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Cottagecore is also popularly known as Countrycore and Farmcore. Cottagecore fashion is rising rapidly on social media. It has emerged as a cultural movement that outlines the local craftsman’s innovative skills, craft design, and the rural lifestyle.
Early signs and mentions of Cottagecore were first seen on platforms like Tumblr and Instagram. These social media platforms were filled with mentions of pastoral scenery, including rural life or countryside, which is how Cottagecore got its name.
Thanks to social media influencers on platforms like TikTok, Cottagecore fashion reached global heights in 2019. Nowadays, whether it’s Instagram, Pinterest, or Tumblr, Cottagecore fashion can be seen everywhere.
Several facts and reasons prove why this style will be big in 2022, but first, it’s imperative to know what Cottagecore is. So, let’s start.
Cottagecore is a fashion-based aesthetic style inspired by the glamorized farm, rural, or countryside lifestyle. However, Cottagecore extends its specialty beyond aesthetics, styles, and dress, as it triggers the existence of other rural and rustic notions of society. Overall, Cottagecore fashion revolves around the harmony-centric simple lifestyle with nature.
“As a notion, Cottagecore fashion symbolizes the proposition of an uncomplicated and feasible lifestyle that is in consonance with nature. Artistically, this fashion lifestyle inclines to the long-established English countryside romance, style, and nostalgia.”
The conceptualization of Cottagecore resembles the impulse to lead a simple, harmonious, and quiet life, away from any modern technological stress-causing activities. It’s more about the coziness at home. And, dressing up as Cottagecore and living a lifestyle like that has become a trend in 2022.
Cottagecore fashion is nothing but the repetition of one of the many movements obsessing about the coziness and countryside lifestyle over the past few years. However, this fashion lifestyle has remained a precise online movement via pictures and captions from suburban bedrooms and cluttered apartments. Today, Cottagecore fashion and aesthetics can be found everywhere. Apart from the social media channels, big media houses like the New York Times had also recently published a great article on Cottagecore, labeling it a “budding aesthetic movement.”
There are several reasons why this fashion lifestyle has become so popular and will gain some more traction over the next few months of 2022. Some of them are mentioned below.
When the world suffered the global pandemic and underwent quarantine globally, individuals shifted their interest to explore purpose and desire beyond economic life. The world realized how it would feel if there were no big cities, technology, fashion giants, and pollution.
This is the time when movements like Light Academia, Dark Academia, and most importantly, Cottagecore fashion started to gain popularity for leading such a simple, countryside lifestyle. Abruptly, after spending so much free time at home, individuals had started to dress simple again.
Imagine gardening in the backyard all while engaging with traditionally-inspired fashion projects like embroidery and knitting. In a flash, Cottagecore fashion emerged as the standout aesthetic of 2021-22. During the lockdown period, Cottagecore fashion turned out to be a way of doing something aesthetic and adorable amid all the chaos in the outside world.
One of the true experts from Tumblr, Amanda Brennan, said that “whenever there’s some increase in the cases, there’s a hike in Cottagecore along with it.” There was a 153% increase in the use of Cottagecore hashtags and a 541% increase in the likes on Cottagecore posts during the beginning of the pandemic.
However, with changing seasons, the contents also change. For instance, simple and peaceful at-home activities like embroidery and cooking were popular in April. However, in June and July, the popularity shifted to twee picnics, sunny wildflower fields, and such.
Cottagecore fashion comes with an environmental aspect too. Several Cottagecore followers appreciate the righteousness of thrifting, second-hand shopping, cooking, and growing vegetables. They’re also supporters of sustainable fashion movements, handmade craftsmanship, and ethical manufacturing.
Cottagecore as a subculture follows the slow, peaceful, and more pensive lifestyle. Even before the lockdown, fashion brands had started to use the aesthetics of contentment in advertisements, aiming to make people feel warm and safe. There’s no doubt that capitalism will find its way to commercialize the movement. In that inclination, “having enjoyment” no longer resembles having a night out with friends but a boho dress, a vegan leather handbag, or a Cottagecore blanket.
With so much anxiety worldwide, it’s not shocking to see multiple cultural movements having the central idea of self-soothing: fancy mattresses, Animal crossings, organic skincare, slime, ASMR, weighted blankets, and more. For instance, when Taylor Swift released her Folklore album, which includes a rustic cardigan as official merchandise, social media saw a hike in the use of Cottagecore hashtags on the same day.
Kai Chow, the creative director of the Doneger Group, a design consulting firm in NYC, shared some fascinating details. “Nowadays, the interior design industry is experiencing the latest biggest trend of bringing the outdoors indoors. In the lockdown period, people wanted to be closer to nature and feel it.”
Compared to all the reminiscence-based subcultures, the Cottagecore movement is different. This movement has an open association with progressive politics and queer people. Also, mini signifiers over the internet are exhibiting these relations. For instance, one of the famous identifiers online in 2022 is “Cottagecore lesbian.”
Also, in the world where frogs are approved as lesbians, Globlincore has become a famous term among nonbinary individuals. Now, coming down to the Cottagecore fashion aspect, it has become crucial for those who do not stick to fashion stereotypes based on gender.
A 16-year-old California-based individual named Evienne Yanney says that she explored Cottagecore on Instagram at a certain point when she started to doubt her dressing sense. As a lesbian who believes that some part of the world isn’t ready to accept her for who she is, adopting the idea of Cottagecore fashion felt “soothing” to her.
Several social media channels with Cottagecore accounts consist of hashtags and posts about “Black Lives Matter” or similar social justice concerns on their bio or profile. “Compared to other conservative movements like ‘Trad Wives,’ Cottagecore introduces a sight of domiciliary delight without subjugation in the conventional binary framework,” says Isabel Slone through the columns of New York Times.
However, several Cottagecore adherents showcase dissatisfaction with the expectations and roles given to them in a heteronormative world. The majority of the Cottagecore community disapproves and rejects the heteronormative gender roles and responsibilities and desires to alleviate the traditional life stereotypes from past culture and aesthetics.
This is the primary reason why Cottagecore relishes niche popularity among the LGBTQ community, especially with bisexual and lesbian people. In their opinion, Cottagecore fashion is a movement where individuals have the right to express their queerness in a countryside or rural space, opposing the homophobia of many who reside in the countryside.
Although the Cottagecore aesthetic is not a well-planned political agenda with stated leaders or goals, plenty of discussion around Cottagecore is political. Most individuals associated with the Cottagecore movement pinpoint an ideology that addresses the reorientation of society.
Cottagecore adherents share a contrasting lifestyle to modern life, regardless of their political diapason. Although several Cottagecore followers have a moderate view of life, the movement is condemned for several things it stands for.
Secondarily, the Cottagecore movement is related to directly hostile political groups. Both groups have an absolutely different viewpoint on life, regardless of the shared resentment of modernism. On one side, the LGBTQ community believes Cottagecore is a movement that enables people to showcase their queerness in a backcountry.
On the other side is the escalating Cottagecore community demonstrating hostility to modernism on the basis of conservative value loss. For instance, TradWife members often use Cottagecore aesthetics like memes, fashion, and imagery to stimulate their views. This group assists in the rejuvenescence of conventional heteronormative gender roles of society. Also, the Eco-Nationalist and Eco-Fascist groups use the Cottagecore imagery to promote their eurocentric and western colonialistic views.
However, Cottagecore gets a lot of support and heat for romanticizing and stimulating the idea of a rural or farming lifestyle as a commemoration of colonial aesthetics.
Cottagecore fashion aesthetics mostly comprises embroideries, cross-stitch, and prints of flowers, gardens, forests, handwritten letters, poetry, farmhouses, old books, fairies, crowns, farms, animals, vintage pottery, cottages, open fields, and even tea sets.
Although inspiring, mesmerizing, and aesthetically appealing, the majority of Cottagecore outfits and apparel are inappropriate for types of farming or gardening work. However, a few most common Cottagecore clothing elements are floaty, loose-fitting, and flowing outfits and skirts, often resembling the housework wear from the 1900s.
This advent of a super appealing fashion lifestyle has led several apparel businesses to increase their production for more such clothes. With popular B2B manufacturing platforms like Fashinza, clothing brands can connect with the best suppliers to source the right materials needed for manufacturing Cottagecore outfits.
So, with the above-said points, it’s clear that Cottagecore fashion will emerge to be a big movement in 2022. Let’s be a part of this movement and rejuvenate the essence of the countryside lifestyle.
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