VAGUE THREADS speaks to Nadine Feller about the gender-positive resistance that is cottage core, and the diversity problems therein…

Last week, I posed cottage core as a portal into multi-dimensional existence: that one can be an influencer, make money, lay in a field in a vintage dress too. This may sound silly as I assume you are well aware women are, in fact, real and complex beings. But think back to riot grrrrls wearing slip dresses and docs in the 90s, or stars making headlines simply for wearing trainers with their gowns on the red carpet… it’s still a shocker when we exist as well-rounded characters outside easily digestible stereotypes.

Cottage core is where an online community of queer folks, and rule breakers step out of this capitalist mess and into a gorgeous, floral, pink ruffled picture. Challenging female expectations and the binary, and making it look fucking good too.

To offer more personal insight, I invited the iconic cottage core influencer, Nadine Feller (@nadiiife to her 60k Insta followers) to share what this style means to someone who actually wears it on the daily.

In your own words, could you tell us what you do as a cottage core creator & how you got into it?

Nadine: I always liked vintage clothes and remember going on a lot of thrift hunts with my mom when I was younger, though I didn’t have the courage to wear what I truly wanted back then. My style developed when I graduated from school and started studying. From then, on my self-esteem grew and I soon started posting my outfits on Instagram. I didn’t know about cottage core at the beginning until someone posted the term under my posts — that’s where I found out that the aesthetic I liked had a name. I then started posting a lot of nature and cottage core fashion content. After a while, my style developed into embracing my natural curly hair and I also started posting cottage core-related hair content and somehow also became a cottage core beauty and hair influencer. 

How do you feel wearing this kind of style? Is it a daily thing, or more of a special moment to dress up this way?

N: I love this style so much, and got used to people staring at me. I feel like my style also has become a way to express my personality & character, so I enjoy wearing it on a daily basis.

I find it interesting that such a nature-focused subculture exists so strongly on social media, which is kind of the opposite space! How do you navigate the conflict between this dreamy, escapist style and the fact that you need to make money from it in your work?

N: This topic really is a big issue in the cottage core community because money obviously doesn’t grow from trees and I feel like many influencers struggle with that subject because talking about money and getting paid from brands isn’t as transparent as it should be. So many Influencers who don’t have a lot of information about that topic don’t get paid at all, or too little, because they don’t know the value their work has. Moreover, I used to only focus my work on nature and cottage core but realised really quickly that I have to mix it with broader topics, which is in my case music and beauty, to build more sustainable income streams which allow me to keep on doing and sharing what I love. 

I see cottage core as a form of escape and rebellion; do you agree? If so, why do you think people are longing for this kind of escape?

N: Yes, I totally think so too. I feel like the pandemic created the will and urge to step out of the basic/ loud city life and escape into nature to find inner peace. I think that there will always be a group of people that feels overwhelmed with how people are supposed to live and want to get out of that. In our century it’s called “cottage core“ and in another “escapism“ or “hippies”… so maybe it’s some form of a cycle that will never stop?

I personally see this hyper-femininity as reclamation and celebration of femininity, but I know some people think it can be frivolous, or even kind of backwards. I’d love to know if you feel that it is empowering and political, just for fun, or both?

N: For me, it’s just for fun and a form of expression but I know that there are quite a lot of people in the cottage core community that have a really traditional mindset that I totally don’t share. I’m always happy to see diverse and people from the LGBQTIA+ Community embracing their unique cottage core style and way of living. I also think that cottagecore is not only a feminine way of expression but has a wide range of sub aesthetics that also fall into the cottagecore category, which celebrate a more “masculine“ way of dressing. I like to remind my followers every once in a while that I like the vintage/cottage core aesthetic but for no means share any vintage values . 

I also believe cottage core has a huge diversity problem: lots of the images I saw throughout my research were slim white women, as is the case with a lot of trends & subcultures even if that’s not where they originated from. I was wondering if you have any observations or thoughts on what could (and should!) be better?

N: Yes that’s totally an issue! I can count on one hand the amount of Black cottage core influencers that I know and I hope that more POC will find and get into that aesthetic because representation matters so so much. I got told really often as a kid that I can’t play or be a fairy because I don’t look the way a fairy looks. I also remember someone telling me that I can’t wear pink because it doesn’t fit my skin colour. Maybe that’s the reason why it took me so long to embrace this kind of aesthetic.  

I feel like POC or Black people are often put into stereotype boxes, while white thin girls with blonde hair and blue eyes are seen as angelic beings, and that’s a super big problem - and also the reason why it’s really hard to find POC and Black people in these kinds of aesthetics. We were never allowed to truly express ourselves and had to hide what we truly liked because otherwise, we had to deal with hateful comments.

I also think the media plays a huge role plays, especially movies, shows, advertisements, books etc and the way Black people are represented in them. Imagine giving a Black girl with natural afro hair the main role in a princess/fantasy show or movie. It would make such a big difference for Black people who got told that they can’t be or dress that way because of the way they look. 

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As is unfortunately the norm, our methods of escapism, reclamation and celebration always tend to leave people out. And with feminism, too often is it Black women having their experiences invalidated or left out of the discourse entirely. It’s a shame to see the same reflected in an escapist fashion trend, but hopefully with influencers like Nadine out here, opening up such a beautiful style to everyone, the tides will begin to change.

credits

voice — nadine feller

words — daisy riley

design — sâde popoola