coquette aesthetic
{{Short description|Fashion trend}}
File:Marie_Antoinette,_from_Leaders_series_(N222)_issued_by_Kinney_Bros._MET_DPB872310.jpg, an inspiration of this aesthetic]]
Coquette aesthetic is a 2020s fashion trend that is characterized by a mix of sweet, romantic, and sometimes playful elements and focuses on femininity through the use of clothes with lace, flounces, pastel colors, and bows. It often draws inspiration from historical periods such as the Victorian era and the 1950s and 1960s, with a modern twist.{{Cite web |date=2024-01-19 |title=¿Qué es el estilo coquette? |url=https://www.lanacion.com.ar/salud/mente/que-es-el-estilo-coquette-nid19012024/ |access-date=2024-01-19 |website=LA NACION |language=es}}
Significance and history
The word coquette is a French word, meaning flirtatious. The aesthetic gained popularity on Tumblr in the early 2010s{{Cite news |last=Sandhar |first=Jasmine |date=2024-02-04 |title=Coquette: Why the TikTok trend is more than just cute bows |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-68055142 |access-date=2024-02-07 |work=BBC |language=en-GB}} and TikTok around 2021,{{Cite web |last=Lores |first=Alexandra |date=2022-03-21 |title=Coquette Aesthetic: la tendencia que arrasa en TikTok y que mezcla evasión, historicismo y feminidad impostada |url=https://www.vogue.es/moda/articulos/coquette-aesthetic-tendencia-tiktok |access-date=2024-02-05 |website=Vogue}} but has roots in earlier feminine fashion trends including Japanese Lolita fashion, and is often compared to other aesthetics such as Balletcore, Cottagecore, and Princesscore.{{Cite web |last=Kumamoto |first=Ian |date=2024-02-02 |title=Gen Z has fallen in love with the coquette aesthetic but it's not all ribbons and bows |url=https://www.timeout.com/newyork/news/gen-z-has-fallen-in-love-with-the-coquette-aesthetic-but-its-not-all-ribbons-and-bows-020224 |access-date=2024-02-07 |website=Time Out New York |language=en-US}}
This aesthetic has been characterized as both a way to relive and express creativity through childhood fantasies, and a way to "fully escape into...femininity without feeling guilty about it," while ultimately being "self-aware and playful". It allows strong women to also see themselves as feminine and delicate, moving away from the previous stereotype that female empowerment leads to masculinization. Simultaneously, the coquette aesthetic seeks to defend femininity without sexualization, and to celebrate things that were once a source of ridicule or were demonized. Just as it happened in later times during the French Revolution, when society condemned maximalism and the exaltation of the feminine clothing of Marie Antoinette to move on to silhouettes closer to men's fashion, the same occurred with the coquette aesthetic that moved away from the power suit of the 1980s{{Cite web |date=2019-03-18 |title=The Importance of the 1980s Power Suit |url=https://www.per-spex.com/articles/2019/3/17/the-importance-of-the-1980s-power-suit |access-date=2024-01-19 |website=PERSPEX |language=en-GB}} and the newest aesthetics of oversize, tomboy core and military core.{{Cite web |date=2024-01-19 |title=¿Qué es el estilo coquette? |url=https://www.lanacion.com.ar/salud/mente/que-es-el-estilo-coquette-nid19012024/ |access-date=2024-01-19 |website=LA NACION |language=es}} Proponents of the aesthetic argue it can be understood from a disruptive non-heteronormative interpretation.
Criticism
The coquette aesthetic has been critiqued for reproducing damaging gender roles for women and for its potential appeal for the male gaze. At the same time, the aesthetic primarily derives from "French culture and outdated notions of European femininity," and online images related to this aesthetic almost always portray thin, light-skinned women, which can exclude women who have less hegemonic characteristics. Other criticisms of the coquette aesthetic have also drawn upon similar stances that criticizers of the Lolicon media genre have made, which have stated that the coquette aesthetic as a product of its inspirations and style could result suggestive and problematic in regard to pedophiles.{{Cite web |last=Roman |first=Iustina |date=2022-01-20 |title=The Dark Side Of Coquette |url=https://cherwell.org/2022/01/20/the-dark-side-of-coquette/ |access-date=2024-01-24 |website=Cherwell |language=en-GB}} Defenders of the aesthetic affirm that the use of bun, laces and pink-colored clothing should not assume a revictimization for women and these aesthetics are not responsible for misogynistic aggressions.{{Cite web |last=María |first=Ita |date=2024-01-20 |title=COQUETTE: hiperfeminidad, infantilización, culpas y prejuicios. |url=https://volcanicas.com/coquette-hiperfeminidad-infantilizacion-culpas-y-prejuicios/ |access-date=2024-01-24 |website=Volcánicas |language=es}}
Inspirations
Among admirers of the coquette aesthetic, inspirations include Victorian, Edwardian, Regency, and Rococo fashion and aesthetics. Pieces of media that serve as inspiration include the novels of Jane Austen and the Brontë Sisters, Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita, Sofia Coppola's films The Virgin Suicides, Marie Antoinette, and Priscilla, {{Cite web |date=2024-01-18 |title=¿Qué significa "Coquette"? Estilo y memes de la nueva moda en tendencia |url=https://www.marca.com/mx/trending/2024/01/18/65a8becf268e3ea33e8b45a2.html |access-date=2024-01-19 |website=Marca México |language=es-MX}} Netflix's Bridgerton, Melanie Martinez’s 2019 film K-12,{{Cite news |date=2024-02-04 |title=Coquette: Why the TikTok trend is more than just cute bows |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-68055142 |access-date=2024-12-28 |language=en-GB}} and Greta Gerwig's 2023 film Barbie.{{Cite web |last=Garcia |first=Luz |date=2024-01-17 |title=¿Qué significa Coquette y cómo llevar la tendencia de los moños rosas?: La guía Vogue |url=https://www.vogue.mx/articulo/coquette-aesthetic |access-date=2024-01-19 |website=Vogue |language=es-MX}}
The American singer Lana Del Rey is also considered an icon of this aesthetic.{{Cite web |date=2024-01-17 |title=¿Qué es coquette, la moda que 'amenaza' a la aesthetic? |url=https://www.elfinanciero.com.mx/entretenimiento/2024/01/17/que-es-coquette/ |access-date=2024-01-19 |website=El Financiero |language=es}}