You know when you ask someone if they have a seen a TV-series, and rather than say no, they have the BALD-FACED GALL to say that they “don’t have a TV”? As if not owning a physical television somehow makes them better than everyone else. As if by having an original poster for Leon: The Professional on the wall where a TV would go means they are more cultured than the imbecile swine that watch Love is Blind. As if they don’t look at Twitter all day long. As if they don’t follow @kidsgettinghurt. Well I’m a bit like that, only with garms.
It’s not that I deny the existence of trends, nor that I don’t think certain pieces of clothing aren’t worthy of hype. I just have some kind of pathological pedantry built into my brain which means when something shoots up in popularity, it puts me off. Why? God knows. It’s pathetic – down to some romantic ideal of individuality perhaps, which is a bit rich, considering I spend my days telling other people what to wear.
But as I age, and my desire (or capacity) to be young and aesthetically fluid narrows, I have found myself softening to the idea of trends. That is to say, at a point where I am more assured in my personal style than ever before, I am also more open-minded. Maybe the former allows for the latter? Either way, I got some of the Casablanca x New Balance trainers recently, and I feel great about it. I and/or society will no doubt grow tired of them at some point – the tragic fate of any cool thing – but for now, they are the most dependably in shoe. They hit the trend for kitsch Eighties sportswear (spearheaded by Casablanca, anyway), as well as the macro footwear trend for archive reissues. See Adidas’s Superstar, Nike’s Cortez, Reebok’s Instapump Fury. They’re also loud, but not ‘ugly’. And they’re obscenely comfortable. So it’s win-win(-win).
I bought some New Balance 990s, too. I’m about two years late, but that’s OK. I have Birkenstock clogs as well. And I recently took receipt of the black version of the Supreme Barbour, which is almost definitely too small for me but I already cut the tags off so there’s no going back. Perhaps I can get my shoulder bones shaved down a bit. It’s my first ever piece of Supreme anything. I think it’s cool, but have never understood the frenzy, nor the willingness to queue. Luckily, they have finally made a plain black wax jacket, just for Yo Pros like me!
But then again, maybe I’m not as magnanimous as I think. Maybe this isn’t some brave new world in which I gleefully take my place in the queue for the latest drops. Perhaps it’s just that the things I like are cool right now. In the latest issue of Esquire – on sale now – my colleagues and I broke down the how, why and where of a trend we’re calling neo-prep. A sort of fusion of sportswear, heritage brands, classic tailoring, comedy and the occasional hallucinogenic motif that is so hot right now. I’m referring to brands like Noah, Bode, Drake’s, Paraboot, Brain Dead, Snow Peak etc. And perhaps I’m more assured than ever in my own personal style because my own personal style just happens to be cool right now. It’s all very unnerving, to be honest. I just like dressing like an Ivy League professor who could scale El Capitan and/or attend a store opening in Tokyo at any moment. If that’s “cool”… shoot me.
Trends, ultimately, are good. First and foremost, they are what drives the fashion industry. If ever I ask designers what they think of trends, they say they pay no attention to them. But without commercial frenzy, without inexplicable popularity and without whole swathes of young people becoming periodically obsessed with one brand/colour/pattern/silhouette/accessory, many brands would wither and die. I often think fashion houses are like football teams in that they have boom and bust periods, salad days and doldrums. And sometimes all it will take to get a company out of the cold and into the sunshine is one really good, viral product.
They also provide society with a stylistic framework to work from. Either you identify as someone that likes a certain trend, or you identify as someone who doesn’t. Both outcomes are as valuable as each other. Take the recent wave of oversized trousers; I’ve tried them, but they’re just not for me. Some men look great in baggy slacks, but I look like a down-at-heel supply teacher. A lesson learned, a window closed. But a door will likely open up somewhere else.
Trends for the onrushing autumn include frilly shirts, navy blazers, boxing apparel, cummerbunds and anything in a deep shade of red. I will be dabbling in some and swerving many others. But I for one am excited, seeing this season as a chance to continue to embrace the new.And with any luck one of those cummerbunds will serve to stymie the irrepressible expansion of my dad bod. If I only I could resist the trend for pale ale and crisps.
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