abercrombie
Out of context: Reply #82
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- balb0a0
Sorry i'm late to the party, but i'm feeling the need to chime in...
This one goes out to all the haters:
Abercrombie made a buttload of $$$ using pictures of buff naked males cavorting with labrador retrievers to sell pre-weathered baseball caps to ignorant gaybashing jocks in the midwest.
That irony alone is worthy of some praise.
And even though i don't personally identify with "the brand", they also did commit some pretty serious $$$ toward a printed tee and applied graphics program. And put a lot of designers to work.
We've all been conditioned to either LOVE or HATE brands. But don't you think that as designers, we should be the last ones to fall for that crap?
Can't you base your judgment on the bigger picture?
It's weird. I thought that this generation had finally gotten over the "MALL SUX. THRIFT RULEZ" mentality. I used to be the same way, but when Big Brands coopted punk rebellion, everything changed. It's over, people. One of the best skateparks I've ever seen is in the same Mall that I wouldn't have been caught dead in when I was in High School. The old borders are gone.
Are you all so Punk Rock™ that you can't see a billion other people just like you all doing exactly the same thing? Your identity can't be defined by what Brand you wear any more.
"Thrift" is a cliche just like Abercrombie. I can't get a damn thing at a Thrift Store these days because they're infested with poor little angry unhipsters.
Recursive culture, total media dissemination, and the Web has made it next to impossible to create something truly unique any more. It's all one big mix now.
What's important (besides calming the feck down) is how you select and combine what you wear. Sample across brands. Define yourself through unique assemblies. Customize. Buy an Abercrappie shirt, slap your own stencil on it, and strip the label off. Cut off the sleeves of a Thrift Store jacket, and layer it over a Gucci shirt. Get a Hong Kong Prada bag knockoff and stud it with metal spikes.
Don't hate -- Create!
And anyway, taking sides is sooo last season...
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