A band of cheerful, colorfully dressed creatures has emerged from the bowels of the earth—or Instagram—to re-invigorate the world of fashion. Dubbed “gnomecore” by pun-loving fashion columnists riffing on the 2012 “normcore” craze, you can spot followers of the trend by their laid-back style and jolly manner.
From actor Willem Dafoe to architect Gaetano Pesce and volcano explorer Maurice Krafft, gnomecore guys are proudly middle-aged, often bald, and full-bellied. Their clothes are homespun and rugged, yet fanciful—a style that offers a silly escape from the pressures of elfin beauty standards and demands of the human world.
