 and reached 0.8% penetration throughout 2023, making a strong case for gothcore to earn a spot on the trophy mantel for viral 'core' trends.

'Goth' aesthetic social mentions over time

The future of 'cores'

#Gothcore's momentum hints at the longevity of other aesthetics. According to WGSN's Youth Culture Strategist Elizabeth Tan, " 'Core' aesthetics will continue to be part of Gen Z's vernacular. The use of suffixes such as -core, -ification, -pilled and even adding 'girl' to trends will be integrated into their slang handbook."
WGSN data helps to anticipate trends ahead of the curve. Speak to our team to get more predictive analytic insights: request a WGSN demo today.

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From #Cottagecore to #Gothcore, what the data says about the rise of 'core' aesthetics

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From #Cottagecore and #Barbiecore to #Gothcore, WGSN analysts take a data deep-dive into the rise of 'core' aesthetics, the beloved trends that people are talking about right now, where they began and what's coming up next.

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SYKY Collective Unveils New Luxury Platform Bridging Digital And Physical Fashion

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Alice Delahunt and the SKYK Collective at its London Fashion Week launch.
SYKY

SYKY the luxury incubator founded by Ralph Lauren and Burberry alum Alice Delahunt has unveiled its new fashion platform and revealed the first wave of its SYKY Collective of digital talent.

The platform aims to spotlight emerging global digital designers, offering them the ability to showcase their work while enabling users to discover, curate, trade, and share their digital collectibles.

It will feature exclusive drops, from its roster of digital designers and also from established fashion houses. Drops will include both digital-only items and physical one-of-ones. It will additionally host a secondary marketplace for the trade of digital assets.

"Consumers already live in both physical and digital worlds, and the SYKY platform is both a testament to that fact as well as a call to action for the entire fashion industry," said Delahunt in a statement.

"We're focused on building a world with blended realities, built on-chain, that gives consumers new ways to express themselves through fashion while championing the global talent we believe will lead the luxury fashion houses of the future."

On Friday, to celebrate the launch, SYKY partnered with the British Fashion Council for a showcase event during London Fashion Week. During an introductory speech, Delhunt cited established physical fashion designer Mary Katrantzou as a precedent.

She said that, at the start of her career, Katrantzou, who is known for her digitally created prints, had taught herself Photoshop, using her mouse as a paintbrush.

"It's not some dark dystopian vision of the future," she said of digital fashion, "it's democratizing access to this industry."

She added that the SYKY collective designers lie "at the vanguard of digital design" harnessing "skills from VR sculpting to AR garment visualization to create footwear accessories and apparel."

In incubating and promoting its designers, Delahunt hopes they can transition to becoming leading luxury fashion houses of the future. SYKY closed a $10.5M Series A in January.

Sunw

The first SYKY Collective member to drop on the platform is Sunw, a London-based label from Chinese designer, Fanrui Sun who sets out to push the boundaries of textiles and fabrics in spatial environments.

Her collection features two components, two digital pieces in runs of 20 apiece and a 1:1 physical handbag that comes with a digital collectible. Delahunt notes that Sun's 3D printed bag made of electroplated resin "perfectly encapsulates her fluid understanding of our hybrid world," and anticipates that it will "set a precedent for bridging physical and digital fashion."

Other SYKY Collective members attending the launch and whose collections are incoming include Felipe Fiallo who showcased a 3D printed rainboot.

"It works with gravity and your weight," he told me. "I created a lattice inside that works as a molecular structure based on nature and created a system with polygons that create a cushion, closing the molecules around the foot for a perfect fit."

Unlike a sneaker, it's not a system of air, he said, "it's a system of cells with microscopic holes through which the air passes via the outsole."

Other initiatives in the space include The LVMH Innovation Award, which acts as a conduit for creating and accelerating collaborations between LVMH Maisons and promising startups and Web3 fashion accelerator program, the Farfetch X Outlier Ventures Dream Assembly Base Camp which launched last year, and is already in its second cohort.

MORE FROM FORBES Leading Artists Tapped By SYKY Digital Fashion Incubator, Including Gucci NFT And Snapchat Alumni MORE FROM FORBES LVMH Innovation Award Winners Announced At Viva Tech: Circularity, AI, Web3, Louis Vuitton NFTs

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SYKY Collective Unveils New Luxury Platform Bridging Digital And Physical Fashion

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SYKY will feature exclusive drops including both digital-only items and physical one-of-ones. It will also host a secondary marketplace for the trade of digital assets.

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CLO Virtual Fashion and Epic Games Together Invest in the Future of Digital Fashion

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CLO Virtual Fashion and Epic Games Together Invest in the Future of Digital Fashion

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CLO Virtual Fashion, a global leader in digital garment solutions and the developer of CLO and Marvelous Designer, and Epic Games, the developer of Unreal Engine, today announced that the companies have purchased shares in each other.

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Industrialising Circularity: A Vision For The Fashion Industry

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Industrialising Circularity: A Vision For The Fashion Industry

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Fashion has reached the stage where sustainability commitments must urgently translate into change in the core industrial processes that bring products to market. How will we measure progress? And is the ghost of perfection paralysing the potential for action?

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My ideal career would be a creative director position at a design house. I would love to start out working for some smaller designers I have followed for a while such as Collina Strada, Chopova Lowena, Paula Conovas Del Vas, and some others. I’ve found that I don’t really follow big brands such as Louis Vuitton, Diesel, Chanel, Burberry, etc. I just don’t find as much inspiration or resonate much with the style. However I would love to work for ACNE studios, because I value their artisan approach to the fashion industry. Another larger brand I am inspired by is JW Anderson I think he is an incredible creative director and find his work ethic captivating.

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JW Anderson on creativity and social conscientiousness in a crisis

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Jonathan discusses his practice on “rejecting detached fashion” and how fashion is more than clothing- it goes hand in hand with current real world problems. Just as anything, fashion is impacted by the surrounding environment and should therefore be shaped and evolved by it. Jonathan Anderson believes it’s important to use fashion as an outlet to shine light on these social/environmental issues, without turning a blind eye. Anderson also highlights how Gender-neutrality is not a trend, rather a constant reality. Its time we realize how the changing world will and is already shaping the new age of fashion.

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JW Anderson on creativity and social conscientiousness in a crisis

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“I reject detached fashion – how can you go through a pandemic and turn a blind eye to it?”