Fashion is all wrapped up with a certain girlhood-coded, tied-and-tested coquette motif: the bow. From dominating the catwalks of fashion month, to adorning every corner of street style, fashion has bowed down to the power of the bow. But how did we get here?
If we’re talking bowcore, we’ve got to talk about balletcore, Sandy Liang, and the shift towards girlhood in fashion. Balletcore pirouetted its way to popularity last year, with Miu Miu setting the barre high for satin ballet flats. Its FW22 runway pair became an instant hit, and of course, featured bows.
All brands have their signatures, and Sandy Liang has doubled down on hers. Featuring on everything from dresses to shoes, SS24 saw the brand construct entire bags as one giant satin bow – held loosely in models’ hands and trailing down the runway in what some called the most opulent accessory of fashion month. The Sandy Liang Effect has trickled through to countless other brands, such as Simone Rocha and Molly Goddard, with the bow motif constantly re-tied to become one of the biggest trends of the year.
Part of this is in its ease of replication. Find a spare inch of ribbon lying around, tie it to your bag, in your hair, or even your keys, and you’re a part of bow-mania. It’s kitsch, it’s campy, it’s girlhood, and the bow trend shows no signs of unravelling any time soon.
Are you as bound up in bowcore as we are?
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