Within our community of enthusiasts, the word "authentic" is a bit like the ultimate compliment, the final result of years of research into men's clothing.
In the wake of Nicolò's latest Sapristi which explains how to create an authentic style, I will give you my vision of the subject, the paradox it involves and my "recommendations".
What is authentic style?
For that, I want to share an anecdote.
I remember, during the first evening organized by Gore-Tex in January 2018, I was able to meet Errolson Hugh, the founder of the techwear brand Acronym .
He was obviously dressed all in Acronym, pieces that have a super strong, improbable design, but... It suited him perfectly, he embodied his clothes so much (normal, he was the designer).
The cream of techwear, in January 2018: Errolson Hugh, founder of Acronym, on the left and Taka Kasuga in the middle, designer of Veilance.
And yet, he was wearing improbable harem pants in technical fabric, two Gore-Tex jackets one on top of the other, a T-shirt that went down to his thighs and his famous “neck gaiter ” zipped.
Even my partner at the time, who accompanied me to this party and who was not at all a fan of techwear, found that he had “great style”.
That's it, for me an authentic style is that, it's when there is such an alignment between the wearer and the garment that you say to yourself that it couldn't be dressed any other way.
And it's a bit of a paradox: the more we dress for ourselves, for pleasure, the more we obtain the approval of others... Approval of others which has no longer been a driving force for a long time.
It’s the famous thing where we say to ourselves “hey, only him can wear something like that”.
In this respect, Goro, the late Japanese jeweler, is the perfect incarnation of an “authentic” style:
The great paradox of “authentic” style
But you understand, we must first resolve this cognitive dissonance, this reasoning that some beginners face, more or less consciously:
- “I want to be accepted and noticed by others, so I want to be “well” dressed
- Which supposes a consensus in my style
- But the more consensual I am in my style, the less people notice me
- But the more I push the singularity of my style, the more the chances that my style will displease others increase…
- And if I don't please others, I don't like myself. »
Obviously, we could say to ourselves that it is enough not to pay attention to the views of others... That we must above all please ourselves.
Yeah… I invite you to pay attention to the clothing style of the people who give this speech, you will see that there too, a dissonance, there is a beautiful one between their speech and their clothes!
And quite frankly, when a person tells me that they are proud of being totally free from the gaze of others, strangely I am not a very fan of their clothes, and I found that their style was not really authentic at the time... Because it lacked taste (and that rhymes).
In my opinion, there is no real magic solution that reconciles the two extremes. Or rather, if there is one, it's that at some point, you have to confront the famous "ah, I'm not a big fan of what you're wearing" from others about one of your pieces.
And you will realize that it doesn't do much for you. Not even pride in being above that. It doesn't do anything to you.
And so you will be more and more curious and open to finding unique elements of your style, without rushing, and without wanting to prove to the whole world that you are unique . Just for pleasure and the desire to discover.
Mattia, founder of ABCL Garments, archetype of authentic style.
We can always theorize what an authentic style is, where I thought for a long time that there was necessarily an unexpected piece, or a contrast in style.
Well, not that much actually. When I see people like Hiroki Nakamura, Errolson Hugh, Alessandro Squarzi, Mattia from ABCL Garments, Michael T, Gerardo Cavaliere, or the whole “Sarto sphere”, on the contrary, they have styles with very coherent pieces.
On the other hand, they push singularity further than the others by playing on colors, volumes, proportions, in short, by each exploring their respective niches.
Hiroki Nakamura, founder of Visvim, who perfectly embodies his brand.
They devote time to it, a lot of time, but without realizing it because it is a passion and a pleasure.
Achieving authenticity: my recommendations
And finally, rather than advising you to try improbable things in your style, try on the contrary to take the type of pieces that you like the most, but to push the research even further. For example, if you love denim jackets, go find the even more ultimate denim jacket than the one you already have.
This is where you will come across niche brands and small, passionate creators with a great approach. Where “fashion” takes on its full meaning.
T Michael and Alexander, the duo behind Norwegian Rain, always exploring new volumes.
That's kind of where I'm at in outdoor clothing right now. Even if, I remind you, I have to hike less than 100 km per year.
That's what I had to say about authentic style. And for you, what is authentic style? Leave me a comment, I'm really curious to hear from you about this.
