Normcore is a blend of the words |normal and hardcore (in its sense of unwillingness to change your opinions, behaviour etc.), and was coined by New York trend agency K-hole in 2013. The word is an interesting example of how, in the digital era, the language community at large can quickly latch onto a particular word association and thereby perpetuate a meaning which is in fact quite different to what was originally intended. In the midst of the term’s exploding popularity, agency K-hole have been at pains to point out that normcore was not just about clothes but more about behaviour – the idea that an individual adapts to situations and adopts the normal characteristics of where they are and who they’re with, an emerging culture in which there’s less forced individuality and more fluidity in an attempt to connect with others. This appears to have got confused with K-hole’s earlier concept of Acting Basic, which refers to dressing simply and neutrally in order to avoid standing out.