Your recent purchases

[kunk75]

^you got me upset so i am cuddling with my mink rick bear

[cjbreed]

drowning your sorrows in avant garde chocolatey goodness

[syed]

And make sure to wash down all that goodness with some Rick bottled water.

[kuugaia]

I see Chrome Hearts jewellery (among other branded goods) to be something similar to the Nazi swastika. I may love and appreciate the design for what it is in itself, but everything that it's associated with ruins it for me. It's a shame.

You can feel cool as fuck wearing head to toe CCP/LUC/DICK, but when you see somebody you don't 'agree with' wear it as well...a small part of you dies inside. It's the other people misappropriating something that you perceive to be something else. The LV logo/monogram is sick as hell in my opinion, it's just the bitches who strut with it that ain't.

[avout]

To be fair, rick dunks are getting iconic enough that they're pretty close to branding, even without logos.

[kunk75]

^that is ludicrous. if something becomes iconic it doesn't automatically make it tacky like a hanging logo or embroidered one would

[Peasant]

I see Chrome Hearts jewellery (among other branded goods) to be something similar to the Nazi swastika.

Talk about sig material. Now tell us how Carol was a Nazi and we'll have a real debate going.

[the breaks]

what do you mean "was"

[BSR]

such a genius can't be alive

[beardown]

Whoa! I think the thing that surprises me the most is how personally some people are offended by the discussion about CH. People are really emotionally tied to that stuff. Weird.

This is all just my opinion. I initially thought it had something to do with geographic location but now I'm more convinced that it is this emotional tie to a brand that gives people a certain amount of loyalty and pride and the strength of certain logos, icons and archetypes.

It's true that 100% of people I come across would never recognize anything I'm wearing (outside of possibly a trip out of state). Down to something as obvious as Rick dunks. That's a little of geography and a little to do with culture and even economy to a degree. I know when I leave home, not a single person is going to recognize anything I'm wearing or associate it with wealth or affluence in any way. If you've read some of my laments, you'll see that more often than not, people have associated me with a chimney sweep or a character out of a Dickens tale.

So why do I spend so much to look like a derelict immigrant? Because I love the materials, the aesthetic, the history of the designers. I love the way these clothes tend to fit so much better than most other brands/labels. It's the same reason I buy an expensive Herman Miller chair that very few people will see and those who do will likely say, 'Weird chair, very uncomfortable.' Those things are almost private and personal to me and probably very egocentric. Labels are sewn on the inside, or there is a cross made out of staples or a tag underneath somewhere or inside of a pocket.

I most definitely wouldn't buy any Rick garment that had a huge Rick Owens logo on it. Or a Viridi-Anne jacket that had an obvious logo on the back or front. Can you imagine a pair of Guidi boots with the logo from the box embossed into the side? There's a level of maturity and skill and complexity to something that's made by hand that isn't branded (ie: logos placed overtly or repeated). And there's a certain amount of respect I have for designers and brands who don't even need to place an obvious logo.

It's almost like, 'Fuck it. This shit is good as fuck. If you don't recognize it by the aesthetic or the silhouette or the cuts, then fuck you. You just don't get it.'

Whereas all the heavy logos and branding (logos, logotypes, hang tags, identity pieces...specific shapes (think Adidas), colors, etc....that's what I mean by 'branding.') tend to cry out for attention: "Buy me because I represent status, I represent belonging to a certain crowd or demographic. I represent money, wealth and exclusivity.' I'm not a big fan of any logos to be honest and I have a background in an industry that is currently obsessed and driven by logos rather than products themselves. So that probably fuels my disdain somewhat against logos speaking louder than quality to a lot of consumers.

I think it's an interesting discussion. I wish people weren't so personally offended by some of my comments...they're just opinions. Probably the wrong place to be having it (in recent purchases) but I like the fact that everyone seems to have a pretty strong opinion about it, one way or another.

[Faust]

To be fair, rick dunks are getting iconic enough that they're pretty close to branding, even without logos.

What the hell are you talking about. Wow, forums make some people really fucking jaded. Go to the corner of Canal/Broadway in NYC and show 100 people the Rick sneaker and ask them if they know it. You'll be lucky if you find one. The narrowness of perspective of many members of this forum is truly mind-boggling.

[Icarium]

Yeah I feel like there's something pretty clearly different than a designer having a lot of success with signature designs/cuts and branding.

The former seems like kind of a hallmark of some form of success. Some designers might be thrilled to have a design that is so them that it's identifiable as their work even without branding/logos.

Branding seems more like a short cut to that with an aim towards marketing. Like cliff notes or a telegraphed punchline.

[zamb]

What the hell are you talking about. Wow, forums make some people really fucking jaded. Go to the corner of Canal/Broadway in NYC and show 100 people the Rick sneaker and ask them if they know it. You'll be lucky if you find one. The narrowness of perspective of many members of this forum is truly mind-boggling.

Agreed,
but there is a sad side to that too, I saw a woman in my building in a Rick knockoff jacket, but she had no idea who he was................So the influence is far and wide, but the knowledge is seriously lacking.

On the Chrome hearts thing I have no idea what to say, I read the article that was posted about them and really liked the back story,
I have seen AKA and The Addict wearing the jewelery and it looks good on them, I personally wouldnt wear it as I am just not a jewelery, tattoo etc kind of guy,
i think the jewelery works, i didn't even know they did clothing, but from what beardown posted it indeed looks gaudy.

i think the people who like the jewelery can somehow create a mental separation between those products and the overall oeuvre of the brand.........

[kunk75]

agree. ny, like europe, as some omnibus cosmopolitan mecca of style, is overblown. i have lived here all my life and except for forum people, i have seen rick maybe 10x ever on the street. i've seen ccp once and it was near my house on long island in sea cliff. i've seen true religion 1000x.

What the hell are you talking about. Wow, forums make some people really fucking jaded. Go to the corner of Canal/Broadway in NYC and show 100 people the Rick sneaker and ask them if they know it. You'll be lucky if you find one. The narrowness of perspective of many members of this forum is truly mind-boggling.

[kunk75]

on fashion's night out a few years ago, there were at least 25 women in cropped leather and wedges, none of them rick and i'd bet not a one of them knew who he was

Agreed,
but there is a sad side to that too, I saw a woman in my building in a Rick knockoff jacket, but she had no idea who he was................So the influence is far and wide, but the knowledge is seriously lacking.
.