Fashion is a Joke: the rise of Jester Core

mocha mousse color of the year my ass

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Jester’s Privilege: The ability and right of a jester to talk and mock freely without being punished

A jester could insult the king should he make poor decisions or casually kill off someone who offended him. He had legal protection and permission to make such jeers, as his purpose was simply to entertain. Despite his comical profession, the jester had high status as an important member of the King’s Court.

This medieval concept quickly gained popularity online— 0 responsibilities? Yap without consequences? AND high social status?? Is that not the dream?! Well, Gen Z seems to think so at least.

The earliest TikTok I found mentioning “Jester’s Privilege” was in 2021, and the most popular from early 2023:

@korbydaze#stitch with @shane.duffy i love jesters privilege #clowntok #fypage

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And JP’s popularity has (sporadically) persisted:

Google Trends data for “jester’s privilege”

In King Lear, Shakespeare used the court jester or “Fool” for his unique permission to criticize the king. Martin Luther explicitly invoked the jester’s privilege in his criticisms of the Catholic Church. But come 2025, what’s the fascination with this 15th-century concept?

The most fun part of any trend is to ask—why? And— why now? So let’s play.

1. Politics

Jester’s Privilege seems especially fitting in our current political situation— should we liken king to president. We desire to mock and criticize our shriveled up clementine elect without fear of retribution. Or more generally (and less partisan), people desire to critique leadership and the government as a whole.

Dissatisfaction with the government is nothing new. However, there is a distinct fear of governmental power that pervades our country’s current mood. For example, I’ve seen:

• TikToks about deleting your period tracking app so that the government can’t use it as evidence against you to persecute you for getting an abortion.

• Talk of queer couples who are worried their marriages will become victim to take-backsies.

• And folks who are researching fleeing the country:

  

  source

Yes, these are extreme examples but you get the point.

I’m sure you could make a similar argument from the other side too but I’ve got less exposure to that. Exercise best left to the less liberal reader, eh?

2. Rebellion against corporate culture & the contextual banality of the 9-5

Jester’s Privilege also evokes a similar feeling to that of the “Personality Hire”— an sometimes mocked sometimes desired status.

Personality Hire:

“when a company chooses to employ someone primarily based on their personality, charisma, and interpersonal skills, rather than solely on their technical skills or experience, often prioritizing soft skills like communication and relationship-building over hard skills required for the job”¹

“Personality hires are often low performers in terms of output but are brought on [in] an effort to boost morale”²

@gennyfromtheblockkkkPOV: you’re the personality hire #architecturefirm #architecture

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Gen Z doesn’t wanna work. They’re here for a check and that’s it. They don’t take their jobs seriously. They’d rather be personality hires than actually contribute to company output. So stereotypes say.

Some generational stereotypes are nonsense, but this one? Makes sense enough to me. Yeah, maybe my 9-5 does seem silly given the impending doom of world-ending climate change. Or maybe I’m just cynical.

I think Gen Z just wants to have as much fun as possible at their silly little meaningless corporate job that will likely never provide them financial security anyways— $600,000 a year per that widely-circulated (questionable) survey. IMO, this disillusionment, in combination with the seriousness of current issues results in a lack of respect for traditional corporate grind culture. Jester’s Privilege encapsulates this mocking of such a supposedly sacrosanct institution

3. We want to be silly AND respected

To illustrate, let’s compare The Jester to its close cousin: The Clown.

Jesters make a fool of the audience while clowns make a fool of themselves. I.e., people laugh with jesters, not at them. Jester is a profession while a clown is a performer.

Our yearning for Jester’s Privilege represents our desire to be critical or to not take things so seriously while still remaining well-liked and socially acceptable. We want to have fun and be silly but not to be mocked.

Nor do we want to be feared—

Jesters also lack the scary connotation carried by clowns. Clowns are common figures in horror movies (IT, Terrifier, etc.). There was also the great clown scare of 2016. No such scandals exist for jesters (to my knowledge.

And of course, because fashion and politics and culture are inextricably tied, the obsession with Jester’s Privilege manifests itself in style trends too.

4. Jester Core is the natural progression of Minimalism, Quiet Luxury, Office Core, and Sad Beige Children

The fashion zeitgeist has a tendency to ping-pong between opposite aesthetics. The streets say “Maximalism” and “Indie Sleaze” will be the subsequent countermovement to our desaturated trend-scape. Personally? I’d bet on Jester Core.

goodbye goodbye, you were bigger than the whole sky 🕊️

Just as Jester’s Privilege and being a “personality hire” emerge in part as a rejection of traditional corporate culture, Jester Core rejects the serious, adult looks of 90s-esque corp core as well as quiet luxury and its muted smog. I mean, we are literally wearing greige trousers and blazers for fun right now. No wonder we’re eager to see a more playful take on fashion!

Furthermore, fashion is frequently aspirational. Jester Core teases an escapist fantasy where we’re no longer scared of shading The Man or being stalked by our generation’s concerning prospects. The aspirational lifestyle has thus shifted from being wealthy (i.e., Quiet Luxury) to living free of fear (Jester Core).

On the flip side, we might mention how Quiet Luxury, Office Core, and the like feel inherently conservative and law-abiding. It’s essentially dressing for acceptance by the rich and powerful. It’s leaning into tradition and actively not making a statement with what you wear. Granted, I say all this swathed in my cream lambswool sweater, “old money” gold jewelry, luxe ivory Uggs, and inoffensively blue Levi’s. What can I say, I’m nothing if not a textbook Gemini ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

And of course because fashion and $$$ are inextricably tied…

5. Yay Capitalism!

The more practical take on this trend might be that Jester Core is a response to the consumer’s growing wariness of ads and increased ability to tune out paid promotion.

But oh you silly consumer, where there’s $$$ to be made, corporations won’t back down— they simply pivot. Ads don’t die, they just adapt. Darwin would be so proud. A recent example of this is brands leaning into trusted micro influencers and infiltrating previously safe, peer-created content, e.g., TikToks and Substacks (vs. traditional large media, celebrity-infused ads).

The next evolution of ads then, is in the vision they sell you. And fashion kicks off this Capitalist show with a whimsical new look!

First came Jacquemus’s comically oversized IRL promos

@cultedOkay but @Jacquemus bag buses are the only traffic we‘ll tolerate 👜 🎥: @jacquemus #jacquemus #handbag #bags #bagtok #handbags #bagsoftiktok #luxury #bambino #purse #simonjacquemus #paris #ar #animation #vr #fyp

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Then came J. Crew’s butter sculptures to feed our collective hunger for butter yellow.

courtesy of @dimda

And from there, the jester-ification of marketing was history. As consumers learn to discern and ignore ads, corps try to appeal to consumers with playful and fully functional childlike content. Rather than eye-roll inducing, ads actually feel… clever?— often ridiculous in such a way that guarantees shares and virality.

And it’s working. I ate up those damn J. Crew butter promos.

I also want to briefly touch on a related pattern: BIG brands (J. Crew, Hermes, etc.) hiring out smaller artists to create ads for them. On the surface, it seems a great opportunity to recognize more niche creators. One logical leap further though, and it feels like giant corporations are trying to feign relatability and that cool, ethical, small brand energy because they know they need to distance their reputation away from mass production and fast fashion.

Jester Core at play in fashion

I’d say Jester Core in fashion is characterized by:

• Vivid, often primary colors

• Geometric shapes and patterns

• An oversized or ruffled collar

• References to toys and/or games

• Literal toys and/or games (from non-toy/game companies)

• Dogs

• Dog attire

• Childlike elements

• Literal children

• Cartoons and/or animations

• Silliness, fun, ridiculousness, and/or satire

J. Crew

is on top of their shit with clownish cashmere color galore, joyful embroidery options, and dogs in roll-neck sweaters that will warm both their hearts and yours.

a few of J. Crew’s post-butter posts

Now let’s bring in the actual Rubik’s Cube-solving, rainbow-striped children:

jcrew

A post shared by @jcrew

It’s givingggg

Shrimps x Reformation

references card games both explicitly— with its card-shaped ad, and implicitly— with its 3-of-diamonds emblazoned sweater. The pup model wears an overtly Jester Core ruff alongside his human model’s more subtle ruffle collar.

“ruff!” jests the ruff-wearing pup

My favorite part of this campaign though is the site’s cursor with a sparkly color-changing diamond hover trail. It’s the perfect blend of nostalgia with commitment to the Jester Core bit!

Madewell x Alexa Chung

attempts something similar to Shrimps X Reformation’s card-based campaign. IMO it’s not as fun. Does Alexa Chung really embody Jester Core? It’s cool, but feels a bit irrelevant.

see here:

madewell

A post shared by @madewell

and here:

madewell

A post shared by @madewell

Hermès

Hermès being Hermès has been on this choo choo train for a while now already. Their childlike animations come off cutesy and unserious, despite how serious a $10,000+ bag would be for most people.

hermes

A post shared by @hermes

hermes

A post shared by @hermes

Bonus points for the actual interactive game:

hermes

A post shared by @hermes

(click the posts for full effect^^)

Byredo

primarily leans into childhood callbacks and Jester Core colors as part of their Christmas campaign. Will the usually minimalist Swede brand keep playing this game post-holiday season?

Pinterest 2025 Predictions Wrapped

indirectly features Jester Core via a few of its distinguishing characteristics:

And more generally—

This year, “jester” emerged as a popular Halloween costume choice. Clearly, Jester Core is also ideal for the bloomer renaissance.

some Pinterest inspo for said costume

Checkmate

So… Are you game? Personally, I am. As someone who tries to not take things so seriously and to ~stay silly™~ I’m all for Jester Core.

Let’s take playing dress up and double it.

P.S. Real ones know the actual Pantone color(s) of the year:

P.P.S. from a fraghead perspective— it’s no wonder gourmands are so trendy, evoking memories of childhood sweets and fruity fragrances of BBW yore. We want frags that don’t take themselves so seriously. Complex doesn’t have to mean mature.

P.P.P.S Luigi would def be into Jester Core

1. Google AI (shhh it’s efficient, ok?)

2. Urban Dictionary