MARRKNULL AW23 JUNGLE
Fortunately, or unfortunately, what you wear always sends a message. Whether that message is ‘I don’t give a fu%&$§k, I’m on my way to the supermarket’ or ‘Look at me, I am bloody fabulous, Sweetie, and don’t you forget it’, the clothes that you wear are not only a signifier of your own personality, how conformist, non-conformist, lazy, highly-motivated, creative or not you are, but they also speak to the time and culture in which you are purely existing in.
I say all of this because recently I haven’t been able to stop thinking about the frayed, medieval fashion-meets-denim-clad 2000s influences,
Britney Spears circa 2005
that have merged and given birth to a new spawn hybrid that could very aptly be coined ‘Zombiecore’ fashion. If you, yourself are not a Zombiecorist, you are probably familiar with the look. And whether you love it, hate it, or don’t quite get it, it’s beside the point because it is happening/happened, and, most importantly, it’s saying something about all of us.
Skip to How It Ends
Zombiecore, as the name suggest, is about the end. It’s post-apocalyptic fashion drawing on tribal and medieval influences,
Onset costume of a medieval maiden
a moment in history when the many were oppressed by the feudal few before the much-thirsted-over ‘Renaissance’ made its debut. The word "Renaissance," meaning "rebirth," refers to a time when there was a renewed emphasis on humanism, individualism, and the exploration of the natural world. The period saw significant advancements in fields such as art, literature, science, philosophy, and politics, marking a transition from the medieval period to the modern era. So, basically, ‘not that’ is what is happening right now.
Unlike its medieval step-uncle, Zombiecore diverges from its predecessor by bringing gender fluidity to all those earthy tones, tribal prints, synthetic materials, denim, and layering. There’s a lot going on in this ‘core’ trend, but is it any wonder? Idly click through any form of news and media these days, and on comes a barrage of cataclysmic information, good enough to make any sane person want to flee into the woods, sob for the next 24 hours straight, and then start their own anti-'whatever that thing I just saw is' tribe.
Whether you think of clothes as fashion, or you think of them as just clothes, or whether you are deeply conscious of what you wear and put on your body, fashion trends, much like all other forms of art and popular culture, are emblematic of the time in which they appear. And if Zombiecore could talk, it would be saying, ‘your feudally rooted ancestry is fugly and your post-apocalyptic current situationship is a fruit salad gone wrong.’
While the Dark Ages, the early medieval period, may have been called such because it was a period of political instability, economic decline, and social disruption following the fall of the Western Roman Empire, it also wasn’t all doom and gloom. The electric beauty and connection between people and the land, agriculture, nature, and the value that was placed in community are not only something to be admired but also a gentle nod to us all today, reminding us of the aspects of our future that are worth embracing, whether you're a Zombiecorist or not.
Blog written by: Marijana Jocic