Each season, Chinese social platforms such as Rednote and Douyin, the Chinese sister app of TikTok, compete to generate the trend for the coming months. So far, Douyin has given us the likes of dopamine dressing in summer ’23 and “auracore” in spring ’25. As summer 2025 comes into full bloom, the latest viral trend on Douyin has dropped: “summercore” (恋夏风, lit. “love summer style”).
Users on Douyin are using “summercore” as a tag in their summer outfit, activity and lifestyle posts. Data shows that in the past 30 days, posts with the hashtag “love summer” have been viewed over 3.7 billion times with over 100 million engagements. Celebrities such as actresses Dilraba Dilmurat and Bai Lu have joined in and shared their “summercore” looks, generating over 30 million likes in total.
Cosmopolitan and ELLE both reported on the trend. Cosmopolitan describes “summercore” as high lightness in colour, high freedom of the body and compatibility with the scenario. Douyin fashion commentator Hualaoban (花老板) notes that “summercore” is taking bright colours and coordinating it with a “scenario”. Whether you’re in the office or commuting, your outfit can become a carnivalesque summer holiday of its own. That’s why “summercore” now has three sub-trends: “metropolitan holiday”, “urban outdoors” and “music festival anytime”.
Unlike previous trends on the platform, the ”summercore” aesthetic is less about a specific colour scheme or style, and more about a mentality and lifestyle. It is about bringing the ideal summer with you wherever you go, whether at work or on holiday. However, this is likely why its message resonates so strongly on Douyin, as people are looking for “emotional value” through their outfits. Even if not every summer day is a holiday in the sun, we can at least start by looking the part.