U T O P I A

EDITOR'S NOTE:

The world of fashion is scary. Well, it seems that way when the fashion girlies are known for Vinted beef and fighting over ‘baby-tees’ in the children’s section of the charity shop. But it’s not all afghan coats and BDG cargos. We want to change this rep, and what better way than to do it through the world of kitsch? Kitsch bridges the gap between the beautiful and the ugly, the satirical and the serious, the outdated and the avant-garde. It stands for everything that fashion should be; inclusive, accessible and just plain silly.

The performance of Kitsch is subversive, critiquing the role of mainstream society as it turns the tasteless into the fabulous. It’s transformative nature knows no better friend than sustainable fashion. Reworking the very foundations of the industry, both kitsch and sustainability look to repurpose the outdated in order to birth something new. At it’s core, we have come to realise that kitsch is, most importantly, fuelled by irony. So, in it’s true spirit, we have curated a list of random (and objectively stupid) things that we have decided are kitsch, and un-kitsch:

Kitsch:

Sylvanian Families, Vajazzles, Ursula, Knitted Cardigans, Gummy Bear Earrings, Scrub Daddies, Kilts, American Candy Store Paraphernalia, 5 Minute crafts, Zoella, Beliebers, Henry Hoovers, Random Acts of Kindness

Not Kitsch: Gravity Nightclub, Nandos, Gift Cards, Instagram Reels, Jelly Cats, The National Gallery, UO Corset Tops, Nike Socks, Uno, Redbull, Hailey Bieber, Skinny Scarves

Lots of love, The Utopia Team xox