Corp-core, the latest in a string of sartorial core-isms—gorpcore, balletcore, bowcore—is both avant-garde and everyday. At one pole, shepherds hail Kate Middleton as an emblem of the trend. The Princess of Wales dons sophisticated separates in an approachable yet polished manner. A wide-leg trouser with a simple sweater. A floral dress with a crisp pump—no doubt, of the nude pointed-toe variety. The classic pairing of a blazer and a t-shirt pervades most style tendencies, but isn’t that just…clothing? The true heralds of today’s corporate core movement torched the business-chic silk blouses and bootcut trousers in lieu of shabby ties and deconstructed suiting. Essentially, the irony is not lost on them.
Givenchy Hourglass Coat, $4,600, Givenchy Raven Slingback Pump, $995, Givenchy Pearling Silvery Crystal Earrings, $570; Givenchy.com
“Inspiration from tailored, professional dressing in fashion is nothing new,” says Shopbop fashion director Caroline Maguire, “but I think the rise from the bottom up is helping provide the trend with a more unique aesthetic, combining high-fashion’s exaggerated classics with a well-known uniform. What makes the trend fun is that it goes all the way, lending a bit of camp to the looks we’ve seen on social and in street style.” Of course, the tropes persist in more straightforwardly on the runways at Michael Kors, but in collections like those of Raul Lopez at Luar, we see them subverted with hulking shoulders adorned with slinky ties.
Ironically, it both calls to attention and pokes fun at day-to-night dressing, depending on who you ask. “Being able to dress for both a midday meeting and an evening cocktail hour is ideal for those on the go,” Maguire adds. “The trend is sophisticated by nature, but can always be dressed down to feel more casual, such as layering a blazer over a t-shirt—which I love!” Matter-of-fact. We all have to do it, right?
Alexander McQueen Jacket $ 3,990, Alexander McQueen Trousers $1,390; Alexandermcqueen.com & Alexander McQueen Soho (332) 214-7080; Christopher John Rogers Shirt; Simplicite Earrings; Porte & Paire Loafers
The elephant in the room: Gen Z is entering the workforce for the first time, but not in the manner most did throughout prior decades. They will likely spend more time unmuting their Zoom boxes than chatting at the water dispenser. “A shirt and tie wouldn't have been considered subversive 10, 15 years ago,” posits Laura Reilly, founder and editor of the fashion shopping newsletter Magasin, “but with the last of the corporate workforce largely freed of their dress codes since remote work became at least partially the norm post-covid, the building blocks of ‘business formal’ can take on new meaning.”
As Maguire notes, “The business-core trend is not necessarily new to the fashion world, but it’s showing back up in a fresh, new way.” The ‘80s saw women entering the workplace in droves, and a corresponding Working Girl power dressing aesthetic took hold of the runways. The “girlboss” nature of the 2010s championed the millennial pink cocktail of blazers, skinny jeans, and stilettos. Today, it’s a little more, well, fucked up, to say the least. The youths of today started their first job after a lockdown—can you blame them?
“Trendy young professionals who are in the office for the first time want to dress work-appropriate without compromising style, so we’re seeing more of our office-ready pieces jump off the site!” For the first-timer, Maguire proposes “incorporating and mixing new fabrics, novelty embellishments, and silhouettes to help make your business basics less bland.” For the advanced student, a tie, a backpack, and Salomons take this concept a step further.
CELINE by Hedi Slimane: Tommy Jacket in Checked Cashmere , $4,350 USD, Cambridge Shirt in Striped Chambray Cotton, $1,300 USD, Marco Jeans in Soft Lambskin, $3,250 USD, Medium Victoire Bag in Supple Calfskin, $3,850 USD, CELINE Jogger Low Lace-Up Sneaker in Calfskin & Suede Calfskin, $870 USD; Vehla Eyewear Sunglasses; Simplicite Earrings
“I do think power plays a role in it,” continues Reilly, of the more ephemeral take on the idea. “There is so much turmoil in the world constantly shown to us on our screens that we are unable to change on an individual level, and taking on the persona of the deal-crushing, check-signing, change-making Wolf of Wall Street can instill a sense of having control.”
On TikTok, corp-core is made possible by ties borrowed from Dad and Carhartt khakis. No one is reinventing any wheels here; just twisting it up a bit. “The rise of cop-core is a really interesting case of fashion remaining defiantly the same while the world changes around it,” Reilly adds, “the inverse of how style typically leads the culture forward.”
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