Leandra Medine of Man Repeller once confessed she’d never knock Crocs, and her reason was that every fashion item seizes their moment in the spotlight at some point. It was as if she had a telescope into the future — 2017 reintroduced some of history’s most revolting trends like shouty tees and gaudy sneakers, but even more spot-on was the rude reinvention of Crocs, quite possibly the epitome of tasteless footwear. We’ve already cringed pretty hard at some designers’ work that look highly referential to our local Pasar Malams, and even though we’ve literally just said “epitome of tasteless footwear,” we kind of are into them!
It doesn’t seem like ugly is dropping out of trend anytime soon. Here’re some other exemplifications of tastelessness in fashion that somehow ended up on our list of looks we’ll probably see next year.
Quotation Marks by Off-White
FOR WALKING LEATHER HIGH BOOTS € 1,820, WHITE BIKER JACKET € 1,794 (pre-order), SCULPTURE XL BAG € 2,210, on Off-White
If you follow any streetwear blogs or Instagram accounts you would’ve be privy to this rather off (pun) trend of self-referential text encased in quotation marks. Trademark-worthy at this point is Virgil Abloh for Off-White’s signature, a pretty unique take on normcore if you ask us. Off-White’s success on social media’s definitely attributed to this sort of gimmicky design, but the brand’s schtick of creating obscure-looking wearables isn’t out of left field for them, so we’re sure this speaks directly to the Off-White customer. Sure, some of us couldn’t wrap our heads around the app-crashing hype surrounding Abloh’s Nike “Ten,” and with an upcoming Converse iteration we’re sure will sell out the day of its release, but the massive growth of the brand within years speaks perhaps even louder than the font size on these bags and shoes.
Bra Bags by Helmut Lang
Bra Purse Shoulder Bag, $635.00 on Shopbop
Before Hypebeast culture there was Helmut Lang. The industry was anticipating the revival of the label under Shayne Oliver, founder of his own label Hood By Air. If New York used to be criticised for it’s overtly commercial fashion brands, Oliver is proving otherwise. His incredibly fetishistic collection featured an array of weird items, from transparent briefcases that don’t make great storage space for ransom money, bags that looked like rolled up newspaper and the highlight handbags that the models wore across their chests like a kinky leather bra. It’s the only time stuffing tissue in a bra won’t land you under judging eyes, if the bag itself doesn’t already do the trick.
Everything by Demna Gvasalia
Lighter-heel sock ankle boots $1690, Granny medium leather bag $4680, Ulrich logo-print leather book clutch $6045 on MatchesFashion
Vetements has been under the scrutiny for a larger part of the fashion press who can’t figure out if creative director Demna Gvasalia’s designs are innovative or a joke. The name “Vetements” directly translates to “clothing” in French, but from what we’re seeing there’re far from just that.
Screensaver Pants Balenciaga SS18 Runway Show by Vogue
In other Gvasalia news, his work at Balenciaga continues to reinvent the 80’s republican woman who wears a suit to the office every day and fears her son might have misguided interests (maybe she should get the Vetement’s clutch above). That woman frankly has fashion at the bottom of her list of priorities, so when she tries to put together a full look she ends up looking like she picked everything up from a tourist gift shop.
Mop Heels by Christopher Kane
Christopher Kane Runway Show SS18 by Vogue
Ahhh, Christopher Kane, the London designer we’re all rooting for. He featured a collection of domestication and sensuality in his latest Spring-Summer collection, bridging the polar gender expectations of women in the past. With a twist on home wear like mops he designed white tasselled heels that bounced about vivaciously as the models strutted down the runway. He used this same motifs to create earrings, among other lace details embellished on Peter Pan collars and sleeve cuffs. If there’s one person to do by ugly right, it’s Kane.
Header image: Thom Browne SS18 from Fashion Unfiltered, Margiela SS18 from InStyle, Gucci Cruise 18 from Fashionista
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