Random Fashion Thoughts (Part 3: Style farmer strikes back) - our general discussion thread

[Efra Lo]

Anyone know who makes Iron Heart sneakers? I like the silouhette but don’t love the branding at the back...

I read they're made by Moonstar in Japan, a lot of made in japan canvas sneakers are made by them.

ABOUT | MOONSTAR - MADE IN KURUME

1873年の創業のムーンスターは、久留米の自社工場で生み出される靴作りに自信と誇りを持って“MADE IN KURUME”の靴をこれからも作り続けていきます。

en.moonstar-manufacturing.jp

 

[cyc wid it]

The houndstooth pom pom hat is from Gucci F/W 2016 so the fit probably the same season. How sad that I know that.

This is one of the best things about Stylefarm. Someone always knows and we have resident experts for everything.

 

[armellod.e]

Nice read about Kuon for fans of the brand: https://tokion.jp/en/2020/11/24/the-road-to-creating-kuon/

Not really my preferred aesthetic per se but it seems like they're doing some very cool and responsible things.

 

[gdl203]

Nice read about Kuon for fans of the brand: https://tokion.jp/en/2020/11/24/the-road-to-creating-kuon/

Not really my preferred aesthetic per se but it seems like they're doing some very cool and responsible things.

I actually remember meeting Arata and Shinichiro in April 2016 in Tokyo. They had a dozen pieces and I felt like a kid in a candy shop with the incredible boro pieces and fantastic sashiko handwork and mud-dyed corduroy coats.... but everything was so expensive that we saw them every season after that until they started creating pieces either using portions of expensive materials, or replicating the idea of boro/sakiori in less costly fabrications.

 

[peachfuzzmcgee]

I absolutely love Kuon, but I have yet to spring for their pieces. The boro blazer is still something I dream of getting one day. The striped mechanics jacket that you have in stock is especially cool as hell.

 

[FlyingMonkey]

Some of Kuon's stuff seems awfully close to Kapital, some to Blue Blue Japan, and some very similar to what FDMTL does. It seems nicely done but, at least on the limited view we have online, I can't see very much in the way of originality here.

 

[peachfuzzmcgee]

I will agree to that, their look is definitely similar to all those brands. I will add that these type of brands are definitely a dime a dozen in Japan, Therefore I feel the fact that Kuon has even found some footing outside of Japan, a sign that they are at least worth a shot.

 

[OccultaVexillum]

@blacklight Where's your blog? I want to read your stuff.

 

[blacklight]

@blacklight Where's your blog? I want to read your stuff.

Am currently in the process of crying over grad school applications so after I am through with those. (~3 weeks).

In other news, recently signed on for representation with a literary agent and am hoping to share news on that front soon.

 

[gdl203]

Some of Kuon's stuff seems awfully close to Kapital, some to Blue Blue Japan, and some very similar to what FDMTL does. It seems nicely done but, at least on the limited view we have online, I can't seem very much in the way of originality here.

I’m not familiar with Kapital (I know) but neither BBJ or FDMTL use boro or sakiori like that, nor do they have hand-stitched sashiko like what Kuon does. They do patchwork (FDMTL also does faux patchwork) and sometimes they have a handful of hand-stitches on those, but their focus is on indigo, not on the type of materials that Kuon uses. And I love BBJ (we’ve been carrying them since season 1) - just a different animal.

i don’t remember the exact # but I think that the hand-sashiko patchwork jacket in those pics had something like 100 hours of work in it. It was $6 or 7k. It’s really special stuff.

 

[OccultaVexillum]

Am currently in the process of crying over grad school applications so after I am through with those. (~3 weeks).

In other news, recently signed on for representation with a literary agent and am hoping to share news on that front soon.

That's dope! Congratulations on that.

 

[brightorangetrousers]

Lounging around in fake Kapital, trying to lose the weight I put on in the last lockdown...

 

[blacklight]

I also remember around that time, it was considered deeply uncool to buy Polo. Buying the stuff suggested that you were wealthy and from the suburbs, which was considered not cool. If you wanted that sort of cultural capital, you had to steal your clothes (along with most other things coveted at the time). Some suburban kids stole stuff, but many purchased stuff. Nearly all the cooler inner-city kids stole their stuff, which again increased their cultural capital in that community.

I remember being surprised in the early aughts when I started to hear about people buying and selling Polo on eBay. I heard some kids in Japan were buying it. It just seemed strange to me, like something that was considered taboo before. Also feel like sneaker culture started to become a standalone thing back then -- like that could be your thing, you just collect sneakers. Maybe that's when money started being more of a leverage for cultural capital in that scene.

Boosting culture still exists, it's just gone somewhat white-collar. In response to your point about buying cred, I think that the ten year-old whose banker dad buys out half of Stadium Goods is still seen as lame, but the hustle of streetwear with that constituency is predicated on his belief that he can somehow buy his way to cool. (Which he can, but only among people who will never actually be cool themselves).

There's not a single street subculture that isn't navigating some internal crisis stemming from the influx of mainstream interest and money. I'm not a purist here; life is hard and everyone has bills. Where my concern lies is the way in which these subcultures get tossed aside once a certain audience is done playing dress up. I have yet to date up socioeconomically (looking for tips here – this NMWA isn't going to pay for itself) but I imagine it is fairly hard to keep a rich woman around after she is bored with you. I do wonder whether in giving the game away certain subcultures are failing to realize just how much power there is in owning the imagination. Bboying fell out of vogue because of the perception it had become mainstream but dancers themselves have always been incredibly cool: you can't pay your way to an airflare or buy a spot in the Jabbawockeez.

One book I consider an absolute must to anyone interested in thinking about the relationship between street culture and the internet is Ballad of the Bullet by Forrest Stuart, a sociologist at Stanford who won the MacArthur largely for his ethnographic work on drill music during his time at Chicago. There's a relevant anecdote in which a drill rapper lands himself regular sex and financial support from a UChicago law student, and ends up scrambling to keep her attention once the novelty wears off. Easily among my top five books of the year and is very much so in line with my own unfinished thoughts on the internet and cultural inversion.

On that subject does anyone know who the market for Fear of God x Zegna is besides international students? Would gladly wear all of it but haven't been able to pull a sugar mommy at MoMa yet.

 

[Spehsmonkey]

Am currently in the process of crying over grad school applications so after I am through with those. (~3 weeks).

Good luck. I sprouted quite a few white hairs applying to PhD programs and somehow ended up in law school instead (also a cause of many white hairs).

 

[Superb0bo]

^ Nothing compared to the white hairs you get from doing a postdoc...