Demure, brat, cottagecore, coquette. These are the trends that have marked the last year of fashion to such an extent that they have been chosen by two famous dictionaries, Oxford and Collins, as the symbol words of 2024. However, rather than sounding like accurate definitions, they seem like empty containers of already-known meanings. Let us analyse them one by one so as to understand what they represent
by Domenico Casoria
Before going into details, it must be said that the word of the year is not about fashion, but it could be useful to tell how trends work. For the Oxford University Press, in fact, brain rot is this year’s flagship word. Hence, to be included in the dictionary. But what does it mean? In a nutshell, it identifies the effects that the brain undergoes after hours and hours spent staring at the screen of one’s mobile phone. In other words, the dumbing down due to the social content we are passively subjected to.
Brain rot / demure
Brain rot is interesting because it tells the story of a phenomenon that is now rampant. But also because it puts us in a subservient situation in relation to the social media that fashion has learned to govern to perfection. Among the other words of 2024, in fact, we find demure. If you have a phone with a minimum internet connection, you will have heard of it this summer. The word is included in the phrase Very demure. Very mindful. It became famous thanks to content creator Jools Lebron, a trans woman from Chicago, who joked about how she presented herself at work. Just ‘in a very respectful, very demure way‘: literally, the translation of demure.
Brat
The Collins Dictionary, on the other hand, has elected brat as the word of 2024. It is practically the opposite of demure and was brought to prominence by pop star Charlie XCX on her latest album. It means, more or less, a rebellious bad girl who acts outside the box. It is worth pointing out that neither brat nor demure are neologisms. They are terms that have arisen thanks to social media but have been chosen to represent the year that is drawing to a close.
Cottagecore / coquette
We were talking about the way in which social subdues, lexically speaking, trends. These, however, are often born online, with brands watching to generate enough hype to go viral. Almost all the trends of recent years, in fact, appeared first on online platforms than on the catwalks. Mob wife, which describes the wives of thugs dressing up in leopard print fur coats, for example, has often been trending. The tag #cottagecore, concerning the desire for a return to a simple and natural rural life, on the other hand, appeared in more than 5 million posts. In its wake, brands such as Dior, Burberry, and Hermès took to it for inspiration. Not to mention coquette, from the French word for ‘coquettish’, which harks back to the ribbons, lace, and bows that characterise the style of Nabokov’s ‘Lolita’.
A mirror for larks
Leaving aside the polishing of the terms, however, one wonders whether the 2024 buzzwords are not just a mirror for larks. Sure, in 2024, describing someone as ‘coquettish’ would make one cry out in scandal. But are we pretty sure that ‘modest’ or ‘reserved’ still perfectly describes someone with a low profile? That we made up brat because ‘naughty girl who doesn’t play by the rules and does as she pleases’ was terrible? And that ‘tacky’ or ‘kitsch’ is better – or at least on the same level – than ‘mob wife’? There is food for thought. On one thing, though, we agree. We almost burnt our brains out.
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