In development from mid 2016, The Never was a response to a restrained fashion landscape. A frustrated retort to a sea of safe uniformity. The mainstream Melbourne fashion scene has an air of deja vu about it, perpetually safe and often recycled from prominent overseas styles.
Don't get me wrong I am a fan of a fitted tee and snapback but any alternative seems out of reach for many especially anything made in a batch smaller than 100,000 units. Fashion is an opportunity to display your tastes and values, to create an overall look or emphasis a particular piece and not perpetuate the broad term "street fashion". I am not the first to pose this question and many have asked it better (namely Reggie Casual) but I challenge you to define Street Fashion. I'm sure it conjures at least a vague image in your mind but is it unique to your experience or is it what's widely available? Street fashion is an extension of street culture which defies definition. Street culture allows for refinement and expansion of pure passion whatever that may be. A blank canvas for like minded people to develop a niche be it fashion, dance, sport etc often overlapping and influencing each other, an amalgamation of the people, of the street.
Street culture is an alternative to the norm and re-invents itself almost by definition. What was once edgy becomes diluted and people with the individualist desire to self express look for alternatives and that's where I think the purist innovations are made especially in fashion. The best aspect of street culture is the freedom it allows.
My first attempt at harnessing this freedom resulted in a rejected collection for a different (now defunct) startup brand. Production cost in Melbourne often force new brands to compromise on their vision, what was once a unique re-imagining on the traditionally hoody is now a generic mass produced offering with a logo. While still a legitimate example of self expression, it's hard to not lament the designers we have lost due to financial restraints. Who can forget the story of Fear of God owner/designer Jerry Lorenzo allegedly losing $30,000 on his first collection.
Style is a process, a discovery of options combined with life experience and a want to pursue what drives our interests. We are the product of our environment as much as our cultures are incomplete without the individuals that comprise them. The Never is an attempt to contribute to our surroundings.
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