In 2026, normcore will continue to thrive The appeal of having a normal life continues to conquer social media

In recent months on TikTok, a trend has been taking shape that looks more like a stance than a simple aesthetic and goes by the name of having-a-life-core, which connects to the norm-core trend from earlier this year. An imaginary that overturns the idea of being constantly busy, unattainable and high-performing, bringing back to the centre a real life made of slow time and everyday moments in clear opposition to hustle culture.

The expression having-a-life-core was coined on TikTok by creator Jayne, who detected a clear shift in how life is perceived today. No longer the detached party girl of the early 2000s, but someone who looks like they just came out of a ceramics class; no longer the career-driven person all gym and office, but someone heading to a hike or filling their week with small ordinary rituals. The idea is no longer just to be, but, in some way, to “live”.

Goodbye indie sleaze, hello jeans and T-shirt

To understand this shift in focus, we need to look to the past. In the late 2000s, being cool coincided with the idea of minimal effort. According to RUSSH, the It-girls of the time, from Kate Moss to Paris Hilton, were enviable precisely because they seemed to do nothing with «smudged eyeliner, indie sleaze hair, and an aesthetic of disinterest». Today, that same “doing nothing” is no longer aspirational, as creator Jayne observes. The pandemic forced everyone to stay still, with two years of immobilisation, sweatsuits, Zoom calls and banana bread that turned idleness from a status symbol into a symptom. The parameters have shifted, and now it’s more interesting to be seen doing something.

This shift is reflected in fashion too. The rise of gorpcore a few years ago had already anticipated the trend, transforming technical trekking wear into an urban element. Now, having-a-life-core wants to go further. It’s no longer about a single outfit being central, but rather the possible habits and hobbies that shape the clothes. References include shots of Mia Goth on the set of MaXXXine wearing an oversized shirt, wide trousers and Birkenstocks, or Natalia Dyer being photographed while walking her dog in a sweatshirt, soft jeans and red headphones.

To an untrained eye, they seem like insignificant looks — the usual candid shots of celebrities holding coffee and wearing pyjamas. But inside this imagery lies an economic truth. In fact, RUSSH notes that on one hand the cost of living is rising and economic capital is becoming more distant, while on the other hand cultural capital is once again becoming a marker of status. So hiking, reading, going to concerts, having hobbies and routines become a new form of symbolic wealth.

Luxury for Gen Z is experiential

This aesthetic emerges, as previously mentioned, in response to the toxic narrative that the only way to have value is to be constantly productive and always growing — the personification of extreme capitalism. But after pandemics, wars and recessions, the trend among young people is moving elsewhere.

A Deloitte study shows that 77% of people have experienced burnout at work and 42% have left their job due to mental exhaustion. And Gen Z, as we know, is starting to reject this logic. For younger generations, endless work is no longer a desirable goal — what they aspire to is an optimal work-life balance, and in this context, having-a-life-core increasingly resembles a political statement disguised as an aesthetic choice.

An oversized technical jacket, comfortable trousers and Birkenstocks communicate something very clear: «I have a real life outside the screen», outside the office, made of routines, hobbies and relationships. In short, it’s very likely that in 2026, at least in appearance, we will see more relaxed people, with more comfortable clothes suited to real life compared to the terrible routines that start at 4 a.m. with a cold shower and gym session, only to end by bragging about working late at the office.