WTF

[eleves]

As a whole i think if you were to take rick designs and showcase them to a mainstream public, they'd most likely find it fucking weird rather than really cool. This is why i believe rick is still far far away from having his name tainted by "mainstream culture".

This is surely true, far from mainstream. Rick of course was inspired by streetwear and hip hop fashion but he took them and did something different. Those same people who inspired all of that would have never worn any of ricks twisted and body hugging tees. The only similarity is their length. I lived through that, if I had worn one of Rick tee's back in the day where I was from, I would have been bullied to hell and back. This new generation of singers don't care about Rick Owens at all, where his inspirations lie or why he does the things he does. I guarantee that the majority of them would be weirded out by taking a tour of Rick's house lol. Even with guys like Asap Rocky, he says he liked all this stuff a long time ago and I can definitely respect that. He brought it into the celeb mainstream, that's for sure and I can respect that too because it's what he's been wearing and been into. It just happens to suck when the niche is broken out of and loses that little aspect of being a part of this world.

We all subscribe to a certain aesthetic here as mentioned previously and that's why anyone here would be disappointed in seeing that aesthetic taken and "tainted" by people wearing it just because it's "in" or expensive enough to be status symbols. We lose a lot of things in the process of mass production also to fit this whole new wave of shoppers wanting Rick Owens' designs. Of course I'm happy that they're successful and that any designer is for that matter. They work hard for it, especially when they come from a design standpoint that the majority of the world won't subscribe to. I think we've all fell into this niche and I for one like it as a niche and I can and will still appreciate Rick Owens and his pieces despite people Austin Mahone wearing it and not caring about what it is at all. The celeb world is gonna move with the times, it's totally understandable. Everyone there wants to be at the forefront of "fashion" but when you see the bullshit that Justin bieber wears for the most part and what usher and whoever else normally wears then see them one day all of a sudden subscribed to rick owens and then back to the nonsense that passes for cool, its annoying.

I grew up in the "hood" and people were buying as many jordans and air forces as they could, not because it was only cool but because it was that name that took them to this other fashionable and in level. I honestly never cared about brands when I was younger (even though I did wear things like polo and hilfiger) but the day I would come into class with something not branded, I was looked at completely differently, I was treated differently. When I switched my boots from route 66 to timberland, lots of things changed and that's the way it is. No one where I was from gave a fuck about Margiela. You never saw those same kids who subscribed to jordan and nike wearing margiela sneakers until Kanye West mentioned the brand in a song and then boom, it was everywhere. I was with my friend who was wearing a CDG Play shirt when the line first released and someone came up to him in the train station and talked to him about his "Drake" shirt. People will always be inspired what the "in" musician or public figure is wearing and it's just annoying as hell to the rest of us who are dedicated to something beyond it being "of the moment". It's the bandwagon movement that's bothersome.

This is such a broken record point and it's gonna be like that forever until some other rapper comes by and makes another brand not the cool thing to wear but the thing to wear that's a step above what is looked at as "cool" (outside of SZ brands). Lots of kids and people out there are wearing supreme because it's cool and cool rappers are wearing it, but the cooler rappers are wearing rick owens and it's a way to separate yourself from the supreme crowd. I've had enough people tell me "tough rickys" and how "hard my outfit goes". I guess it's all a matter of time. I just want good zippers again and I don't want to see Yohji's PR invite justin bieber to a show! IS THIS TOO MUCH TO ASK?????

[LelandJ]

Please edit in paragraphs eleves.

Really anything is "hypebeastable". Adam Sandler could tomorrow decide to only wear Augusta.

But the shoes would get drowned out by his normcore clothes no one would notice. If he were to wear Poeme Bohem outfit with it then he could beast but people would think he's just in costume for a period movie. But there different degrees of beasting too and the mahoney pitbull could never wear such a look in the video posted previous page with the geos.

The truly nauseous beasting is inherently incompatible with a lot of the clothing that's too humble, especially the far end of the hobocore or dirty minercore spectrum. Geos are big, loud, in your face, much like the egocore insanity that plagues our society today.

[eleves]

Please edit in paragraphs eleves.



But the shoes would get drowned out by his normcore clothes no one would notice. If he were to wear Poeme Bohem outfit with it then he could beast but people would think he's just in costume for a period movie. But there different degrees of beasting too and the mahoney pitbull could never wear such a look in the video posted previous page with the geos.

The truly nauseous beasting is inherently incompatible with a lot of the clothing that's too humble, especially the far end of the hobocore or dirty minercore spectrum. Geos are big, loud, in your face, much like the egocore insanity that plagues our society today.

Haha loving your usage of "core" words

[Faust]

You are wrong. I mean you are right, but you failed to see a source of disappointment.
1. Humanity always used markings to divide one category of people from another. Tribal marks, country flags, emblems, football/soccer fans symbols etc.: all of them show that you belong to a specific category of people. And people around you build their opinion on you based on that fact, it could be stupid but it's the reality of life.
2. Clothing and styles are no exception. Some brands are being adopted by subcultures to an extent you could easily be beaten to a pulp by a gang of chavs who saw you in a specific (totally casual from your pov but not from their) clothing.
3. So, if a specific layer of one subculture adopts a specific brand, opinion of people on someone wearing this brand/following this aesthetic is built based on he is a part of said subculture layer, do you want it or not.
4. It's incredibly hard for one to completely ignore any opinions of him. And I believe a person in Rick is okay with someone thinking of him as nazgul cosplayer or a shaman, CDiem aesthetic follower doesn't care about looking like a homeless person from pov of someone not introduced to fashion, but as for me, personally, I don't want to be called an A$AP gang wannabee member or whatever because of what I wear.
I won't stop wearing what I like. But I don't like they like it as well.

I'd say this is a pretty fair assessment and you are getting at the core of why some people are uncomfortable with the things they are invested in being highjacked. I used to be that way, but I find myself caring less and less.

So, yes, Arcane, you are right, but you are wrong (well put! ).

Concidentally, ran into A$AP Rocky on the street yesterday. I was all in Rick. He was all in Rick. I checked him out. He checked me out. All good.

[Arcane]

You are wrong. I mean you are right, but you failed to see a source of disappointment.
1. Humanity always used markings to divide one category of people from another. Tribal marks, country flags, emblems, football/soccer fans symbols etc.: all of them show that you belong to a specific category of people. And people around you build their opinion on you based on that fact, it could be stupid but it's the reality of life.
2. Clothing and styles are no exception. Some brands are being adopted by subcultures to an extent you could easily be beaten to a pulp by a gang of chavs who saw you in a specific (totally casual from your pov but not from their) clothing.
3. So, if a specific layer of one subculture adopts a specific brand, opinion of people on someone wearing this brand/following this aesthetic is built based on he is a part of said subculture layer, do you want it or not.
4. It's incredibly hard for one to completely ignore any opinions of him. And I believe a person in Rick is okay with someone thinking of him as nazgul cosplayer or a shaman, CDiem aesthetic follower doesn't care about looking like a homeless person from pov of someone not introduced to fashion, but as for me, personally, I don't want to be called an A$AP gang wannabee member or whatever because of what I wear.
I won't stop wearing what I like. But I don't like they like it as well.

I'm aware that things aren't as black and white in reality, and to be honest, that statement is more of provocative way to make a point than my actual opinion on the subject. That being said, the two aren't worlds apart.

As others have already mentioned, there is a good deal of hypocrisy involved in a discussion like this which makes some peoples arguments look rather thoughtless. Rick (a very good examples of this) draws a lot of inspiration from street wear, especially for his basics. Like mentioned earlier, the Geobasket is basically an AF1. Same could be said about Raf from a couple of years ago, and other popular designers that people on SZ hold dear.

So who decides who's allowed to wear what? Should the source of inspiration be allowed to be part of the evolution, or is that strictly for people looking outside and in? If we are drawing lines in the sand, I'd say that people like Kanye and ASOP Rocky are more entitled to wear something like the Geobasket for the sole reason that they have a deeper connection (at least if you look at it superficially) to the origin of the design than the majority of people posting on SZ.

In reality, it's obviously a lot more blurred than this but, to me, the above example is just as good an argument as the ones bashing some celebrities for wearing 'SZ-brands'. Who's actually following who?

And I solemnly agree with the bolded part of your post. But to me that also means that you should put up and shut up. Too many turn this 'we're-wearing-those-brands-and-you-are-not-thing' into an identity of its own, which isn't any better than wearing it because it indicates wealth or status, it's just different. You should wear what you wear because it brings out your identity, not the other way around. My 5 cents anyway.

[Arcane]

I'd say this is a pretty fair assessment and you are getting at the core of why some people are uncomfortable with the things they are invested in being highjacked. I used to be that way, but I find myself caring less and less.

So, yes, Arcane, you are right, but you are wrong (well put! ).

Concidentally, ran into A$AP Rocky on the street yesterday. I was all in Rick. He was all in Rick. I checked him out. He checked me out. All good.

[Null12]

Concidentally, ran into A$AP Rocky on the street yesterday. I was all in Rick. He was all in Rick. I checked him out. He checked me out. All good.

"The nod"

[Faust]

But it was interesting that we were wearing Rick completely differently. I was all rock (denim with leather sleeves, black (shorter) tee, detroits tucked into sidezip creepers, all black) and he was all hip-hop (white hooded fabric bomber, sneakers).

BTW, has Rick himself pointed out explicitly in any interview that he is influenced by hip-hop or its esthetic? I'v read so many interviews with him that I don't remember anymore. I know he doesn't listen to it. I mean, drop-crotch can come from many places, as well as long tees. I hope we are not misattributing his inspirations.

[Dorje]

Yeah, I was thinking the sagged pants / long shirt was originally a gang look, later co-opted by rappers who want to be identified as gangsters.

I really dislike it...

[messenoire]

But it was interesting that we were wearing Rick completely differently. I was all rock (denim with leather sleeves, black (shorter) tee, detroits tucked into sidezip creepers, all black) and he was all hip-hop (white hooded fabric bomber, sneakers).

BTW, has Rick himself pointed out explicitly in any interview that he is influenced by hip-hop or its esthetic? I'v read so many interviews with him that I don't remember anymore. I know he doesn't listen to it. I mean, drop-crotch can come from many places, as well as long tees. I hope we are not misattributing his inspirations.

i had the same thing happen eating at mothers ruin in les, i was in rick and julius and he was in all rick, exchanged glances and kept it moving. i think it's actually cool seeing him out in what he'd normally wear rather than what he has to wear for photoshoots. his fits would pass here, sans the louis V document holder he was carrying but then again "those who can, do". rick has said the drop crotch and long tees were originally influenced by the garb of the gangbangers/cholos/dudes of east la during his formidable years. their influence is heavily prevalent from the beginning, the cut of the extreme trousers, elongated proportions in tees, drop crotch trousers to mirror sagging pants, tight tank tops tucked in to just about anything, air force ones or converseres on their feet, etc. he was pretty intertwined with the seedier underbelly of LA and i bet he felt an unspoken connection to the grit they carried in a different fashion than he. so i am not sure if hip hop is really a proprietary influence with rick but the street culture of LA definitely is.

[LelandJ]

rick has said the drop crotch and long tees were originally influenced by the garb of the gangbangers/cholos/dudes of east la during his formidable years... so i am not sure if hip hop is really a proprietary influence with rick but the street culture of LA definitely is.

Taking the rap aesthetic and removing it from rap? Dunno what to say about this meta-ism. Probably the same way I feel about rappers and youth who first took the look from prison wear and "removed" it from prison. Or blacks who "reclaimed" each other as niggas.

[messenoire]

Taking the rap aesthetic and removing it from rap? Dunno what to say about this meta-ism. Probably the same way I feel about rappers and youth who first took the look from prison wear and "removed" it from prison.

i would say he's co-opting or "taking from the rap aesthetic" but moreso drawing inspiration from the same source as rap apart from rap music. same source but different direction. people drawing inspiration from their surroundings and things they would like to emulate has roots in the dawn of civilization. i removed the last line because it has nothing to do with the line of logic and i'd probably delete it from your original post if you want to keep this discussion on topic.

[upsilonkng]

what the fuck is right. that douche ruined a CLASSIC track:



and re. geobaskets. i'm actually bored with them myself (and that fucking video doesn't help... to think there was a time i actually liked pitbull...) - will wear the ones i got but not buying any new ones for a while i don't think.

I think this is the funny admission here... how can anyone at anytime regardless if it was pitbull in his diapeys or his first demo ever like him?? he's the best argument for the cream not rising, that stuff u see on the surface is fuckin garbage not cream.

[Faust]

Taking the rap aesthetic and removing it from rap? Dunno what to say about this meta-ism. Probably the same way I feel about rappers and youth who first took the look from prison wear and "removed" it from prison. Or blacks who "reclaimed" each other as niggas.

Uhm, rappers took the prison aesthetic and removed it from prison and I don't see anyone blaming them.

[DudleyGray]

Ok people keep talking about Rick pulling inspiration from the streets, but that kid wearing the geos was no fucking Yeezy, he wasn't ASAP mob, he was just a suburban-looking white boy douche that was in a video with a guy with questionable hip hop cred. So any talk of Rick pulling from the streets is a non-argument here.