Alongside heart-themed jewelry and animal print flats, what trends have the sartorially skilled staff of Elle excited for fall? If this ABCs of Fall Fashion Trends list is to be believed, it’s a country well-known for its human rights abuses.
Yes, when it came to the letter “N” in the alphabetical list, Elle creative director Joe Zee appears to have been so thoroughly stumped that he just gave up and named “North Korea Chic” a trend.
Zee notes that North Korea Chic is a lot like military-inspired apparel, but is “edgier, even dangerous, with sharp buckles and clasps and take-no-prisoners tailoring.” (Never mind the fact that North Korea is actually quite fond of taking prisoners.)
To hammer home his point, Zee uses a pair of cropped camo cargo pants that cost $425, almost a third of what North Koreans are estimated to make in a year, and available only on the Internet, which most North Koreans citizens don’t have access to.