| How did a word that stems from the French language (it is derived from the word cœur, meaning heart) come to be so prolific in fashion? In fashion terms, a core is a trend. But it also goes beyond the clothes, describing an aesthetic, encompassing everything from music to moods. The beloved gen Z Aesthetics Wiki page currently features 149 cores, from blokecore (think British football culture and 1980s jerseys) to witchcore, where tarot, crystals and vintage wedding dresses are key. The first use of the word core can be traced to the early 20th century. In the 1920s, “hard core” was used to describe people committed to a political party or political cause. Lynne Murphy, professor of linguistics at the University of Sussex, says during the 70s it was treated as “a bit suffixy”, with the use of the word softcore in relation to pornography. Fast forward to 2003 and the Oxford English Dictionary added it as a suffix. But things really took off in 2013 with the emergence of normcore, a catchall term for describing someone who wears “normal” clothes such as a fleece, dad jeans and New Balance trainers. 2020 was dominated by cottagecore (baking, crochet) following the pandemic lockdown. Greta Gerwig was to blame for Barbiecore, in 2023, while Zendaya in the 2024 film Challengers saw the emergence of tenniscore. There has also been goblincore (think mushroom motifs and mossy greens) corpcore (basically workwear), balletcore (ballet flats and wrap cardigans) and mermaidcore (long wavy hair and seaweed greens) For 2025, fishermancore (cable knit jumpers and lobster platters) is being championed. Murphy says the speed of the internet has encouraged the use of labels that set subcultures apart. “Portmanteau words and these kinds of nouveau suffixes – or combining forms, as they are often called in dictionary-speak - are a way to give things clever, descriptive new names that can be easily understood,” she says. It’s been five years since the word podcast was replaced with “audio à la demande”, but many French speakers still pepper the original anglicism into speech. Murphy credits the importance of the fashion industry to France for turning the focus to the word core but thinks the latest advice is unlikely to be followed. “If they use imported words, it could look like the French are following Anglo-American trends rather than making their own,” she says. “But, of course, we also know that such decrees about language are often ineffective.” | 