Gen Z Is Driving Demand For Cottagecore Goods
Forbes | February 27, 2021
"Cottagecore" think floral fabrics, cozy sweaters, flowy layers, muted colors, ruffles and lace. This isn’t the 1980s, but an “anti-stress aesthetic”, explains online reseller Nadene Shearstone.
Gen Z consumers are the biggest fans and buyers of this aesthetic. “They care more about the story behind brands, clothing, and home accessories, so used and vintage finds from Grandma's house are extremely appealing,” says Jennifer Burt, founder and creative at Mississippi Maximalism.
Given Gen Z’s love of thrift shopping, where cottagecore goods are often in great supply, and the generation’s concern for reusing and repurposing, appreciation for cottagecore make a lot of sense.
Nowhere was cottagecore more evident than in online selling platforms like Depop, Etsy, Poshmark, eBay, and Mercari, says Shearstone, who sells on them all. The cottagecore hashtag is being applied to everything from clothing to bedding, to home décor, wall hangings, crafts and hobbies, gardening supplies, canning and baking.
And while Big Box retailers are starting to stock cottagecore goods, as with the cotton prairie dresses that stores from Target to Kohl’s to H&M are currently featuring, the aesthetic is really more vintage and worn than crisp and new.