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Ann D, Cloak, Raf Simons ... I just don't get it

post #1 of 157
3/5/07 at 12:02pm
Thread Starter 
Am I the only one who doesn't understand the appeal of some designers like Ann D, Raf Simons, Rick Owens, Cloak and the like? Much of this stuff strikes me as dungeony, dark, quite pessimistic and unwearable. Not only are the pieces extremely expensive, but I just don't see the appeal or the function. I think that designers like Rag & Bone, Trovata, APC and Acne create pieces that are modern but stylish, wearable, and not too forced. I feel like I could throw on a YMC piece and head out, but not so much when I look at things by Cloak.

The other labels just seem so ... dark. Those of you who like labels like Ann D, Raf, etc. - what's the motivation? I'm not trying to condescend, I'm just curious. What draws you to such designers?
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post #2 of 157
3/5/07 at 12:03pm
http://www.misshapes.com/club/home.aspx

All the kids are doin' it...
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post #3 of 157
3/5/07 at 12:22pm
Well, I love a lot of Ann D, Raf, etc (though I'm not sure you can quite so easily lump them all together), but I'm kind of a "dark, quite pessimistic" guy.
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post #4 of 157
3/5/07 at 12:42pm
Cloak actually has some nice pieces that are very wearable. I was just in the store over the weekend and there was a good sale going on and some cool houndstooth sweaters were 50% off (down to $250 from 500)...still pricey, but they are wearable pieces that arent too goth-ninja
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post #5 of 157
3/5/07 at 12:43pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Get Smart
goth-ninja

The perfect adjective for what I'm getting at
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post #6 of 157
3/5/07 at 12:49pm
I don't know whose wardrobe couldn't benefit from an outerwear piece by anyone of those designers you've mentioned...

The stuff you see in the stores is more wearable than the stuff you see on the runway...
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post #7 of 157
3/5/07 at 1:02pm
i've never felt more like an unfashionable jock (on any other day those would be two of the last descriptors you would attach to me) than when i first went to cloak's flagship store with their cartoonish sales people dressed as if they're living in turn of the century transylvania but some of their pieces on their own look magnificent. at a thousand beans on sale (waaaay out of my price range), i still considered this fall's peacoat. it was simply the best, most tastefully stylized peacoat i have ever seen and paired with dark blue jeans and sneakers rather than slim cotton/spandex ninja pants and motorcycle boots looked just as straight as anything else you'd see on the forum.
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post #8 of 157
3/5/07 at 3:05pm
I could dress head to toe in Ann Dem every day and not complain. Her designs are, I think, the least costume-like of the bunch, and the best fitting and most varied.

That said, I personally think there's something really odd about rich people dressing head to toe in goth-ninja wear. It strikes me as odd to spend a lot of money to make yourself look like a beatnik. I find dressing weird or inappropriately makes social interaction harder, which is, suffice to say, not the goal of my interest in clothing.

There is something to be said about tight jeans and motorcycle boots. It is a cool look, when done right (avoiding 90s NIN fan territory), but done up with the short-collar shirt and skinny tie, the jacket with epolets under the bellboy-uniform-esque double breasted overcoat.. it's a bit much.
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post #9 of 157
3/5/07 at 3:55pm
Thread Starter 
It all feels a bit fantastical to me, a bit too esoteric for me to really take it seriously. One of the reasons I'm much happier discussing fashion on StyleForum rather than Superfuture is because, and especially in this forums' WAYWN thread, the styles are much more like my own, within reach. It's proof that style can be adventurous yet tasteful. But you make a good point: people with money to burn spending it on post-modern bohemian clothes just boggles the mind. I also think there's little originality, little personal touch to an outfit that's laced with that "expensive goth-ninja look." It feels too contrived.
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post #10 of 157
3/5/07 at 4:14pm
they make some pretty interesting boots too. And I like boots.
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post #11 of 157
3/5/07 at 4:24pm
I'm way too damned old, cranky, and poor for those labels ... they strike me as cosplay/otaku-wear for rich lame-asses.

Then again, I've never set foot in a store that sold any of that shit, so maybe the actual for-sale pieces look better than the stuff I see pictures of online.
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post #12 of 157
3/5/07 at 5:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Goblin
I'm way too damned old, cranky, and poor for those labels ... they strike me as cosplay/otaku-wear for rich lame-asses.

Then again, I've never set foot in a store that sold any of that shit, so maybe the actual for-sale pieces look better than the stuff I see pictures of online.

They really do [ook better in person]. I, like others here, was in awe the first time handling a Cloak garment. The price is obviously a deterrent, and you cannot ignore the price choice. The designers went with that for a reason.

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that April 77 is the coolest label out there right now. The fits are perfect, quality is equal to the designers discussed here, and price is about 1/5 or so the cost of the others. I saw some of the F/W 07 stuff on order at my local April 77 stockist and cannot wait to cop that shit. There was a jacket and a cardigan that I was infatuated with.

I think if April 77 blows up, they're gonna give labels like Cloak a run for their money, because people are gonna see the kind of shit you can get in the $100-300 range instead of paying out the ass. Word is that A77 is getting a price cut too, because they picked up another factory so production is cheaper.

Engineered Garments is another killer in that price range, but the aesthetic is so completely different - I think it's more esoteric these days when most of the young men are shopping for the skinny rocker shit.
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post #13 of 157
3/5/07 at 5:33pm
Thread Starter 
Interesting that you say that, because while I really, really don't like April 77 -- it's just not my thing -- I do see the prices as more realistic. But again, it's just an aesthetic that I'm not into. At least it's a style that is a little more understandable, but to me it's still the skinny rocker thing .. skinny jeans, short jackets, really skinny people showing a lot of their skinny bones..
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post #14 of 157
3/5/07 at 6:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by blank
Interesting that you say that, because while I really, really don't like April 77 -- it's just not my thing -- I do see the prices as more realistic. But again, it's just an aesthetic that I'm not into. At least it's a style that is a little more understandable, but to me it's still the skinny rocker thing .. skinny jeans, short jackets, really skinny people showing a lot of their skinny bones..

Haha, fair enough. But at least 'rockstar' is more of an accepted tried-and-true way to look like you have style than 'beatnik ninja goth.'

The stuff I really like from April 77 are the jackets and outerwear. I'm not too much a fan of their jeans, personally, but it's not far from my aesthetic.

Here's a fit I posted awhile back - the jacket and shirt are April 77:



Not too overboard when executed IRL.
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post #15 of 157
3/5/07 at 6:11pm
And lastly I agree about this forums WAYWN being really great. of course it took awhile for it to build up to speed the way it is... all of us have definitely improved our style over time (although LA guy almost never used to post pics and he's always been a playa). The styles here are really well executed and accessible as well. Sometimes very adventurous (like Rye's post today) but never crossing from the realm of 'stylish' to 'ridiculous.'

I know Lowrey and Coldrice aren't really examples Styleforum posters because their posts here are usually just x-posts from other forums, but they are two examples of people that wear the labels in question and don't look like goth ninjas.
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