I've been calling it the Beige Era. From the way they dress, cut their hair, to the way they style their living space. It's copy and paste. It's terrifying. I don't get what brands get to win there if everything looks the same... Why buy your product and not a rival brand or all the dupes? But yeah, it's both annoying, sad, and worrying.
love this article but dear god the number of aesthetics that are being churned out every week is so exhausting ... what happened to the PERSONAL aspect of PERSONAL STYLE? wtf is gorpcore and blokecore and why are brands co opting internet lingo i hate it here
I really wish sometimes that brands would rise above it rather than feeding into it, and that consumers would also be more responsible in not flocking to these trends
Thank you for spilling facts, Dan! After 6 years in fashion, it’s wild how the same lesson still hasn’t landed: brands used to build culture — now they chase short-term sales spikes to boost margins, which only leads to warehouses full of unsold stock gathering dust.
The truth hurts! Everyone is still chasing short-term profits. A wise man once said, if you stand for nothing, you fall for anything. Brands give themselves agency to dicate the trends and let it happen naturally.
Great read, makes me think about the similarities in the music industry regarding over saturation in volume (of artists/music) and not enough quality control to let era/cycles breathe with consumers
Love this! I’m Harrison, an ex fine dining industry line cook. My stack "The Secret Ingredient" adapts hit restaurant recipes (mostly NYC and L.A.) for easy home cooking. Dm me if interested in a recommendation swap — we’re growing fast!
I share this perspective, but I have trouble understanding how making personal style mainstream works. The minute someone’s style is given attention, there goes the imitators. There’s a huge section of content that are just about recreating looks & styles. Moreover, has this ever really been achieved? Even during times when you can find less fast fashion and more seamstresses, there was an aesthetic and everyone dressed alike. Maybe it’s possible if consumers only* bought 1 of 1 items and/or customized everything they bought from big brands. That would give the fashion art back to the artists. Is that what you envision?
My goodness! I have not been on the Adidas website in a while but...a blokecore section? Yuk. This is a brilliant article Daniel, thanks for analyzing this.
I've been calling it the Beige Era. From the way they dress, cut their hair, to the way they style their living space. It's copy and paste. It's terrifying. I don't get what brands get to win there if everything looks the same... Why buy your product and not a rival brand or all the dupes? But yeah, it's both annoying, sad, and worrying.
The Beige Era™ is apt!
love this article but dear god the number of aesthetics that are being churned out every week is so exhausting ... what happened to the PERSONAL aspect of PERSONAL STYLE? wtf is gorpcore and blokecore and why are brands co opting internet lingo i hate it here
I really wish sometimes that brands would rise above it rather than feeding into it, and that consumers would also be more responsible in not flocking to these trends
Thank you for spilling facts, Dan! After 6 years in fashion, it’s wild how the same lesson still hasn’t landed: brands used to build culture — now they chase short-term sales spikes to boost margins, which only leads to warehouses full of unsold stock gathering dust.
The truth hurts! Everyone is still chasing short-term profits. A wise man once said, if you stand for nothing, you fall for anything. Brands give themselves agency to dicate the trends and let it happen naturally.
Everyone looks the same - feeling that on the running side of the equation too as everything flattens/chases to the same Satisfy-Bandit aesthetic
Couldn’t agree more! Every single brand, campaign, IRL event and so many different product categories looking very Satisfy/Bandit-coded
Great read, makes me think about the similarities in the music industry regarding over saturation in volume (of artists/music) and not enough quality control to let era/cycles breathe with consumers
Love this! I’m Harrison, an ex fine dining industry line cook. My stack "The Secret Ingredient" adapts hit restaurant recipes (mostly NYC and L.A.) for easy home cooking. Dm me if interested in a recommendation swap — we’re growing fast!
check us out:
https://thesecretingredient.substack.com
I share this perspective, but I have trouble understanding how making personal style mainstream works. The minute someone’s style is given attention, there goes the imitators. There’s a huge section of content that are just about recreating looks & styles. Moreover, has this ever really been achieved? Even during times when you can find less fast fashion and more seamstresses, there was an aesthetic and everyone dressed alike. Maybe it’s possible if consumers only* bought 1 of 1 items and/or customized everything they bought from big brands. That would give the fashion art back to the artists. Is that what you envision?
My goodness! I have not been on the Adidas website in a while but...a blokecore section? Yuk. This is a brilliant article Daniel, thanks for analyzing this.
Haha I was waiting for your response to this. Thank you so much for reading it, I’m
glad you resonated with it!🙏🏾