Random fashion thoughts - Part II (A New Hope)

sipang said:

I'm not sure using Raf Simons or DVN as a point of comparison makes much sense here. They're both much older labels that were launched in a fashion industry landscape dramatically different from that of 2005. By the time KVA went solo Raf and Dries already had 10 and 20 years of experience with their company, respectively. They're also based in Antwerp whereas KVA was Paris-based from the beginning. KVA has probably more in common with a label like Damir Doma (hah) than with the other Belgian designers.

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Not to mention, retail landscape in general. The only brands I can think of that have developed an international presence without major backing have been brands that started as denim and streetwear, not designer, brands. The way that the fashion industry has developed in the internet age has developed is not unlike many other industries. The amount of capital needed to start a business has gone down to essentially nil (see kickstarter, blogs, etc...), but at the same time, getting a significant amount of the pie is also harder and harder, and I don't think that the fashion industry has figured out how to "make winners" consistently yet, same as many other industries.

Yeah I don't doubt how different the actual landscape of fashion is between their beginnings. And I didn't mean to compare DVN to KVA, if that's how it came across. I was just talking about an ideal situation. When you look for the best example of an independent designer who has succeeded and flourished then DVN is the prime example (maybe I'm overlooking people, but he, CDG/Kawakubo and Raf are the first that come immediately to mind. Obv you could say Rick but I feel like he is an insanely unique example. All the others are still very much only known in the fashion world, even my Dad knows who Rick is. I'm also not up to speed on the finances of everybody else and how truly "independent" they are), there are others who are more on the streetwear tangent like Fok said but I don't know enough about their finances and their history isn't really long enough to judge (although the majority do seem to be Japanese labels with the Americana/workwear vibe - Vis, Nonnative, Wtaps, NBHD etc).


Kind of related - it completely does my head in when I realize how many "brands" exist. Just spending 5 mins on Instagram and every 5th person owns a "brand". It's nuts.

OccultaVexillum said:

Kind of related - it completely does my head in when I realize how many "brands" exist. Just spending 5 mins on Instagram and every 5th person owns a "brand". It's nuts.

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Well, that's the thing, right?

Well, yeah.
But at the same time you could argue that the audience for it is a lot bigger than it was when the Antwerp 6 came out, so the current state should be able to "support" it, right? I know that's not true though.

I saw an Asian guy (always Asian) today wearing ricky dunks (a first for my city), the white ones that look real grime pale yellow after they are worn. It was weird because it was the first time I had actually seen any of it in the wild-- he looked just like every Sufu ricky-flow fitpic I've seen since 2009. It was weird seeing it in real life. It was weird how completely sufu stereotypical he looked. I don't think I was ready for it.

I wonder if he noticed I was wearing lots of Visvim. I wonder if he thinks I looked like some stereotypical Styleforum doucher. I wonder if he noticed and we both were almost ashamed about how much we spent on clothing. I wonder if he realized how my hair was much better than his. I wonder if the staples on his shoes are doing alright— I know my goodyear handsewn boots are still kickin' after 4 years. Now that's heritage



g transistor said:

I saw an Asian guy (always Asian) today wearing ricky dunks (a first for my city), the white ones that look real grime pale yellow after they are worn. It was weird because it was the first time I had actually seen any of it in the wild-- he looked just like every Sufu ricky-flow fitpic I've seen since 2009. It was weird seeing it in real life. It was weird how completely sufu stereotypical he looked. I don't think I was ready for it.

I wonder if he noticed I was wearing lots of Visvim. I wonder if he thinks I looked like some stereotypical Styleforum doucher. I wonder if he noticed and we both were almost ashamed about how much we spent on clothing. I wonder if he realized how my hair was much better than his. I wonder if the staples on his shoes are doing alright— I know my goodyear handsewn boots are still kickin' after 4 years. Now that's heritage

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were you bothered because i stared at you for a long time wondering if you knew who i was? because i knew you. i'm always bothered by how flat my hair is...

SO MUCH SHAME.

also, who the **** is that in the descendant of thieves ad? is he related to to thick as thieves? why is his face more punchable than mr. moo's? why the **** would you pick such an asshat for your banner ad?

OccultaVexillum said:

Well, yeah.
But at the same time you could argue that the audience for it is a lot bigger than it was when the Antwerp 6 came out, so the current state should be able to "support" it, right? I know that's not true though.

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The growth of the number of brands has far outpaced the size of the audience. And perhaps more importantly, there is an entire generation of fashion consumer that has not been raised on the big brands/high fashion.

So Hood By Air won the Menswear CFDA... Can someone explain the appeal of this brand? I had originally thought they had only taken off because of ASAP Rocky's cosign, and the garishness and overbranding just lead it to be the '*******' brand of the moment - but apparently there's something I'm missing? In all sincerity, does anyone hear wear the clothes? What does the aesthetic mean to you?

It won precisely because it is of the moment and because it is representative of that aesthetic. Those awards are not meant to crown a timeless designer but to take a snapshot of the year's trends

Anyone know if there's a blog nowadays that's active and like what Hapsical used to be?

http://blog.vanstee.be maybe?



Find Finn said:

http://blog.vanstee.be maybe?

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I mean the old version of Hapsical, before it turned into a Tumblr about architecture. He used to have a Blogspot blog where he would do long form writing about men's fashion.

Oh okay.



dieworkwear said:

Anyone know if there's a blog nowadays that's active and like what Hapsical used to be?

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Minimally Minimal writes about design in general. Been one of my favorite blogs for a while.

Apparently Mr.Porter carries Rubinacci.