goblincore
{{Short description|Subculture and aesthetic centered around goblins}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2022}}
File:Still life with animal skull and vases.jpg
Goblincore is an internet aesthetic and subculture inspired by the folklore of goblins, centered on the celebration of natural ecosystems usually considered less beautiful by conventional norms, such as soil, animals, and second-hand objects.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nylon.com/fashion/goblincore-internet-aesthetic-fashion-clothes-cottagecore|title=Goblincore Is The Cottagecore-Adjacent Internet Aesthetic That Celebrates Comfort|first=Sara|last=Li|website=Nylon |date=December 23, 2020}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/dy8nw7/goblincore-aesthetic-essentials|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210325073349/https://www.vice.com/en/article/dy8nw7/goblincore-aesthetic-essentials|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 25, 2021|title=The Essentials of Goblincore, a Subculture of Faeries, Frogs, and Nonbinary Folks |first=Mary Frances "Francky" |last=Knapp |website=Vice |date=March 24, 2021}}{{Cite news |first= Cortney |last=Moore |url=https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/tiktok-goblincore-fashion-trend-mainstream-attention|title=TikTok's goblin-inspired fashion trend gains mainstream attention |date=Mar 25, 2021|work=Fox News}}
Aesthetic
File:Grandpa Sweater full pattern H&M.jpg
Second-hand and thrifted clothing feature prominently in the fashion of goblincore, often emphasizing comfort and brown, green, and clashing colours. The aesthetic often features idealised imagery of natural creatures such as snakes, frogs, snails, and earthworms; animal skeletons and rocks; plants and fungi like ferns, moss, and mushrooms. Journalist Sabrina Faramarzi has stated that the subculture is about "chaos, dirt and mud."{{Cite news |first=Ellie Violet |last=Bramley |url=http://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2021/jul/30/goblincore-fashion-trend-embraces-chaos-dirt-mud|title=Goblincore: the fashion trend that embraces 'chaos, dirt and mud'|date=Jul 30, 2021|work=The Guardian}}
Proponents of the subculture have also been noted to collect shiny objects, similarly to folklore goblins, such as silverware, small jewelry, and coins. The subculture has been described as connected to maximalism and escapism.{{Cite news |url=https://mashable.com/article/goblincore-feral-aesthetic-tiktok-tumblr|title=Goblincore's feral coziness will get you through the rest of the year|first=Morgan|last=Sung|date=Oct 26, 2020|website=Mashable}}
Alternative names also used for the subculture include crowcore, dirtcore, cottagegoth, feralcore, gremlincore, and mushroomcore.{{Cite web |url=https://citizenside.com/lifestyle/what-is-goblincore/|title=What is Goblincore: Celebrating The Wild, Dirty, and Ugly |first=Danica |last=Granado |date=Dec 4, 2020 |work=CitizenSide}}{{Cite web |date=2023-01-26 |title=Explaining Goblincore: The Feral Fashion Trend Celebrating Frogs, Goblins, Dirt and Mud |url=https://cosmicdrifters.com/explaining-goblincore-the-feral-fashion-trend-celebrating-frogs-goblins-dirt-and-mud/ |access-date=2025-03-23 |website=cosmicdrifters.com/ |language=en-GB}}
History
Goblincore is believed to have surfaced in online communities in the late 2010s, particularly on Tumblr and TikTok, with Amanda Brennan stating that it "started picking up in spring 2019 and hit full steam in 2020 as people stumbled upon it during the pandemic." As of July 2021, the goblincore subreddit had 19 000 subscribers, an increase of 395% from July 2020. E-commerce company Etsy reported a 695% increase in searches related to goblincore in June 2021.{{Cite web|url=https://www.gq.com/story/the-style-tribes-of-tiktok|title=The Style Tribes of TikTok |first=Cassidy |last=George|date=May 7, 2021|website=GQ}}
Reception
The subculture has been described as anti-consumerist, with Mashable writer Morgan Sung stating that "in a maximalist goblincore home, decor is found or built, not bought." It has also been noted as having a significant number of LGBT+, and specifically non-binary, proponents, with a common catchphrase being "no gender, only bugs".{{Cite web|url=https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2021/03/10353481/core-aesthetic-fashion-trends-tiktok|title=From Cottagecore To Goblincore — What's Your TikTok Fashion Aesthetic?|first=Emily|last=Ruane|website=Refinery29 |date=2021-03-10}}
Some have described the subculture as a darker companion to cottagecore, with Faramarzi stating that "goblincore is cottagecore for those that actually spend time in nature, who know that nature is not sunlit wheat fields but gnarly forests and chaotic animals".{{Cite web|url=https://mycottagecore.com/goblincore/|title=A Complete Guide to Goblincore |author=Danielle |website=My Cottagecore |date=2021-04-29}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/what-is-cottagegoth-36835933|title='Cottagegoth' Is Cottagecore for People Who Don't Want Spooky Season to End|website=Apartment Therapy |first=Ella |last=Cerón |date=2020-10-28}}