Google released the results of its annual A Year in Search survey on Tuesday, revealing the most searched-for terms of 2014. Highlighting the most Googled person (Jennifer Lawrence, followed by Kim "Break the Internet" Kardashian) to most Googled red carpet dress (Rihanna, duh), it's basically a revelatory peek into what the internet hive mind cares most about.
So what was the most Googled fashion trend of the year? Normcore dominated the search engine requests this year. Presumably everybody was Googling it because they had no idea what it was. Over the past year, the disputed term has come to denote everything from stonewashed mom jeans, white socks, Larry David's wardrobe and Gap's "Dress Normal" advertising campaign.
When the trend first took off, forecasting agency K-Hole – which coined the phrase – told us that everybody had got normcore totally wrong. It's all about having a hyper-adaptable personality and being able to fit in wherever you are, as opposed to a conscious aesthetic choice. Unfortunately, this still didn't stop everyone from Vogue to Gap from associating it with deliberate blandness and white Adidas Stan Smiths.
In second place for most searched-for trend? Health goth, another trend that is currently being contested by the Facebook group that came up with the term and other interlopers looking to cash in and make it all about gym freaks who listen to Bauhaus. Athleisure comes in at number three.
Check out the full list below:
Top 20 Fashion Trends
1. Normcore
2. Health goth
3. Althleisure
4. Wearables
5. Crop tops
6. Designer collaboration
7. Over-the-knee boots
8. Full skirts
9. Culottes
10. Mules
11. Street style
12. Capes
13. Mesh
14. Tartan
15. Fashion sneakers
16. Mod style
17. Suede
18. Iridescence
19. Embroidered denim
20. Velvet
