Round 1, Match 110 — Candycore vs. 2020 Alt
Candycore is an internet aesthetic centered on the visual motifs of candy, confectionery, and desserts. The style is defined by a bright, highly saturated, and often maximalist presentation of these themes. Its color palette is typically derived from fruit-flavored candies and includes a wide range of vibrant rainbow hues, neons, and soft pastels. The aesthetic has a long history in popular culture, particularly in music videos, art installations, and media aimed at a young audience, but it gained significant traction as a defined internet aesthetic in the early 2020s on platforms like TikTok. The visual style of Candycore is built on an abundant and often surreal depiction of sweets. The aesthetic is not about the realistic portrayal of food, but rather the use of candy as a decorative and textural element. This includes motifs like sprinkles, frosting, lollipops, gumdrops, and candy canes, which are used to create playful and whimsical patterns and textures. The style often features iridescent materials and shimmering surfaces that mimic the look of hard candies and sugary glazes. It frequently subverts the long-standing associations of sweets with joy and childhood nostalgia; associations that were promoted by decades of marketing from the confectionery industry. Art installations by artists like Pip & Pop, which create large-scale fantasy worlds out of sugar and craft materials, are a high-art expression of the aesthetic. In a more commercial context, the look is characterized by a "twirly, swirly mish-mash of sorbet shades woven into geometric and floral prints," often with a sense of irony and kitsch.
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2020 Alt (variously called E-Kid, Alt Kid, or Bunny Hat Kid) is an internet-based youth subculture and fashion style that gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic in the early 2020s. Popularized on TikTok (specifically the sub-community known as "Alt TikTok"), the aesthetic aggregates pre-existing alternative styles, functioning as a time capsule of quarantine-era online culture. The style utilizes a collage-like approach to fashion, drawing heavily from Mallgoth, Scene, and E-Girl/E-Boy aesthetics. It maintains thematic links to anime, video games, and the hyperpop music scene. The community adopted the term "Alt Kid" to replace the gendered "E-Girl" and "E-Boy" labels, aiming for inclusivity while distancing the subculture from negative connotations associated with those earlier terms. Following its initial decline, the aesthetic experienced a brief revival attempt in 2025 under the slogan "2025 is the new 2020." The 2020 Alt aesthetic relies on specific cosmetic applications and digital post-processing techniques native to early quarantine-era TikTok. Makeup application centers on heavy, unblended pink blush applied directly across the tip of the nose, paired with exaggerated black winged eyeliner. Users frequently draw additional cosmetic details using liquid eyeliner, such as under-eye dots, faux stitches across the nose bridge, or drawn-on lower eyelashes. A prominent subset of the community adopts extreme, theatrical makeup featuring stark white foundation and black lipstick, directly imitating the aesthetic of musical artist Jazmin Bean. Photography and video content typically take place in domestic bedroom settings illuminated by colored LED strip lights. Users edit these images with high-saturation filters and overlay them with dense clusters of digital stickers. This digital curation heavily features Sanrio characters like Kuromi, alongside Care Bears, glowing hearts, and pentagrams.
Which aesthetic do you prefer?
Candycore
2020 Alt
