Contrasts are there to make you think about something. When I come across something I like, I save it. Over time, you start to notice patterns: different images, different brands, different ideas, but somehow they share a DNA or an essence that feels relatable.
I really like the idea of rebellion in fashion, although I can understand why some people see it as purely shock value, with little or no relation to the brand itself. I think that’s a fair point. But perhaps it’s closer to a piece of art, something designed to make you stop and think about what fashion actually is, rather than simply producing another set of pretty pictures.
Creatives love to create fashion memes, especially playing with the duality between traditionally luxurious brands and youth culture. A Saint Laurent-branded condom? Is it actually created by the brand, or has it emerged from the online fashion community and become associated with the brand through repetition?
The same thing happens with guns, barking dogs, suggestive open mouth and other provocative imagery in the images. Somehow, they all end up accompanying brands like Prada, Saint Laurent and Louis Vuitton.
That’s what I find interesting.
I’d genuinely love to buy this kind of merch, if you can even call it that. The unusual branded objects that stand out precisely because they feel out of place. They’re not necessarily beautiful in the traditional sense, but they have a certain rawness to them.
Nowadays, I find these kinds of real, slightly strange images much more interesting than the endless stream of polished and perfectly styled AI imagery spreading across social media platforms. Fashion has always borrowed from rebellion, provocation and subcultures. But the internet has made the line between an actual campaign, a fan creation, a meme and a piece of brand communication almost impossible to see.
And maybe that confusion is part of what makes it interesting.
If anyone knows which of these strange branded objects, images and campaigns are actually real let me know. And which ones have probably been created by graphic designers into fashion.