DIY Fashion Journalistic/- Editorial Articles Tess Burns - FASH 419.02
Journalistic
DIY Fashion and Individualism In the era of mass consumerism and dressing to fit in, some people are breaking away, creating DIY garments to stand out. NEW YORK, United States - In the era of mass consumerism and dressing to fit in, some people are breaking away, creating unique garments to stand out. These one-of-a-kind garments are made to be different than other clothes on the market and to showcase the wearer’s personality. This do-it-yourself trend allows the wearer to rise above the noise of mass consumerism and showcase themselves as a person instead of a shopper. WGSN said this about the DIY trend: “Hand-painted artwork, frayed edges and excessive embellishment are key. The message here is one of individuality rather than mass consumerism.” This trend was seen on the streets of New York, London and Paris. The DIY trend is seen on vintage-looking apparel like lived in denim jackets, jeans, t-shirts, button-ups, sweaters, and bags. Men are putting a personal touch on every aspect of their look. The garments can be hand painted, embroidered, frayed, reconstructed, patchworked, anything to make the garment one of a kind. People can create their own DIY garments or buy them from an artist. Australian DIY artist Pauly Bonomelli has risen to fame by making one-of-akind clothing for streetwear tastemakers like Kanye West and A$AP Rocky. Bonomelli creates one-off pieces which are covered in slogans, illustrations, and rock-inspired logos on t-shirts and denim jackets. Bonomelli said this about his inspiration: “One of none…style should be about the individual again, not the flock.” Another DIY artist gaining attention is Royals vs. Everybody. They create original pieces by hand drawing illustrations with sharpie markers on vintage jackets, pants, shirts, skirts, shoes, and bags. The designs are influenced by skater culture using popular vintage motifs such as roses, skeletons, flames, and knifes on their work. Risk Magazine recently incorporated the DIY trend in a photoshoot with male model, Kirill Kabachenko, who wore a hand-painted shirt and embellished jeans. Though popular now, the DIY trend has come in and out of fashion since the 1950’s when the phrase DIY was first coined. The concept of do it yourself came about in the 1950’s when people would fix their cars or improve their homes instead of paying someone to do it. People felt empowered to take action and do something themselves instead of relying on other people to do it. This idea shifted over to clothing in the 1960’s during the hippie movement. Hippies took the concept of DIY and
incorporated it to create colorful looks. They wanted to break away from the rampant commercialism of their parents’ generation and create something for themselves. They used recycled clothing and personalized it by hand sewing trims and other fabrics on the garment. They would decorate military jackets they got from an army surplus store with messages of peace and love to protest against the war. This was a tribute to freedom from the older generations, with a playful spirit. The break from commercialism continued in the 1970’s as DIY fell out of favor in mainstream fashion and in favor with the punk subculture. The trend evolved, stepping away from the peace and love hippies movement and into the dark and rebellious punk movement. People added studs, hardware, slogans, and illustrations onto plain t-shirts and motorcycle jackets. In the 1980’s the DIY punk style was seen in some of Vivienne Westwood’s work in London. The punk subculture pushed back against the haves and the have-nots. They would wear their political and socially charged DIY fashion to stand up against the upper class. They rebelled against looking or acting a certain way and wanted to be different. In the 1990’s DIY moved toward the grunge look, which came from the idea the youth had to fend for themselves because the government wouldn’t help them. They took matters into their own hands, and similar to the 1950’s DIY ideas, made things themselves because they didn’t need to rely on anyone else. They wore thrift store clothes and updated them by adding trims and patches similar to the hippie DIY. An iconic DIY garment of the 1990’s was a denim jacket covered in sharpie scribbles worn by Tweaky Dave, a homeless, heroin-addicted teenager photographed by Jim Goldberg in his 1995 book Raised by Wolves. Flash forward to 2016 and Kanye West wore a replica of the jacket to New York Fashion Week created by Pauly Bonomelli. People questioned the taste level of wearing a garment made famous by a troubled teen. Jim Goldberg spoke out against Kanye wearing a replica: “The spirit and intention of Kanye could be right, but the manner in which he is presenting it is wrong. All meaning has been lost. [He’s] forgetting history –– not acknowledging where that design came from is wrong.” This jacket represented the struggles of a troubled teen who had to turn to sex work to feed his drug addiction. A month later Kanye opened his pop up shop for his album Life of Pablo. One of the items in the pop-up shop was a vintage looking denim jacket with sharpie words all over it, inspired by Dave’s jacket. The pop up shop did very well selling DIY inspired clothing. Gucci also jumped on the DIY trend and had a pair of jeans and a classic light wash denim jacket with a fur cheetah print collar covered in scribbles for their 2017 Cruise collection. The popularity of Pinterest has made it easy for people to find and do easy DIY projects beyond clothing: how to cook, decorate and make things people would usually buy. The internet has given people the ability to figure out how to make anything on their own. A family even built their house by watching YouTube videos. People are empowered to do it themselves. The internet also makes it possible for people to see what other people are wearing all over the world. Now people can look at the trends in Hong Kong, London, Paris, and New York all in the same day, and have access to retailers all over the world. The internet made the world a more accessible place for fashion. The internet has helped fast fashion grow, making it possible for people to wear the newest trends now. People can buy the latest trends now for cheap which lead to mass consumerism. The DIY trend is fighting against this and its followers don’t want to look like everyone else. People want something just for themselves, which complements the idea of customization.
The people who are making and wearing DIY fashion are sick of large companies stealing from musicians and artists just to make a quick profit. Companies like Urban Outfitters and Zara had taken artist work before and sold products. The DIY trend is about the authenticity of the artwork on a garment. It’s not about wearing it because it looks good, it’s about sending a message to society that they are not like the rest who wear knockoffs. They are true originals. Throughout history, people have created works of art or manipulated garments to stand out from the rest. People have and will continue to wear clothing that pushes against mass consumerism. In the future people will push the limits of DIY fashion by incorporating new design elements on classic garments and shy away from inauthentic DIY clothing.
Sources The WGSN Menswear Team. “Men’s Forecast A/W 19/20: Free Style.” WGSN.com, 2 Jan. 2018. Future Trends > A/W 19/20 > Forecast https://www.royalvseverybody.com https://www.royalvseverybody.com/hand-crafted https://www.risk-mag.com/new/gimmeskin https://krimsonklover.com/2016/01/26/the-art-of-hand-painted-clothing/ http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/06/fashion/delano-browns-painted-clothing.html http://www.lifescript.com/well-being/articles/d/diy_fashion_-_past_present_and_future.aspx http://www.anothermag.com/fashion-beauty/8231/the-style-tribes-who-brought-diyinto-the-mainstream http://www.complex.com/style/2016/05/customizing-clothes-like-kanye http://www.refinery29.com/diy-fashion-the-splatter-paint-trend https://www.sharpie.com/get-inspired/MAKE+A+STATEMENT.html https://hypebeast.com/2017/2/gucci-scribbled-writing-denim-jacket https://www.gq.com/story/how-to-cut-your-jeans http://www.etonline.com/fashion/153752_kim_kardashian_shows_off_hermes_bag_ painted_by_north_west http://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/brands/a-history-of-defacing-hermes-bags/ http://observer.com/2015/05/holly-fowlers-hand-painted-dresses-are-high-fashionnews/ https://www.grailed.com/drycleanonly/vivienne-westwood-sex-punk-fashion http://www.complex.com/style/2016/03/artist-claims-kanye-west-copied-life-of-pablo-denim-jacket http://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/15/books/runaways.html https://www.meltwater.com/blog/trend-spotting-the-zeitgeist-of-now/ https://www.highsnobiety.com/2016/03/23/asap-rocky-kanye-west-custom-clothing/ https://i-d.vice.com/en_uk/article/vbewqd/resurrecting-39slash39-the-70s-punkzine-that-chronicled-la39s-wild-diy-style-uk-translation https://www.mrporter.com/journal/daily/vintage-menswear-we-would-wear-today/792 https://unframed.lacma.org/2016/02/15/“black-leather-knee-hole-pants-can’t-playno-high-school-dance” http://designcollector.net/likes/embroidered-brands-by-james-merry
Editorial
Stop Buying and Do It Yourself Some people are fed up with looking like everyone else, so they have created unique items of clothing showcasing their individuality. NEW YORK, United States - Stop buying inauthentic DIY clothing and do it yourself. In the world of mass consumerism, it’s easy to buy the latest trends and fit in with everyone else. If your favorite celebrity is wearing a Chanel choker you can have a knockoff of that same choker by next week, and so can your friends. The internet has helped fast fashion grow, making it possible for you to wear the newest trends now. You can buy the latest trends for cheap, which leads to mass consumerism. Some people are fed up with looking like everyone else, so they have created unique items of clothing showcasing their individuality. The DIY trend is fighting against mass consumerism and doesn’t want to fit in. This trend is when the wearer either creates their unique garment or buys it from an artist. DIY is about handcrafted elements, putting a person behind the artwork on the garment. It has been seen on vintage looking apparel such as lived-in denim jackets, jeans, t-shirts, button-ups, sweaters, and bags. The garments can be hand painted, embroidered, frayed, reconstructed, patchworked, anything to make the garment one of a kind. WGSN said this about the DIY trend: “Hand-painted artwork, frayed edges and excessive embellishment are key. The message here is one of individuality rather than mass consumerism.” DIY is do it yourself not buy it yourself ! Australian DIY artist Pauly Bonomelli has risen to fame by making one-of-akind clothing for streetwear tastemakers like Kanye West and A$AP Rocky. Bonomelli creates one-off pieces which are covered in slogans, illustrations, and rock-inspired logos on t-shirts and denim jackets. Bonomelli said this about his inspiration: “One of none…style should be about the individual again, not the flock.” Another DIY artist gaining attention is Royals vs. Everybody. They create original pieces by hand-drawing illustrations with sharpie markers on vintage jackets, pants, shirts, skirts, shoes, and bags. The designs are influenced by skater culture using popular vintage motifs such as roses, skeletons, flames, and knifes on their work. Risk Magazine recently incorporated the DIY trend in a photoshoot with male model, Kirill Kabachenko, who wore a hand-painted shirt and embellished jeans. The essence of DIY is making something specifically for you by you or from an artist. DIY is not the same as buying a denim jacket covered in scribbles
from a large retailer which multiple people will own. That isn’t real DIY; that is the lazy way of owning this trend. If you buy a jacket from H&M that has embroidered illustrations, chances are that jacket is a ripoff of a one-of-akind jacket someone took the time and energy to hand embroider. Once the DIY trend hits the market, all meaning will be lost, and everyone will own the same fake “DIY” garment which is precisely what the trend is fighting against. The concept of do it yourself came about in the 1950’s when people would fix their cars or improve their homes instead of paying someone to do it. People felt empowered to take action and do something themselves instead of relying on other people to do it. This idea shifted over to clothing in the 1960’s during the hippie movement. Hippies took the concept of DIY and incorporated it to create colorful looks. They wanted to break away from the rampant commercialism of their parents’ generation and create something for themselves. They used recycled clothing and personalized it by hand sewing trims and other fabrics on the garment. They would decorate military jackets they got from an army surplus store with messages of peace and love to protest against the war. This was a tribute to freedom from the older generations, with a playful spirit. The break from commercialism continued in the 1970’s as DIY fell out of favor in mainstream fashion and in favor with the punk subculture. The trend evolved, stepping away from the peace and love hippies movement and into the dark and rebellious punk movement. People added studs, hardware, slogans, and illustrations onto plain t-shirts and motorcycle jackets. In the 1980’s the DIY punk style was seen in some of Vivienne Westwood’s work in London. The punk subculture pushed back against the haves and the have-nots. They would wear their political and socially charged DIY fashion to stand up against the upper class. They rebelled against looking or acting a certain way and wanted to be different. In the 1990’s DIY moved toward the grunge look, which came from the idea the youth had to fend for themselves because the government wouldn’t help them. They took matters into their own hands, and similar to the 1950’s DIY ideas, made things themselves because they didn’t need to rely on anyone else. They wore thrift store clothes and updated them by adding trims and patches similar to the hippie DIY. An iconic DIY garment of the 1990’s was a denim jacket covered in sharpie scribbles worn by Tweaky Dave, a homeless, heroin-addicted teenager photographed by Jim Goldberg in his 1995 book Raised by Wolves. Flash forward to 2016 and Kanye West wore a replica of the jacket to New York Fashion Week created by Pauly Bonomelli. People questioned the taste level of wearing a garment made famous by a troubled teen. Jim Goldberg spoke out against Kanye wearing a replica: “The spirit and intention of Kanye could be right, but the manner in which he is presenting it is wrong. All meaning has been lost. [He’s] forgetting history –– not acknowledging where that design came from is wrong.” This jacket represented the struggles of a troubled teen who had to turn to sex work to feed his drug addiction and should not be worn as a fashion statement; I’m talking to you Kanye. A month later Kanye opened his pop up shop for his album Life of Pablo. One of the items in the pop-up shop was a vintage looking denim jacket with sharpie words all over it, inspired by Dave’s jacket. The pop up shop did very well selling DIY inspired clothing. By selling a copy of a copy, Kanye didn’t care about the original meeting of Dave’s jacket but liked the aesthetics of it. This is the problem when retailers replicate real DIY fashion and mass produce it; the artist’s message is lost, and the look is all that matters. Gucci also jumped on the DIY trend and had a pair of jeans and a classic light
wash denim jacket with a fur cheetah print collar covered in scribbles for their 2017 Cruise collection which is yet another version of Dave’s jacket lacking meaning. These “DIY” inspired clothing isn’t handmade and lose the importance of the trend; it just exists to fit in and look cool. To avoid being a DIY poser, I will give you some easy steps. Step one: don’t be afraid of DIY. Just dive in and do it. Some people may be hesitant to paint or draw on a garment because they will mess it up. But this isn’t about being perfect; it’s about being different. So, any mistake is good and makes that garment even more unique. Step two, figure out what you want to do. You could paint the garment, embroider it, add patches, cover it in buttons, anything you want. If you don’t know how to add patchwork to your jeans, watch a video or two to figure it out. Then get the needed materials. Take your vintage clothing or old leather jacket and update it by creating artwork on it. Run wild! Just remember, DIY is all about self-expression and standing out from the crowd. Why buy into the fake DIY style companies are trying to create? Instead, support a small artist or create it yourselves. Find their creative side and unleash it on clothing.
Sources The WGSN Menswear Team. “Men’s Forecast A/W 19/20: Free Style.” WGSN.com, 2 Jan. 2018. Future Trends > A/W 19/20 > Forecast https://www.royalvseverybody.com https://www.royalvseverybody.com/hand-crafted https://www.risk-mag.com/new/gimmeskin https://krimsonklover.com/2016/01/26/the-art-of-hand-painted-clothing/ http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/06/fashion/delano-browns-painted-clothing.html http://www.lifescript.com/well-being/articles/d/diy_fashion_-_past_present_and_future.aspx http://www.anothermag.com/fashion-beauty/8231/the-style-tribes-who-brought-diyinto-the-mainstream http://www.complex.com/style/2016/05/customizing-clothes-like-kanye http://www.refinery29.com/diy-fashion-the-splatter-paint-trend https://www.sharpie.com/get-inspired/MAKE+A+STATEMENT.html https://hypebeast.com/2017/2/gucci-scribbled-writing-denim-jacket https://www.gq.com/story/how-to-cut-your-jeans http://www.etonline.com/fashion/153752_kim_kardashian_shows_off_hermes_bag_ painted_by_north_west http://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/brands/a-history-of-defacing-hermes-bags/ http://observer.com/2015/05/holly-fowlers-hand-painted-dresses-are-high-fashionnews/ https://www.grailed.com/drycleanonly/vivienne-westwood-sex-punk-fashion http://www.complex.com/style/2016/03/artist-claims-kanye-west-copied-life-of-pablo-denim-jacket http://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/15/books/runaways.html https://www.meltwater.com/blog/trend-spotting-the-zeitgeist-of-now/ https://www.highsnobiety.com/2016/03/23/asap-rocky-kanye-west-custom-clothing/ https://i-d.vice.com/en_uk/article/vbewqd/resurrecting-39slash39-the-70s-punkzine-that-chronicled-la39s-wild-diy-style-uk-translation https://www.mrporter.com/journal/daily/vintage-menswear-we-would-wear-today/792 https://unframed.lacma.org/2016/02/15/“black-leather-knee-hole-pants-can’t-playno-high-school-dance” http://designcollector.net/likes/embroidered-brands-by-james-merry