Go figure his fashion sense was ahead of the time. He is wearing Acronym in the article's photo, which if you ask me, is the most compelling fashion brand on the entire planet.
I always liked Acronym from a design perspective, but $2,000 for a basic jacket? Seems to me like minimalist street wear should be affordable by design.
Jesus. You can get a bespoke suit made by OECD-state labor and with decent materials for less than it'd cost to put together a jacket + trousers combo from Acronym. Granted, yes, you could also spend way more than that if you want a particular, famous tailor shop to make it, but still.
You can, but Acronym don't sell bespoke suits. Those are relatively well understood in terms of design, while a lot of the Acronym stuff looks like it would have required quite a bit of RnD. Factor in a very niche target market, plus that the price is probably more of a selling point than a downside in that segment, and I guess you get that kind of pricing.
I'm certainly not buying myself, but I also don't think they're just selling regular clothes at a spectacular markup. Whether their garments are any good, I have no idea.
Well, it's sort of a truism that you pay more for less when it comes to fashion (and minimalism of other kinds, too...) But I'm glad Gibson can afford Acronym (and/or his connections are enough to swing him a free coat as an 'influencer'). Probably no single author has had such an impact on me, in hindsight.
You have to understand that our perception of fashion pricing is completely skewed by fast fashion. It is payed by slave labour and extremely poluting processes.
The 2000$ jacket is not wierd. The 50$ is.
I am not saying Acronym is super ecological or ethical (i dont know them). But with that pricetag there is atleast a chance. There is so much suffering behind new cheap clothes it is scary.
They are both weird IMO. Well-made, ethically-sourced jackets with high quality materials can be bought for like $200-$500. I understand the branding, exclusivity etc. that $2000 will buy, but saying that jackets need to cost that much isn't accurate.
You are right. Especialy if you are buying classic styles where there is no need for research/development than you can find quality + ethics + reasonable price (100s usd range).
Classic Australian-style oilskin jackets and dusters can be had for under $300 for a really nice model, or under $150 for an ordinary one, made in Australia from high-quality 10-12oz oilskin fabric. The fabric and design with a rain-shedding cape have proven themselves over generations of people making their living outdoors.
It will be heavier than a modern Gore-Tex design, and perhaps not quite as breathable. On the other hand it won't delaminate after a couple of years and become useless for bad weather, which happens to all Gore-Tex jackets I've owned, even nice rainjackets from Helly-Hansen and similar brands. You can repair and re-impregnate oilskin/oilcloth/waxed cotton with new wax yourself, and keep it for decades.
If I was going on a serious trekking/hiking/mountaineering trip, yes I would buy the modern lightweight technical clothing. But for use in ordinary rain and snow and everyday life, I'll stick with the oilskin coat and hat.
It is weird. There has never been a time in the history of man where paying the equivalent of 2000 in 2019 dollars for a single jacket is normal, outside of the most elite members of society. Yes, "fast fashion" is at the other extreme, but there is a huge gulf between the cheap, low quality $50 jackets and the absurdly priced $2000 jackets.
From what iknow it was true forever before mid 19th century when mass industralization started.
Before that time every garment required fitting and people had very few of them because they were very expensive. They were used often times for decades thanks to care and repairs.
i wouldn't call it basic - the materials and fixings are very very very expensive, and the actual patterns of the clothes are ungodly complex. cobrax buttons are ~$5 each for example.
Having watched a bunch of videos about their clothes out of curiosity, I have to say they do seem to make use of decent-quality materials, with the caveat that Gore-Tex never lasts as long as it's supposed to, and it's completely impossible to repair once it starts delaminating.
As for the cut and features, yeah they have a few cute tricks and features, but nothing to justify the hype and pricing.
It is a bit of a dystopian wet dream styling. No wonder the guy behind it helped doing fashion for Death Stranding.
I personaly think high tech fashion looks already a bit outdated but i would surely love to have some Acronym stuff. Unfortunately its way off my price range.