SS21 Lookbook
Clarity of Our Youth

When you’re young, you know everything.

Or at least that’s how you feel. The funny thing is that the act of growing up maybe isn’t even about knowing or not-knowing. Growing up is about search & discovery. We search for truth, we search for pleasure, we search for our self.

Today we grapple with the effects of a worldwide pandemic and racial injustice, and somehow we find ourselves searching again. Things are no longer black & white - being “grown up” is hard and life is complicated.

When you’re young, you don’t worry about taxes or stress over next month’s rent--we obsess over hanging out with friends or the person we have a crush on. But being a kid is not just about being oblivious--it’s a time when we’re not too proud to say “I was wrong” or too smart to listen to someone else’s perspective. Life becomes less complicated when we can become like a child, step outside of ourselves, and consider others.

SS21 deals with what it means to become young again through the theme of rebellion, punk, friendship, and self-discovery. “Clarity of Our Youth” explores the spirit behind a piercing or the thrill of buying your first CD with a Parental Advisory sticker. The collection relives the extra effort you take to find something you enjoy, and what it meant to have something you have an inexplicable attraction to, just like a first crush.

Ironically, the season’s “punk” theme reflects the spirit of the times: the range of different styles was pared down to fewer items that are utilitarian but uniquely expressive through DIY-style embellishments and modifications that make the pieces modular and multi-use. In a world where priorities and essentials are constantly being redefined, we satiate our persisting need for romance through the rediscovery and re-purposing of “old” things like a military parka or vintage/salvage fabric. Deadstock materials were used to express the beauty of temporary or limited objects and the new appreciation we have for things we may have taken for granted before.

Accessories like the bibs add an element of rebellious strangeness that can be used to enhance or modify other garments. Styles like the Collar Chameleon Vest & Blazer allow the wearer, like a young person who is still trying to find themselves, to change the outfit to any situation.

The irony of youth is that expressing our individuality is many times an effort to fit in and find our tribe among people that we admire or find comfort in. In a time when we have been uncontrollably divided, maybe finding ourselves can help us find each other.