Babycore is the New Normcore
We’ve seen some absurd fashion the past few seasons, and with New York Fashion week around the corner, we can only expect to see more wacky trends hit the streets and runways. And among those, Babycore may be one to look out for.
Wait, Babycore?
Photo by Gunnar Larson
At its core, it is simply refashioning baby clothes into adult sizes. Artist Matt Starr coined the name after his mother tried to donate his old Gymboree onesies and colorful bibs, but Starr felt that they still served some purpose. Starr’s small collection of babycore clothes includes onesies turned into cozy sweaters, patchwork pants, and animated tops with alphabet block lettering. Though Starr takes the idea of children’s-wear literally, some designers have also added adolescent touches to their fashion.
Jeremy Scott’s recent women’s collections for Moschino have spawned children’s cartoons and toys—the designer sent models down the runway in cartoon Spongebob Squarepants dresses in his fall/winter 2014 collection and Barbie Doll girls in spring/summer 2015. Scott accessorized models with pacifiers for his own NYC label. The trend also popped up in the fall ‘15 menswear collections, where Agi & Sam created headpieces made from Legos.
Perhaps Starr’s nascent trend will score big with fashion followers, too. He’s already become a star on the rise in NYC’s art scene.
Photo courtesy of Matt Starr
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Since moving to NYC in 2013, Starr has been featured in PAPER Magazine (yes, the issue with Kim Kardashian’s ass), toured with A$AP Ferg as a creative collaborator, and has fashioned Miley Cyrus in an art project, which he calls “Diet;” a multi-media work that ranges from condoms to t-shirts to water fountains. Though “Babycore” deviates from Starr-dom collaborations, the artist still attempts to take his vision to the next level, promoting Babycore to become fashion’s new it trend—no, seriously.
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Will Babycore replace normcore? Yahoo Style caught up with Matt Starr to find out.
Photo by Gunnar Larson
Yahoo Style: How did you conceive Babycore?
Matt Starr: I once posed in a Louis Vuitton diaper made by the conceptual artist Bryn Taubensee. Between the diaper and my mom cleaning out the attic, she told me that I was regressing into a kid again. My response? “I wish I was!”
YS: Besides proportioning baby clothes to fit adults, what is Babycore?
MS: Babycore stresses childishness—this sort of bright, primary-colored, carefree sense of self. The spirit of Babycore is trend-defiant. It’s like, what did we do when our moms dressed us, before we were conscious of ‘cool’?
YS: So you’re really pulling for this to be the next it trend?
MS: Yes.
YS: Why should we embrace Babycore?
MS: I think it’s important to understand it as an attitude. I want people to embrace the essence of childhood and experience the total security that comes with not knowing—and not caring—what other people think.
Photo by Jerm Cohen
YS: Which celebrity would you like to see in Babycore?
MS: Ellen Degeneres. It’d be amazing to dance in matching Babycore diapers with Ellen!
YS: What’s next for Babycore?
MS: We’ve got more Babycore clothes coming, as well as food and soap. I’m doing an international call out soon, for people to send in picture of their baby clothes and the five best, we’ll make into Babycore.
YS: What does your mom think of Babycore?
MS: I got a message from her once that read, “Perhaps drop the Babycore—seems a bit much.” I don’t blame her for not getting it—I’m 26 years old! Most kids my age have “real” jobs and aren’t prancing around the Internet in their knickers and baby clothes.
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