RETRO FORWARD: DIG DEEPER
To dress in an individual way, dig deeper, perhaps looking back to create a vibe to move forward with.
A crackly telephone line. West Yorkshire to West London. Wayne Hemingway, designer and founder of The Vintage Festival, picks up. A question is popped: What can young people learn from all things vintage? Mr H replies in an instant.
‘Vintage is about individuality, sustainability, design that lasts. Vintage reflects an appreciation of work that is classic, not temporary. Young people can learn so much from retro, styles that have stood the test of time.’
Sixty seconds. A moment of thanks, introduction gained. Phone down.
Music festivals such as Leeds and Reading can feel somewhat mainstream, from Hunter boots to accessories from Claire’s, New Look and Peacocks. Once upon a time, the music scene and even the gay scene led the way. Not any more. Too many Top Shop looks predominate, throwaway fashion is just so everywhere, disposable trash that’s mass-produced in far-flung sweatshops.
The last strains of English eccentricity are evident at specialist annual events, such as the Isle of Wight’s scooter ride out each August Bank Holiday weekend. From the customised American Fish Tail Parkas to the Vespas and Lambrettas at Smallbrook Stadium and alongside the Ryde Superbowl, new takes on 60s and 70s styling feel playful and fresh.
By night, the dancefloor at venues such as Ryde Town Club on Star Street feature a mod / skin vibe, with DJs Junior Boss and Jay Reggae on the decks. The boys are favouring new-line Brutus shirts mixed in with razor-sharp Adam tailoring plus Ben Shermans and Fred Perry polos worn under vintage nutty tanktops, with the girls going for e-Bay finds that their gran might’ve worn, graphics that they wouldn’t get run over in.
Kirby Harris, 22, from Kent is a regular at such Ska-dominated events. The hair and make-up is Twiggy, with a twist. The fabrics are all man-made – fierce Polyester, satin-feel viscose. Vintage purchases are picked up at a snip, then fitted to perfection, outcooling what the high street has to offer.
A high street is for shoppers. To dress in an individual way, dig deeper, perhaps looking back to create a vibe to move forward with, tuned into the real you.
Some of Wayne Hemingway’s Vintage event, that have taken on a national approach, feel like car boot sales on aceeed and are beyond pure nostalgia. Hemingway’s forthcoming creative directorship of Margate’s Dreamland total refurb, which is due to open in 2015, is aimed at exploring and celebrating style tribes of the past in what is to be the UK’s first streetstyle gallery, plus entertaining in a totally authentic amusement park, dodgems ‘n’ all. Dreamland promises to salute the past, but with a contemporary twist in the air to make it all come alive and be relevant to NOW.
Photographs and words by Paul Hartnett
