Middle Ages Modern Is a New Aesthetic for Our Increasingly Medieval Times | Architectural Digest
Photography by Paul Popper/Popperfoto.
“If one thing is clear, it’s that medieval is as much a container of human imagination as it is a period of history. It embraces a plurality of longings, tastes, impulses, and inspirations: a “dirty-footed ideal” for Traynor, “extravagance and beauty” for Carson, a slow and intentional creative physicality untouched by industry for Lane.”
Last week, an early medieval burial site—since characterized as one of the most significant ever excavated in the UK—was discovered. Buried alongside its inhabitant from the Middle Ages was an intricate necklace of striking craftsmanship and complexity, made of wrought gold, garnets, and other semi-precious stones. It looked like something the popular jewelry brand Mondo Mondo might make. I’ve been taking note of a rising design trend that spans the realms of jewelry, fashion, and art. If you ask me, a major shift is afoot, and it appears to be taking us down an enchanting path, one far away from the Nickelodeon-ified postmodern and Peeps colored palettes that somehow managed to curdle the Ultrafragola in all its glory. (I won’t say good riddance, but I dare declare I’m ready to move on.)
While I’ve never particularly wanted a canopy bed, lately I can’t help but wonder if I might sleep more soundly, wake more peacefully, and make love more ravishingly beneath sloping damasks and tousled in sumptuous silks. Blame the change of seasons if you must, but I chalk it up to more than just a brisk breeze. Whereas cottagecore—an undeniable reigning trend of the pandemic era—might have pointed to our collective longing for cozy and pastoral vibes, the emergence of this new aesthetic points to a tougher, more dramatic, and even mystical turn.
TikTok, being the lightning rod of fledgling trends that it is, is already awash in the aesthetic, which has been dubbed “castlecore.” The hashtag has garnered 43 million views, spanning candlelit goth intonations and glittering fairytale fantasies. #MedievalTikTok has commanded 4.4 billion views. I’ve settled on the term Middle Ages Modern (MAM) to define this aesthetic for interiors.