Selvedge Magazine - issue 121

As this issue goes to press, memes about being “mindful and demure” are flooding the internet. But kawaii, the Japanese culture of cute, arguably a cousin of demure, has held a paradoxically strong cultural presence for decades, incorporating the non-threatening traits of shyness, embarrassment, vulnerability, darlingness, and lovability. It is a significant influence on social media – driven trends, with a reach that rivals Cottagecore and Coquette. Visitor numbers at Cute, an exhibition that explored the extraordinary and complex power of cuteness in contemporary culture earlier in the year at Somerset House, testify to this popularity. The cute aesthetic that drives a protective instinct over babies and small dogs has been commercialised to the point where it “reduces price sensitivity, which makes us happier to hand over money,” suggests Rhik Samadder in the Observer. The recent sold-out Selfridge’s popup installation, Jellycat’s Fish & Chips London Van, where a full “meal” costs around £200, proves this point.

In this issue, we explore the phenomenon from a textile perspective. Cute has a set of identifiable characteristics, one of which is scale. A fascination with small and childlike miniaturisation is seen at its zenith in Queen Mary’s Dollhouse, mini-me mother-and-daughter dressing, and the slippery softness of petroleum plushies. Jonathan Faiers chronicles the evolution of faux fur from its origins in Titus Salt’s experiments with brushed alpaca at the Saltaire Mill in Yorkshire to the Unreal Fur x Sans Beast collaboration, inspired by Where The Wild Things Are. Cute takes different forms in different regions and can be represented in the familiarity of folk culture, Latvian mittens, Scottish bonnets, and Mexican piñatas.

Polly Leonard

Editor Selvedge magazine

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