So guess it’s hat week. Please cast your eyes upon this varied collection of different headwear that the good ole people of London town are sporting this winter. What people choose to cover their heads with is often a flagship item to project their very personal fashion style but they also keep heads warm, highly useful in these chilly times. So no human observations or no social commentary this week, just some good ole fashioned visual grouping..to paraphrase a classic…sometimes a hat is just a hat.
Some bold clothing choices this week. Those who dare to wear. Fashionistas that really don’t give a fuck.
I have always admired those who express themselves through their clothing. Whether they are unconcerned by the approval of others or trying to get noticed, which paradoxically are two opposites, the end result is the same. I also like couples and bezzie mates combine and compliment their styles. As if they become each other’s accessories. Individuality in pairs (another paradox right there).
It does seem to me that people dress up more in everyday life and I think that is because every situation could potentially be an instagram opportunity. So gone are the days when you just chuck on whatever and leave the house, you get dressed up no matter what, even if you aren’t meeting anyone, just in case you find a backdrop that screams ‘likes’.
On a Saturday down Portobello you get a lot of people really dressed up, flaunting their best outfits, that to me, look like they would be reserved for a swanky event, but maybe days out are the new nights out. It does seem slightly strange to me to get all dolled up to go to what is basically a market but there you go.
I actually think uninhibited freedom of expression through our personal style is a great symbol of an open society that isn’t insisting on conformity through repression. In London you can wear what the fuck you want and yes you might get the odd glance but most peeps don’t give a shit and you won’t get harassed for it neither.
So this is a celebration of all you dedicated followers of fashion. Be brave, be bold, be beautiful.
Ok, so back statements this week. (bada bing) Be a walking billboard for your own opinion. Well, not yours to be fair, the fashion designer who thought of it. You’re just wearing it. But we do always tend to take more credit than we should for what we choose to be seen in. When someone compliments you on an item of clothing, you thank them profusely as if it was actually you who created it.
Literal fashion statements seem to be everywhere. Why wear something that says nothing when you can wear something that says something? We want people to know how we feel without having to open up our gobs so guess this is the easiest way. In these polarising times heaven forbid someone might walk past you and have no idea what you stand for.
This guy in the picture above however is kinda unique. He had stopped dead in the street as I approached which was great for the shot and presumed he was just engrossed in his phone and had been turned into a temporary statue like so many street texters are, oblivious to the world around them as they try to find a suitable emoji that will convey both interest and nonchalance.
But this guy was different. He was finding his soundtrack to bowl down the street to. But not just for him. For everyone to hear. As I got closer ‘The Wanderer’ by Dion started blaring out from his phone. To match his jacket. And he proceeded to loudly sing along “I’m the wanderer, ooh yeah the wanderer”. So turns out he really was ‘The Wanderer’ and he just wanted everyone to know it.
I guess it just threw me because I’ve never witnessed anyone accessorise their clothing with a bit of music before…
Dedicated followers of fashion this week. We all have our own little ‘look’ going. It’s hard to say why we gravitate towards certain styles and outfits and maybe even harder for other people to understand. Are we dressing for ourselves or are we dressing to impress? It’s difficult to say. I think our clothing choices are like our music tastes, they are impossible to explain. We’re just into them and we don’t know why. Our fashion is naturally a series of conscious decisions that might relate to how we wish to be perceived but they are driven by an unconscious attraction towards certain looks.
One of the things I love about London is you can where literally anything and people will barely give you a second glance. You can really ‘go to town’ and not be inhibited because someone is going to have a problem with it. I think sometimes that this city is made up of people who wanted to be able to be themselves whilst not having to concern themselves with other people’s concerns. And so I applaud the individually orientated dresser. Wear what the fuck you want. If its a problem, make it someone else’s problem…
Me and my camera in my home town, my capital city, my london
(These pictures and the other ones from this week were all taken on the same day last week )
Only heard the term ‘hype beasts’ relatively recently but had been observing them for a while without realising they had a name. The regular queues outside the Supreme store in Soho with ever so patient customers, already decked out top to toe in Supreme gear, waiting to get their hands on yet more insanely expensive limited edition products have become a familiar sight. The gear costs a fortune and many young people seem very happy and able to pay for it although they must be minted to do so when you see what they are charging.
I have recently had some of my work incorporated into the Youth Club archive which focuses on youth sub-culture and this is definitely a modern sub-culture. It does, however, operate slightly differently to previous youth fashion movements. Its modernity is highlighted in its driving force as its largely created by  brands promoting their wears rather than by a fashion that came up from the streets. It is also very much driven by money and status as you have to be pretty loaded to be able to drop several hundred pound on a top and be ok with that. This means it is largely for the rich although it is very much branded as urban street fashion, although as you have to be pretty wealthy to live in a city centre these days maybe that’s quite appropriate.
It would be wrong to claim that this is not a defined youth culture because it most definitely is but its hard to not see that it is a very calculated and controlled one and one that champions social hierarchy, rewarding those who can afford it to display their wealth to everyone who can’t. Youth sub-cultures of the past have tended to focus on the opposite, a reaction to the status quo of capitalism and conformity, a rejection of ideals and norms that have been pushed on them by an older established generation. And yet, the previous youth fashion it most resembles is the ‘casuals’ of the 80s who got themselves decked out in Fila, Sergio Taschini, Pierre Cardin, Gabicci etc. and defined themselves by these brands. In some ways it is no different to that sub-culture at all, just a modern update with new names and new logos but the principle remains the same.
The term hype beasts does feel somewhat self-aware, that they know they have bought the hype but don’t care. I had previously used the term ‘brand slaves’ when discussing this lot as felt it summed up those who feel the only way they can have an identity and respect amongst their peers is to be adorned with logos that reveal they are able to buy the most expensive gear available. It is difficult not to see that feelings of insecurity and lack of self-worth could be a factor in those who choose to hide behind brands. But, regardless of my own projected analysis, which is very much coming from someone from a different gen, these teens and young adults who are buying into it wholesale seem totally into it and might just dig the shit so who are we to judge?
For me, its more to do with its exclusive nature that is the problem and the fact it feels like the brands are maybe taking advantage of impressionable youngsters who just want to be acknowledged and belong to something. And also so they have outfits they can wear in their feeds with pride and get the social media recognition and likes that go with it. The need to digitally display your wears in this internet dominated era must be acknowledged as a crucial factor to this movement, which again separates it from previous youth cultures.
(in the midst of it all Soho George walked past as if to perfectly demonstrate how specific fashion is to each generation)Â
(this security guy came out and said to me “I hope you got a shit shot” so felt I had to include)
Even though people were just technically out shopping on a Thursday afternoon there was a proper buzz on the street, with Supreme shoppers loitering around way after their purchases but rather than allow them to congregate the Supreme security were actually quite pushy and a bit aggressive with everyone, herding them from one queue to another which seemed a little inappropriate considering they were about to or had just spend a ton of cash in the store. But the sun poured down onto Peter Street and seeing everyone hanging out in their newly acquired get ups made it feel like some sort of happening which I am sure was being instagrammed to fuck by everyone present. Something was going down and they all wanted to be a part of it and to let everyone else know they were where it was at.
Most youth culture events used to be music driven but now it seems they are more fashion consumer driven. When mutually trendy brands do ‘collabs’ (as they now call ’em) with each other people literally queue overnight to get their mitts on the exclusive range. They all camp out and it becomes a social event, although there are probably more faces staring into screens than interacting with each other. Again, this is the modern way and it ain’t going away, so might as well get used to it. Although I did wonder whether they would not all be chatting to each other if they didn’t have their phones with them. Maybe the tech is keeping individuals separate from being a collective. Every sub-culture movement I have been involved in always involved getting decked out in the gear, hanging out at the right spot and making friends with likemindeds about whatever you were all into. It would be a shame if that social aspect had been lost. Although they might view their social media sharing as communal interaction, albeit a digital one. Did previous youth cultures share what they looked like with the world? No. But we didn’t have the ability to so maybe unfair to compare.
I took these pictures whilst hanging out with my teenage nephew who I was relieved felt it was as crazy as I thought it was. We went for a bite after and we were sat next to these two kids who had just been to the Supreme store and one of them had bought a small box of poppy seeds in a mini supreme box for fifty quid. Fifty quid for some seeds! It seemed utterly insane to me they would cough up that sort of money for something so inconsequential. He displayed the box with pride on the table in the hope the waitress might notice. I couldn’t help but feel that Supreme are massively taking the piss. They know they have street kudos and customers willing to spend to get it and feel they probably sit around in meeting rooms, laughing their heads off, trying to come up with the most ridiculous things they can sell at the most ridiculous prices for and see if they can get away with it. And they are definitely getting away with it. You only have to check ebay to see how much they are getting away with it as people bid stupid money for whatever super duper limited edition jacket they made half a dozen of just in order to ramp up the price. Its bizarre because they pay top dollar for one-offs to look unique but inevitably they all end up looking the same.
I have been photographing hype beasts queues for a while whenever I saw them but somehow the event last week somehow captured the essence of it all. And the light was beautiful which also helped. I find the whole thing quite fascinating and however warped it seems, it is definitely wrong to assume that youth movements of the past mean more than current ones and sometimes you need time to pass to see things as they really are. Were the mods, the rockers, the rude boys, the skinheads and the ravers championed by society at the time? Not at all. Did they all feel they were doing it more authentically than the previous generation? Absolutely. And so it goes on. The most important thing for me about youth culture is that it defines the generation’s own identity, that it reflects the times rather than just borrow from a previous one and the Hype beasts are kind of doing that, although I am looking forward to the day when all this stuff is in TK MAX for cheap because everyone has moved onto the next thing. Every dog has its day and all that…
