‘Cottagecore’ and the Rise of the Modern Rural Fantasy“田园风”与现代乡村幻想的兴起

安妮塔·拉奥·卡希 译/彭励田 审订/唐伟胜

A few weeks into lockdowns everywhere， a curious thing happened on Instagram feeds. More and more， they filled with images of pretty cottages adorned with climbers and flower-laden trellises1， soft-focus sunbeams streaming through dense foliage， dappled2 wooded pathways and earthy mushrooms growing in abandon， tea tables and picnics in shaded gardens near gurgling3 streams laden with homemade sourdough4 bread and scones5， soft cotton dresses with smocking and embroidered with strawberries and butterflies... part surreal， part escapist fantasy from the horrors around， and partly about taking control. The phenomenon had a hashtag—#cottagecore. It’s a trend that has slowly become the standout aesthetic of the year 2020.

As an aesthetic that romanticises the return to traditional bucolic6 attributes， cottagecore lays heavy emphasis on a mix of rural self-sufficiency and delicate décor， with a heavy dose of nostalgia. Ironically， for all its emphasis on the rural idyll and anti-modernity， it is largely played out on the internet—on Tumblr， Pinterest， Instagram and Facebook. The latter has at least a dozen pages dedicated to its various aspects.

At its heart， cottagecore hinges heavily on modern escapist fantasies， and posts are full of foraged mushrooms， long billowy dresses， gingham tablecloths， baskets of wildflowers， sourdough bread and mossy terrariums. There are babbling brooks surrounded by woodland， snails， beeswax candle-making， delicate doilies， farm animals， forest bathing and rustic simplicity.

“Cottagecore is all about the outdoors， slow living and often includes country houses. It’s a warm， cosy community full of nature， growing your own foods， spending time with pets， picnicking in the garden. Think Anne of Green Gables meets The Secret Garden，” says cottagecore practitioner Lucy Blackall， whose surroundings in Oxfordshire in the UK encompass the ideals of countryside living， and tie in perfectly with the cottagecore aesthetic.

Cottagecore， which is related to other nostalgia-driven aesthetics like ‘faeriecore’， ‘farmcore’ and ‘grandmacore’， has been around since 2018. However， in 2020， its popularity soared. Take Tumblr， where the hashtag #cottagecore saw a 153% jump in use while the number of likes for cottagecore posts rose by a staggering 500%.

By presenting isolation and staying home as romantic and even aspirational， does the cottagecore trend help make lockdown a less scary prospect？ Singapore-based artificial-intelligence company Quilt.AI—which uses AI to glean insights into human behaviour—recently analysed more than 300 Instagram posts with the hashtag cottagecore， and concluded that the top emotion was creativity （28%） followed by affection （19%） and solitude （10%）. It also studied 1.5 million unique searches across platforms of 2019 and 2020， and discovered nearly a 30% increase in search interest for gingham clothes and ‘milkmaid’ style.

Anthropologist and Quilt.AI co-founder Angad Chowdhry says cottagecore is indicative of a desire for simplicity and anti-modernity. “It is the equal and opposite reaction to the contamination7， helplessness and incoherence of our contemporary mise en scène.” Quilt.AI’s analysis also revealed that while a slew of wholesome， earthy symbols such as flowers， leaves， bees and mushrooms were generously used， the top emoji was that of sparkles signifying magic and wonder， and hinting that cottagecore holds a lot of meaning as a fantastical paradise.

Rural tranquillity

While cottagecore might have increased on social-media platforms， it has a more rooted sibling in homesteading， a lifestyle based on self-sufficiency and subsistence agriculture. The concept saw a resurgence in the 1960s and 70s but subsequently went below the radar—only to re-emerge in recent years， with hipster8 undertones， as proponents advocated adapting renewable energy technologies and growing heirloom vegetables， even if they didn’t necessarily live in rural locations.

Earlier this year， a new book， The Women’s Heritage Sourcebook was published， describing homesteading as “a lifestyle of self-reliance and sustainability， characterised by home gardening… and even the small-scale production of textiles， clothing， and craftwork.”

“It seems the pandemic has made some people consider the value of making their own goods [which] they maybe hadn’t thought about previously，” says Lauren Malloy， co-author of the book. “Maybe [it was] the disrupted supply chain or maybe it was slowing down and more time at home to explore homesteading or maybe both. Now is a great time to think about self reliance and some of the old， traditional skills that previous generations would have had.”

A big part of cottagecore and a return to traditional ways is about making clothes and sewing， as evidenced by the profusion9 of prairie-style dresses and aprons embroidered with natural motifs such as mushrooms， sprigs10 of flowers and butterflies posted on many of the social media platforms. In fact， practitioners not only design and sew their own whimsical dresses but also model and retail from their accounts. And then there are adjacent activities that could range from home-embroidered berets and bags to eco-printing and designing shawls， quilting patchwork blankets， and sharing knitting and crochet11 patterns.

And underlying the aesthetic is also a strong affinity to environmentalism， which ties in with attributes like self-care and thriftiness. “In our fast-paced society，” says Lauren Molloy， “the process of making， doing， feeling connected， has virtually been eliminated. We love the thought of slowing down， feeling connected and having the experience be meaningful”.

各地实行封闭措施几周后，照片墙的推文中出现了一个奇怪的现象。人们越来越多地开始分享这样的图片：美丽的小屋装饰着攀缘植物和布满鲜花的格架;柔和的阳光透过茂密的树叶;林间小径光影斑驳;大地上蘑菇恣意生长;潺潺小溪旁，花园树荫下，茶桌和野餐布上摆满自制的酸面包和司康饼;柔软的缩褶棉布连衣裙，绣着草莓和蝴蝶……这些图片既有一种超现实的风格，也有一种逃避恐怖周遭的幻想，还有一种希望掌控大局的意味。这种现象有一个标签——田园风。这种潮流逐渐变成了2020年最突出的美学运动。

田园风给传统乡村特征的回潮赋予了浪漫气息，这一美学尤其强调乡村的自给自足和精致布置的相互融合，带有浓厚的怀旧色彩。讽刺的是，尽管强调田园牧歌和反现代性，但田园风主要在互联网上流行，包括汤博乐、拼趣、照片墙和脸书等。脸书上至少有十几个页面专门介绍田园风的各个方面。

从本质上讲，田园风很大程度上源于现代逃避主义式幻想。网上帖子中满是野采的蘑菇、飘逸长裙、方格桌布、野花篮子、酸面包和苔藓微景观生态瓶。有森林环抱的潺潺小溪，有蜗牛、自制蜂蜡蜡烛、精致饰垫、农场动物，还有森林浴和乡村的质朴气息。

“田园风意味着户外、慢生活，通常还有乡村房屋。在一个温暖舒适又充满自然气息的地方，食物自给自足，与宠物共度时光，在花园里野餐。