Castle Core: How Armor and Medieval Aesthetics Are Making a Comeback in Fashion for 2025

In 2025, we’re seeing an increasing trend toward a medieval aesthetic. This trend has been dubbed Castle Core. We will try to understand why today we are attracted to the era of chivalry and through what elements of clothing and accessories this style is reinterpreted in modern fashion

 Castle Core is an aesthetic inspired by the era of castles, knights and medieval armor. This visual style is not just a nostalgia for the past, but an emotional response to the reality we live in. Against the backdrop of epidemics, conflicts and economic instability, modern people are increasingly intuitively drawn to symbols of protection and strength.

Castle Core reflects the dual need to be protected and to feel strong. The visual “shell” – be it a corset, elements of chain mail and armor, or a dense, multi-layered outfit – becomes a symbol of inner support.

The growing interest in medieval aesthetics also speaks to our collective nostalgia for something timeless, unhurried and sustainable, especially against the backdrop of hyperdigitalization and an overabundance of incoming information. Fashion offers a metaphorical armor in which to feel stable in a world devoid of clarity.

The emergence of a trend like Castle Core speaks to society’s need for escapism, seeking solace in the dreamy allure of ancient castles, theatrical imagery and otherworldly charm. But in 2025, those who try on this trend are not just blindly copying the aesthetics of the Middle Ages, but are reinterpreting it with an eye toward pattern rejection, gender freedom, individuality and post-irony.

How to achieve the Castlecore style

Castlecore is a romanticized style inspired by the aesthetics of medieval castles, knights, saints, relics and myths, in contemporary fashion it is combined with futurism, femininity and power-dressing aesthetics. For those looking to unleash their inner chivalrous self, Castle Core style builds on the details:

Elements of clothing:

  1. Silver is one of the main colors in the patitra of this style. Earthy and wine tones complement it, giving the images depth, density and organic connection with corporeality, ritual and ancient aesthetics.
  2. Corsets over light-colored shirts and dress shirts, and armor-like tops inspired by lats, often metallic, leather or with decorative lacing, gothic sleeves that add a romantic and mystical note.
  3. Dresses with hoods and draperies – an allusion to monk’s cassocks or images of witches/prophetesses from fantasy.

Accessories:

  1. Chains, rings, brooches in the form of crosses, daggers, hearts with spikes – symbolizing strength, faith, martyrdom.
  2. Metal jewelry (ringed hats, gloves, earrings, rings with claws) – visually refer to the knight’s armor and emphasize aggressive, protected femininity.