This study examines the design characteristics and sociocultural significance of the “balletcorelook” through the lens of Jean Baudrillard’s theory of simulacra, establishing a systematic analytical framework for collections from 2022 F/W to 2025 S/S. A total of 47 magazine articles and 161 photographs of collection images were collected. To analyze the designs, a framework for three stages of simulacral transformation was implemented: partial morphological and stylistic transformation, transformation of additional design elements and decoration, and emergence of a replica far removed from the original ballet outfits and accessories. Analysis of design characteristics confirmed that balletcore looks incorporate ballet costumes—originally specialized attire—into everyday clothing, creating a sense of fantasy. This fantasy involved deconstructing or coexisting contrasting design characteristics. The study shows the use of ballet costume elements as fantastical signs in balletcore looks, a phenomenon that intensifies through various stages of transformation. Balletcore looks transcend the functional reality of dancewear, transforming into representations of hyperreality, where replicas replace the original, serving as a key approach for designers to express their personal interpretations. These simulacral phenomena carry sociocultural significance, indicating that designers’ use of ballet costume elements in balletcore looks, alongside public consumption of balletcore, reflects the psychological desires of the masses to willingly engage in seductive illusions for emotional fulfillment and vitality in hyperreal fantasy.

Abstract
I. Introduction
Ⅱ. Review of Literature
    1. History and composition of ballet costume
    2. Definition of balletcore look
    3. Theory of simulacre
Ⅲ. Research Method
Ⅳ. Results and Discussion
    1. Analysis of balletcore look designs
    2. Sociocultural significance of simulacral characteristicsof balletcore looks
Ⅴ. Conclusion
Reference

• Hyejin Chu(Master’s Student, Dept. of Human Ecology, Graduate School, Korea University, Korea) | 추혜진 (고려대학교 생활과학과 석사 과정생)
• Yhe-Young Lee(Professor, Dept. of Home Economics Education, Korea University, Korea) | 이예영 (고려대학교 가정교육과 교수) Corresponding author