Britpop, Ladcore, Brexit?

Geri Halliwell’s custom Gucci Union Jack dress has been one of the most well known celebrity performance outfits globally. And in recent years, the term ‘britcore’ and its use in reference to fashion has increased in a much needed attempt for British nostalgia. However it could be argued that if this moment is recreated by a British performer today it could come across as completely ignorant. In a country where immigrants are progressively less able to enter the country, is this sense of fashion promoting British citizenship and status? In other words, is fashion in Britain becoming a little too literal? 

Considering the current popularity in colours red and navy blue, in patterns of stripes and gingham, it seems impossible to escape any resemblance to the British flag. In many ways this britcore fashion seems to be Gen Z’s attempt at reclaiming British culture and pride of it, but the origins of this sense of style actually stem from music. Britpop, the 90s music revolution of the UK, brought bands like Oasis and Blur center stage. Bands whose whole look was based on being utterly British and unapologetic for it, especially as the bigger they became the more they represented the country and they knew it. 

Equally however, britcore dealt with bands the majority of whose members were White, British men of a certain persona. These bands were known for being loud, argumentative, and ready to pick fights. Their identities were based on effortless attitudes to sex, drugs and music. I.e. these men represented the ultimate ‘lads.’

And in order to look the part, their outfits were carefully curated to give off the ‘I don’t try’ and ‘I’m put together’ vibe, so if model off duty was translated to ‘blokes.’ These bands picked from a range of sport brands like adidas, kappa, ellesse as well as high-end British brands like Fred Perry, Burberry, and other brands like Lacoste and Stone Island. Think football shirts, think denim, think over the top trainers. Naturally, becoming such an accessible look for men and young teens, it was easy to embody these icons, hence how britpop birthed the ladcore trend and by extension, the concept of britcore fashion. 

Now, it all seems a little far-fetched to then tie this all to Brexit I know. Britpop dealt with bands who grew up in 80s working class environments as opposed to the stereotypical ‘Tori’ upper class families. However, the whole ‘lads culture’ personality could be argued to be one of the most disrespectful sociological phenomena, with the National Union for Students defining lad culture under sexist, homophobic and racist behavioural attitudes and speech. The latter being a result of an extremely whitewashed culture group which has created such hatred towards marginalised groups. Lad culture has promoted a mindset of rape culture, toxic masculinity and ‘casual’ racism & xenophobia. So, naturally dressing according to the key figures and pioneers of this British subculture lends itself to the idea that the wearer is a supporter of these behaviours?

And now in 2025, 5 years on from Brexit’s officialization, the influx of immigrants to the UK has been on the decrease, with a Net Immigration of -95,000 of  EU citizens alone in 2024, as according to the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford. And it is certainly predicted to follow a downwards pattern the more restrictions are enforced after 2025, meaning Britain has been globally tied to anti-immigration and British identity is now believed to embody this xenophobia. 

Of course, Brexit does not represent every British citizen’s beliefs or attitude towards immigrants, however this sudden acceptance of britcore fashion does not help fight this stereotype. In a recent article by Charlie Colville titled ‘(Un)Suprisingly Biritsh Design Was the Top Trend at London Fashion Week’ it appears that London Fashion Week’s biggest export was traditional British heritage fashion, showing this infiltration of both Brexit exclusion and Britpop mindset into the fashion industry. And although every country’s national citizens will tend to dress under a similar, country-branded style, in an age where British identity is actively pushing away other cultures and nationalities, is this style something we want to promote?

British cultural identity has always been a controversial topic to navigate as a country backed with centuries of colonialism, slave trade and active cultural appropriation, but this does not necessarily have to carry onto the modern population and yet this is what is happening. Unfortunately there are not many sensible ways of promoting British culture without promoting certain historical values, and in today’s world it seems there is no safe way of promoting Britpop without promoting Lad culture and by extension the racist overtones that have embodied the whole Brexit movement. The Union Jack has many different connotations than it did only a few years ago. Hence, Britpop, Ladcore, Brexit!