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I have a Pinterest board that I have titled very simply and abstractly, “avant garde.” It’s not a fashion board, as much as it’s an ideas board. I have pieces of literature in there, I have paintings and images of different art. And of course, I have images of outfits, accessories, and makeup. I started the board in the fall of last year when I was trying to figure out a way to organize inspiration I found online that I thought related to each other, but kind of vaguely. I love the words, avant garde, meaning “advance guard,” because by its very definition, there are no rules or limits. In terms of fashion, there have always been vanguards of novelty, of interesting ideas, of inspiration. But it feels like lately, it’s a lot easier to find those vanguards among every day people—students, baristas, old people, children.
The information age has brought us all closer to the weird, strange ideas our minds are intrigued by. The things you once needed to move to Paris to learn, you can now learn on TikTok or Reddit, from someone who’s never been to Paris. This is cool, and I might argue, is actually one of the best things the Internet has given us. Strangeness is everywhere, is sometimes rewarded in places outside of big metropolitan cities, and it begets more of itself.
We see this a lot in fashion now. So much of the modern fashion conversation is about archival ideas, references to old collections and iconography, personal style, and algorithm silo-ing. This is all fair and true. But I actually do think there is a lot that is very new and very of our time. One of my contemporary faves, Jonathan Anderson, does this beautifully. Seeing what he does in his work, the Loewe tomato, the balloons, the feather as a tie, the penny loafer tote, even the Puzzle bag, feels like hearing a joke for the first time. It is avant garde, and there is such an eager audience for it. Wearability isn’t even discussed. I think that’s powerful, and I think that’s a new thing. I think it’s a long, long departure from the culture that got crazy at a middle school-aged Tavi Gevinson for the bow in her hair blocking the runway.
Accessories are, perhaps the most approachable entry into this kind of dressing. Bag charms became pretty popular last year, and that’s a gentler, but effective expression of that kind of whimsy. Dipping your toes into fun pieces just to see what it feels like for you is totally necessary to eventually feeling comfortable in something super weird.
@kittylever
the year i became more me more vibrant more curious i took classes writing classes acting spanish and learned that i love to learn sent reckless texts shouted compliments lost friends made new ones created boundaries wrote love letters got rejected heard no heard yes heard nothing got up had a 100% success rate… at saving myself each time de-centered romance and became it instead my life becoming my poetry i indulged in whimsy and twirling and kissing had nightmares while my dreams came true ending the year with more monsters in my head because this year i really lived and stumbled into situations that left me scarred but that’s the pendulum of wisdom, right? oscillating between experiences that make you feel alive and ones that almost kill you and still i stand feeling so lucky lucky i get to spend my whole life with me lucky my soul chose this flesh suit lucky to write to you lucky to write to me
♬ Pieces (Solo Piano Version) – Danilo Stankovic
I follow this girl on TikTok named Kitty Lever, and I think she’s someone who really embodies this in her style. She doesn’t exactly have a fashion account, but her sense of humor and her clothing and her sincerity for the things she cares about all come together and comprise her charm. So much of getting weird with styling is not even about individual pieces, as much as it’s about seeing things go together that someone else might not understand. It’s about being confusing in a world that wants order.
We see this so much in pop stars these days. The term “cookie cutter pop” just is so old school because the biggest pop stars of the 2020’s are nothing but cookie cutter. Artists like Doechii, Chappell Roan, and Charli XCX know that their wardrobe is vital to the show they’re putting on. It’s practically like costuming for their one-man play.
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