on archive fashion and gothic streetwear
an interview with @bloodytrueys on tiktok
if you enjoy archive gothic streetwear, dualspines’ fashion tiktok page (bloodytrueys) is essentially a virtual catalogue. seriously, we’ve got balenciaga armoured shoes, the margiela barbed wire belt, and of course, no excess of chrome hearts. the black colour palette accented with silver is making me want to start dressing cooler.
do you have any style icons that you look to for inspiration?
Yeah of course, I’ve been a big fan of punk music since I was a little kid. Seeing all the crazy ripped up leather jackets and DIY clothes that they rocked out in made me fall in love with 70’s punk culture. One of the main stylists to come out of that era was Vivienne Westwood. That woman is my idol. She incorporates weird and obnoxious designs in her clothes to give people something to think about as they walk by. I definitely look at that as inspiration.
if you were to design your own collection, what would it look like?
Personally, I am a big fan of graphics and images on clothing. I’ve never been the type of person to like the “quality” or subtle details in clothes. It’s always if it has a message or something cool on the clothing when I like it. I’ve always had this idea to mix 80’s traditional goth culture with the medieval era. I feel like both of those would complement each other very well.
what makes a good outfit?
Colour coding one hundred percent. Obviously, people can look amazing without matching colours but I think if you look at an outfit and it all mixes well together then it’s more than fashion, it’s almost like an art piece that lays on your skin.
what’s top of your fashion wishlist?
Back to Vivienne Westwood, there is a collection called “Seditionaries” that she launched in the late 70’s. All of the clothing she created in this era are like renaissance paintings as clothing. Just beautiful pieces of art. I would love to own a few real pieces one day.
what do your own day-to-day outfits look like?
I don’t think I own a single thing in my wardrobe that has colour. Everything is either black, white or grey. I love mixing luxury brands and gothic styles together. For example, today I wore a grey Chrome Hearts long sleeve with some Balenciaga cargo pants, along with Osiris skate shoes. This is just a way of combining different cultures into my own outfits.
do you have a favourite fashion show or collection?
Right now my favourite fashion show is ENFANTS RICHES DÉPRIMÉS PRINTEMPS ÉTÉ 2022. I love how Henry Levy incorporated real life weapons into his pieces. It’s definitely something new that I’ve seen at fashion shows. It’s something to keep the audience on edge for the next model that might walk up. This show is a set of “Nihilist Couture” mixed in a gothic style. However my favourite collection would have to be Le Grand Bleu and If Six Was Nine 2011 Fall/Winter collection. Japanese fashion is unbeaten. Nothing is ever plain and I love that. The collection has a sort of “modern pirate” feel with big fur jackets and loose skimpy shirts that have been made to look aged. I could honestly talk about it for hours.
any final thoughts?
A thought I have always had is why some pieces are so expensive. Especially when it looks like something straight from somebody’s bin. I am all for archive pieces but when you deliberately make something look dirty and “archive” when it’s brand new makes me feel uncomfortable in some ways. The UK has a big crisis for homelessness, who obviously have a lack of money to buy new clothes. It hurts me to see people make a profit from what some people have to suffer.
you can find dualspine’s tiktok page here: https://www.tiktok.com/@bloodytrueys