#6

SEAMS

Y2K...2Os?
MEET KIDCORE, THE FASHION TREND BORN OUT OF ESCAPISM

All aboutvv what’s on

the rack or in your
wardrobe.

KIDCORE
IS THE WHOLESOME INTERNET
AESTHETIC INSPIRED BY CHILDHOOD
YOU’VE HEARD OF COTTAGECORE, With its tendency towards throwback styles of
we’ve written about clowncore: now there’s the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s, it has a little overlap
a new trend in town, and it’s likely you’ve
already adopted it, whether you’ve heard of it
or not.
Kidcore is its name, and unabashed child-
with the ongoing Y2K revival. But according to
Agustina Panzoni, Trend and Category Manager
at Depop, the key difference is that kidcore “is all
about carefree fun and comfort”.
like fun is its game. The trend has gradually “Tapping into childhood nostalgia, this aesthetic is
emerged over the past few years, cropping characterised by a bold rainbow colour palette and Ment, con rem inimi, eost
up here and there on runways and in street playful pattern clashing. Driven by comfort, colour, ante officii scillesciis
style, finding its way into the masses via our and enjoyment, you can dress it up or down while
social feeds. You’ll have seen it yourself in the looking and feeling as carefree as a child,” she told
vibrant beaded necklaces donned by the likes BAZAAR.
of Dua Lipa and Bella Hadid; the polarising
high-fashion revival of Crocs in recent years
(remember the Balenciaga collab?); even in
that internet-breaking patchwork knit JW
Anderson cardigan Harry Styles wore for a
Today Show rehearsal back in 2020.
While it’s been percolating in the collec-
tive fashion mind for a few seasons now,
if anything, the trend is only gathering
momentum — Depop has seen searches
for “bright” and “bold” pieces up by more
than 40 per cent since the beginning of
the year, with tie dye also up by 42 per
cent, Crocs recently spiking by 32 per
cent, and beaded necklaces up by 24 per
cent month on month.

“Designers like Moschino have celebrated

the kitsch items we grew up with, includ-
ing bags shaped like McDonald’s fries,
school lunchboxes, and cartoons like
Spongebob,” notes Panzoni. And Jeremy
Scott, while the most obvious example
wear runway, models donned colourful and
loose-fitting tie-dye, crochet, and macramé;
and during the same fashion week, Comme
des Garçons referenced Mickey Mouse.
Up-and-coming creatives and designers
have embraced the trend too, with pandemic
success stories Lisa Says Gah, Hope Macaulay
and Lirika Matoshi all finding their emerging
labels taking off in the height of 2020’s chaos.
And what did they have in common? They all
exhibited the signature styles of kidcore.
For Lisa Says Gah, founded by Lisa Bühler,
it’s about pieces that are cute and quirky, like
checkerboard trousers, comfy overalls and
colourful patterned knits — which has led to
a loyal Gen Z following, Olivia Rodrigo in-
cluded. Hope Macaulay, a young knitter from
Northern Ireland, found widespread acclaim
with her ethically produced and texturally
delightful chunky, pastel-hued knit garments,
which have been donned by the likes of Gigi
Hadid and Spanish singer Rosalía. Kosovo-Al-
banian designer Lirika Matoshi also clearly
takes the kidcore route with her playful de-
signs, including the ubiquitous “Strawberry
Dress” which became a viral sensation circa
August 2020.
Inner child work is a popular approach to therapy used by many practitioners, as it
offers the chance to not only address the unmet needs of childhood, but also for us to
rediscover the side of ourselves who is “the beholder of our sense of wonder, playful-
ness, and curiosity”, explains senior counsellor Geetu Vanjani, a fellow practitioner at
Indigo. So could it be possible that the kidcore trend has emerged as a fashion-inspired
way to reconnect with that younger, more boundless self?
“Kidcore appears to be a trend that inspires individuals to express themselves through a
sense of curiosity, play and wonder, which are key components of connecting with our
So what was it that caused such a surge in interest for nostalgic, inner child,” Vanjani tells me. “Having an avenue like fashion that advocates expression
can be a way to give ‘voice’ to the part of our inner child that embodies the qualities of
childlike pieces in 2020 and the years that have followed? It’s no
curiosity, wonder and play both in an individual sense and as a shared collective.”
coincidence, that’s for sure. Frankly, it goes without saying that
this recent era has been traumatic — and when you face a world Kronental also theorises that part of the attraction of kidcore could be the eras it so
clearly references: “As Kidcore is inspired by kid culture of the ‘80s, ‘90s and ‘00s, there
in constant turmoil, you turn to that which comforts you. Fash-
may also be a sense of comfort in reminiscing about an era before social media. The
ion-wise, for most of 2020, that meant trackies and cosy jumpers. realities of living through a pandemic and global warming [have] made the world feel
But as we emerge into a ‘post’-pandemic world, we’re taking that like a more chaotic, insecure place,” she explains.
desire for comfort with us in a broader sense, opting for pieces
“At a time when being ‘an adult’ means facing some looming existential questions about
that draw out our inner child, sparking joy on the go. the state of our planet and the systems that govern our lives, the tendency towards
wearing clothes that evoke a sense of playfulness, and perhaps even offer some form of
‘escapism’, makes sense as a way of coping.”
We know that fashion trends and our personal styling choices
have connections, conscious or subconscious, to psychology. But
with kidcore, that connection seems to run deeper — we’re liter-
ally invoking our child selves to seek out a sense of comfort in a
tumultuous world. And according to a pair of practitioners from
The Indigo Project, a progressive online therapy practice, this is a
natural reaction.
“Revisiting childhood memories can help us reconnect with our
inner child by evoking feelings and experiences from the past that
may have been forgotten or overlooked,” says senior psychother-
apist Dafna Kronental. “In the current context, connecting to our
inner child through ‘kidcore’ fashion may inspire a sense of com-
fort and security during an otherwise challenging time. Embody-
ing this or other parts of self that feel more innocent, creative and
alive, may offer an opportunity to shift the ‘stuckness’ or anxieties
felt in everyday life to help us cope in a climate of change and
unpredictability.”
 Piendebi squisto cuscipi cidunt omnis modipis sus estio. Ut plis res

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