Balletcore, Barbiecore, normcore: the trends that shaped us

Know your gorp from your goblin among the trends of 2022.

Margot Robbie in the forthcoming Barbie film.

Every day, social media savants scroll through their TikTok, Instagram and Pinterest feeds, confronted with an ever-evolving cycle of pulpy aesthetic trends.

They may be small or large. Weird or understated. All-consuming or maybe just a blip on the culture radar.

But these trends – while seemingly insignificant – dominate the social media space for their allocated period, and offer a weighty impact to those who come into contact with them, changing the appearance of young people everywhere.

Who knows what this year will bring, but here is our wrap of the seven core trends of 2022 … and one syndrome. Read on.

Balletcore

For when LuluLemon doesn’t cut the mustard. The renaissance of Miu Miu’s coveted satin ballet flats probably has something to do with our obsession with this hyper-feminine, pseudo-athletic microtrend: wrap tops, bodysuits, ballet flats, leg warmers, and tulle in pale baby colours. On the runway, Simone Rocha and Molly Godard elevated the aesthetic to couture heights.

Barbiecore

Did this trend exist outside the unopened PR pitches in our inbox? According to Depop it did, after seeing a 93 per cent increase in searches for “Barbie Pink” last June. We can probably link the interest in Mattel Glam to the highly anticipated Greta Gerwig flick, Barbie, which will arrive in Australian cinemas in July.

Goblincore

Its 2021 incarnation was bucolic, nature cosplay rooted deeply in fantasy novels. Young people embracing the aesthetics of trolls, mud and shires – like cottagecore but a little more feral.

Then, in February last year, going “goblin-mode” was forged in rejection of the “clean girl” aesthetic and modern life’s self-optimisation prerogative. Goblin-mode is an ode to being the worst, most slobbish version of yourself.

Gorpcore

Gorp literally means “Good ol’ Raisins and Peanuts” – that is, hiking attire. Hiking boots, cargo shants (pants x shorts), utility vests and camo caps. The term originated from The Cut writer Jason Chen, who opened the door for young women to dress like middle-aged American men going on a hunting trip. If you see 20-somethings cloaked in Patagonia fleeces or snuggled into North Face puffers, you’ll know where it came from.

‘Main character’ syndrome

Not a trend but a state of mind.

Anyone who believes they are the most important person in the room. They are the centre of not just their own lives, but everyone else’s as well. It doesn’t depend what they wear but on their attitude while wearing it.

If they believe they’re the most significant player in any given group, their clothes will automatically be elevated by the “main character” vibes they’re emanating.

Normcore

While normcore originated in 2013, its 2022 renaissance was warmly welcomed by the denim-wearing, T-shirt-sporting middle class. To dress for normcore, you’ve got to become an everyman, wearing staple pieces, standard shapes and nothing too overwhelming.

But don’t be fooled: the point of normcore isn’t to blend in. It is to effortlessly choose a basic uniform that makes you stand out in a completely unattainable mundane chicness.

Rockstar Girlfriend

An extension of Indie Sleaze. Rockstar Girlfriend is in the DNA of all girls who spent most of their teens on Tumblr, cryptically flirting with boys through the lyrics of the Arctic Monkeys’ 505.

Rockstar girlfriends have been a fascination since the 1960s, the heydays of style icons and muses Anita Pallenberg and Marianne Faithfull.

But this TikTok trend is about the It Girls of 2000s indie: with Alexa Chung, Kate Moss and Camille Rowe as touchstones.

The aesthetic is silk slips, smoking, bleary liner-smudged eyes, and big Topshop furs, as immortalised in the television adaptation of Everything I Know About Love.

#ThatGirl

One of the most maligned micro-trends we saw last year.

#ThatGirl is into clean eating, she’s preparing celery juice every morning, her slick bun is devoid of strays, she’s practising (and documenting) daily mindfulness, she’s journaling daily affirmations, the length of her skincare routine is in the double digits.

We will never be her.