Hundreds of people dressed in Y2K, grunge, and everything Heaven flocked to the Music Hall of Williamsburg on March 2, 2023 to attend a secret Deftones show hosted by Heaven by Marc Jacobs. The Heaven collection is inspired by youth rebellion and whimsical 2000s nostalgia in a modern digital age. At the concert, model Scarlett Costello is photographed by Travis Bass, wearing a Heaven distressed modular knit dress, and a vintage leather trench coat on top. Slung over her shoulder is a Heaven puffer purse. She’s standing alongside jewelry designer Martine Ali, who is posed with a vintage ProSports leather racing jacket, low waisted jeans, and is adorned with silver accessories and jewelry. On top, she layered a baseball cap with an oversized black hat. Both ladies are posed in front of a pink and black printed wall, with images of Deftones plastered all over. Travis Bass’s photo of Scarlett Costello and Martine Ali at the secret Deftones concert captures how the Heaven by Marc Jacobs collection has redefined alternative fashion into the cultural norm for Generation-Z. The brand’s avant-garde approach tied together 2000’s nostalgia, thrifting culture, and social media subcultures into one of the most raved designer campaigns amongst Gen-Z.
It’s no secret that trends of the early 2000s have become mainstream again. Gen-Z’s nostalgia for the 2000s stems from early childhood memories, and results in embracing the fashion and pop culture trends from the era. Collaborating with Deftones for the Spring 2023 collection allowed Heaven to incorporate alternative themes into mainstream trends. Deftones, a rock band loved by alternative Gen-X and Millennials, has quickly been embraced by Y2K obsessed Gen-Z’ers. The Heaven x Deftones collection features $300 jeans and $150 jersey shirts both printed with the Around the Fur album cover, and a $95 baby tee featuring a girl covered by the name Deftones. In March, Heaven and Deftones decided to celebrate the collection by hosting a secret concert in the young and trendy Williamsburg neighborhood in Brooklyn. The concert amassed a waitlist of 20,000 tickets, which didn’t stop hundreds of fans from congregating outside Music Hall hoping for a last minute admission. Inside held influencers, models, actors, designers alongside fashion-forward youth dressed head-to-toe in Heaven. The concert was the perfect encapsulation of alternative turning exclusive, from the barely-attainable prices of the collection, to the celebrity crowd that attended, to the cult-like craze around the event.
Gen-Z is arguably the most thrifting obsessed generation, as it promotes individuality and sustainability. This generation is aware of where they choose to buy their clothes, and the impacts their purchases have on garment makers and the environment. Because of this, many zoomers have rejected fast fashion and have turned to shopping vintage and secondhand. In this image, Costello and Ali are both wearing vintage outerwear, reflecting their generation’s values. Heaven is inspired by this younger generation finding baby tees in thrift stores’ children’s sections, buying old camo pants as ‘ironic fashion’, and embracing vintage knitwear featuring holes and loose fibers. The designs seen in Heaven emerged from the racks of thrift stores, and were quickly brought to the top of the fashion world. Costello’s modular knit dress looks as if Jacobs took a vintage grandpa sweater that’s falling apart, cut it up and safety pinned it together, thereby transforming it into the $300 avant-garde form fitting dress that has Gen-Z in a chokehold.
Because Gen-Z is the first generation to grow up in a fully online world, the internet and social media have a strong impact on what fashion trends are ‘in’ amongst Gen-Z. Tik tok has arguably become the main platform for predicting fashion trends amongst Gen-Z. Tessa, the fashion critic/influencer behind the page ModernGurlz gives her input. “Any time enough people on my Tik Tok feed are wearing something, I’m like ‘Well that’s about to make a serious comeback.” Recently, alternative fashion has been trending on Tik tok, resulting in new people being introduced to subcultures like cyber goth, grunge, and harajuku. Although alternative fashion has been prevalent for decades, this surge on social media has resulted in it matriculating into the mainstream. Unlike many other brands, Heaven is aware of the power that social media influencers have on Gen-Z. The brand routinely connects with the fashion influencers Zoomers see on their Tik Tok ‘for you page’ to create buzz around the collection. Both Costello and Ali have amassed quite a following on social media, which contributes to the Tik tok savvy image of Heaven. Heaven’s awareness of social media trends, internet subcultures, and micro influencers is what sets it apart from other fashion campaigns, and is why Gen-Z is entranced by the brand. Heaven has essentially drawn inspiration from other subcultures, and then created their own subculture. Customers and fans of Heaven belong to a certain community that connects over their affinity for internet centered fashion, which has a twist of nostalgia and individuality.
The Heaven x Deftones collection is certainly one for the fashion history books. The brilliant overlap of Y2K frenzy, alternative subcultures, social media trends, and avant-garde designer input has resulted in a collection and concert like no other. It’ll be exciting to see how the relationship between alternative fashion and designer brands will evolve, and if more designers will adopt a Gen-Z focused approach to fashion design. Until then, shoppers will turn to the beautiful experimentation of Marc Jacobs’ designs to find a sliver of Heaven on earth.
Comentarios