I haven't even finished the video, but just need to say your latest batch of videos are really insightful and being well made is just the cherry on top
This made me think of a RUclipsr I watch recently joking about how much "viewers love negative content" and it hit me that we love it for not making us feel like we have to buy things
This style of video is the sole reason I subscribe. You are excellent at commentating on cultural/art shifts through the lense of fashion while being an entertaining communicator with a sense of self-aware humor. Keep it up! You’re in my top 5 on RUclips
I used to run a fashion history insta to not much of an audience . I would tirelessly research to give all adequate info about the designer, model , year etc , only to have accounts with huge followings steal them and be like , “Friday mood 1/2 off earrings lol “
I'm not into fashion culture personally, despite that, you are always able to keep the topic interesting and down to earth while promoting discussion. Great Video!
Music Journalism is the exact same. People at GCSE level English obsessed with the thesaurus describing a song as if we're deaf - rather than talking about what they think of it, it's musical arrangement, it's lyrical content, it's meaning, it's cultural or historical reference.
Great analysis! In the past (let's say 1980s) there were fewer gatekeepers and it took far longer for trends to make their way from for example Japan or the U.K.. The gatekeepers (or tastemakers if you will) were the magazines, some mainstream, some avant garde, as well as TV shows like Fashion TV and Style with Elsa Klensch. Editorial gave a point of view and informed us about trends. Now, the volume and velocity of fashion is so high (my elder brain boggles) and the profit motive is high across the board, it's hard to have any 'editorial'. Trends can still be identified, but it all seems so dishonest and, I agree, uninformed from a historical pov. It's all just "in the moment".
I think your point about different regions having distinct styles is a good one - the internet has created a lot of homogeneity rather than unique vibes.
The principle behind your point on fashion media is a lot more far-reaching than just fashion too. A news outlet is less likely to run a negative story about a business that runs ads on their network. A politician is less likely to vote for a bill that puts restrictions on a business sector that has a donor to their campaign. Especially in media, access is king.
this was a great nuanced video. I feel like fashion trends these days have the lifespan of memes and we quickly have to move on to the next collab. Like Marvel movies, they are just pumping out more products to consume. Although I try to stay with the golden age of 2018 techwear, I fall for the consumer attitude too. Especially now with brands like Goopimade and ACW coming out with a lot of cool fresh stuff that fits into techwear.
8:17 It's massively prevalent in the watch industry too. There was a release a few years back where this one hugely famous brand (Audemars Piguet) gathered as many social media influencers and bloggers as they could for an EXTRAORDINARILY fancy dinner in Switzerland to launch their new product line (CODE 11.59) and it was the absolutely most hilarious series of reviews ever. The CODE 11.59 itself was absolutely RIDICULED by the general watch community and it was so bad that you could even feel it from how forced and different the super positive "reviews" were from all the people that wanted to get invited back to Switzerland the next year.
I bought so many clothes I got exposed to one way or another that I just HAD to become more deliberate, I still have actual thousands of sick outfits (Greater than linear growth can kinda explode like that), now it's 50% ''Damn, I need a gray zipper cause these don't work with all my tees/hold back their combinations'', 49% ''Well, I do love Uniqlo's oversized half-sleeves, I do love raglan sleeve color blocking, I gotta get 3 of these Uniqlo oversized raglan color blocked half-sleeves'' and 1% ''Fine I'll get the green and off-white striped one and orange solid color one too'' I can only imagine how hard some people who have trapped themselves in the TikTok cycle are gonna one day realize they need at least some constraint, damn.
So weird, I was thinking the exact same while reading through the German GQ-Magazine. It‘s kinda surreal when you think about what they write is gonna be an essential item this summer bc some balenciaga catwalk „Model“ was wearing it…
Completely agree with your stance, and this is why I only stick to more critical/analytical(/meme) channels such as yours. And the magazines that are more critical are so niche unfortunately.
awesome video! highly recommend Bill Cunningham's book for more perspective about the relationship between fashion and the press/critique, to me it really conveyed how there's always been a tension between critics needing to be somewhat liked by the industry and given opportunities vs being able to publish more honest critical writing about clothes/brands/designers and that being an important part of their work as well
In a way it reminds me of the video game journalists most won't give any game a bad score because if they do the big companies won't send the review codes again. So instead of honest critical reviews we get a 10-30 minute advert
I once worked for a small music magazine and before they gave me any material to review they explicitly told me to write nice reviews. I was supposed to approach reviews more as adverts instead of critical pieces. So no surprise that fashion is the same. A lot of journalism in general is so uninteresting for the last 10 or so years to me. RUclipsrs have so much better content these days, I agree.
Antwon , I’ve been binging your content recently. Super insightful stuff and I’ve even begun reading some of the books you’ve mentioned in prior videos 🤝🏽
Wtf who are you? What is your educational background?! I just stumbled upon your channel, and your analyses are amazing, well written, dense in information and I frequently need to stop the video to appreciate what you just said. AMAZING! Edit: 11:05 When I was 26 or so I got sick of trendy things falling apart and losing their shape despite sometimes being pretty pricey. I started watching channels that teach you about different stitches, leather types, shoe sole quality and so on and it just made me feel so empowered to be able to critically look at a piece of clothing and make an informed decision whether or not to buy it instead of just buying it because it's pretty.
I feel that the content of your channel has become more and more to teach people to identify the media, rather than fashion information, you are on the pass of your enemies, Antwon！
Think this is reactionary to the general hate that Criticism has an art has been receiving. The whole “let people like things” has turned into “there are no bad things because someone has to be into it”
This is absolutely true. Reminds me a lot of gaming journalism and how generally positive and inoffensive it has been (and continues to be). Fashion journalism needs its own Yahtzee Crenshaw to tear into it and call things as they are.
So many brands rely on "next big drop" news to advertise these days I wouldn't be surprised if a majority of those articles are paid for in some way. It's definitely too much to tolerate. Decided for my own sake to just find something that appeals to me and ignore all the text. Not sure if you're into this brand or even heard of them, but APL, Athletic Propulsion Labs, I don't see them fall into this cycle very often and they have fun silhouettes. Might be worth a glance to see if they have something worthwhile. The Superfuture models look pretty nice for techwear.
From my experience in other industries you might have 'implicit agreements' in some cases, where if a brand pays for a lot of advertising and sponsored articles they get a little priority when it comes to other non-paid coverage. Thanks for the recommendation! I don't think I've seen anyone wearing them but they look quite interesting, anything technology-focused is worth a look as far as I'm concerned
Really enjoying your channel, although I'm not super interested in fashion as a 'lifestyle hobby', the way you use fashion as a lens to talk about culture more broadly, often bringing in some philosophy, is really interesting.
Excellent analysis. The rise of social media tipped the balance of power toward brands and away from critics. In the past, fashion journalism could be more critical as they had exclusive access to massive audiences and not every brand could afford their advertising rates. Now, any brand can leverage social media to build their own audience, they don’t need fashion journalism to do it. And the majority of brands can pay influencers to market their items incentivizing positive content. Social media effectively cut out the middle man of fashion journalism. Influencers who build their audience based on truthfully reviewing brands will have a much harder time getting sponsored in this pro-brand environment. They’d need massive scales of reach (10M+ followers, on par with music, sports and acting celebs) to claw back leverage from brands. That’s why I sadly don’t think we’ll see a proliferation of critical fashion influencers anytime soon.
Week late to this video, but Articles of Interest is an amazing podcast deep diving into history and reasoning of fashion items + trends; they did a whole series on the origin of ‘Prep’ style that is fantastic
Being used to the tech/PC space it seems wired the reviewers are trying to tip toe around companies not wanting to displease them. Some of the biggest reviewers in the tech space will happily call out garbage products have ruined relationships with companies because of it and have no intention to stop calling out bad products. At lest for me knowing I'm getting honest opinions and reporting is the main reason I look of reviewers content, touting a marketing line or avoiding being negative is, or at lest should, be a quick way to kill a review site or reviewer career.
i think its intersting that way of thinking. That i am allways looking something new and fresh when its about fashion. Thanks to you i am trying to get out of been an npc, and start thinking more be myself. In my honest opinion, maybe this was a good video to watch. Thank you for your time to make it.
I actually think your videos add that kind of value you talk about. While I have no interest in wearing most of the things you are wearing you make me think about fashion (and in extension other hobbies, that are often based on consumption) differently.
Thanks, I appreciate that! I felt the same way in that sticking to product reviews meant only a few people could really get maximum value from the videos, but by using the clothing I like as examples to talk about wider themes I can make that more relevant to more people
@@ThisIsAntwon even though we don’t really have the same style either, I’ve always enjoyed your videos because you care about the technical side of clothing, but never forgot about discussing the sociological aspects. Being critical and thorough is always more interesting ❤
OMG. I remember our little Antichrist leaving for college. Look at him now! Roasting them fashion critics. And this shot. Coat rack with so many jackets. Tasteful thiccness of the shoe. Ahmahgawd, he even has a Gundam in it.
I’ve mostly moved away from fashion content but this still feels so relevant. Over the past 3 years much of my online time has been spent in trading card collecting communities and I can see many of the issues you speak of (going back to the hyper reality video) going on in that space. I’m sure it’s relevant in countless other spaces/hobbies/markets. Never thought I’d be watching This Is Antwon videos in 2023. Gotta love late stage capitalism
Don’t usually comment, not a participating type, however, there is a real easy way of releasing yourself from this Don’t use legacy/social media that much, but if you are going to; use it for your niches interests. The whole idea of this video is the supposed influence that is put upon you by consuming what to consume, so in my mind the easy solution is to remove yourself partly/entirely from it. Fashion is no longer dominated by the rich, the influential, the tabloids, the magazines, or such. Find the designers/designs/aesthetics you like and just go with it instead.
It seems that fashion journalism is immature in its approach then as we should look at other types of journalism and see that fashion and other micro trend based output (food, consumer electronics), has not matured into a state where it can be critiqued in a way that allows the readers to think for themselves and pick up how to think about a new item. Although I know there are times where the line can be blurred between hyper positive "press releases" masquerading as journalism I also know that there are lots of instances that this is not the case (see TV, Film, Video Games journalism). There has to be some independence between the writer and the piece otherwise you'll always get to this point.
it isn't just fashion. as far as a specific industry, videogames have run this dynamic into the ground. on the whole, media has normalized awful dynamics for the average person - specifically regarding millenials and gen z - by running with stories about non-existent norms for how we should scrimp and save to try to mitigate corporate greed.
No one wants to lose sponsorships, no one wants to "be negative", etc. There's Hautelemode, but that's more critique of runway shows and red carpets than it is at the consumer level.
They are paid to say it, it’s not usually their own opinions, it comes from the new release sent by the fashion review. There’s affiliate links and so on. It’s all very dishonest.
Being critical = being negative now apparently. There's clearly a difference between being a hater and giving constructive criticism, but too often the two become misconstrued. I recently went back to art school and noticed it was way worse than it was 10 years ago. Everyone just wants to be told great job, now buy my stuff
For sure, and if you're in a creative position often the negative feedback (provided it's constructive) is more helpful than people just saying they like your work
A lot of their output has moved to IG (and I'm sure they'll start ramping up TikTok more) which I guess only condenses their writing further in favour of pics of the thing they're talking about
I do really like your content so I'm not trying t be a Richard but I don't understand why people don't care how the companies, who's products they buy and consume, behave and their actions. Nike is evil. I'm sure many other companies are and even some I consume. The difference is they don't broadcast and brag about their immoral deeds, if they are committing any.
Maybe it's not haute couture, but this small workshop of 20ish artisans on etsy custom made me a hoodie... wait, haut couture is custom dress making from a design house of about 20 craftsmen in at least one atelier, hey, my Akira Kaneda hoodie is technically haute couture, the more you know!
Loved the video, and I totally agree. One thing that I love about a lot of fashion media on RUclips is that they are not scared to be critical of a piece or garment.
Youre so right that its almost all marketing. A lot of fashion content is basically a press release for new products instead of a genuine analysis of the product. Brand often get butthurt when you criticise certain parts of their design style, but also, people can be very unkind in their reviews too so I can understand why sometimes. However, for me, the fact that fashion content is now basically PR *is the interesting thing*. I find it so interesting to read between the lines and find the bias or what people are trying to sell you and why. I especially love numbers and how misleading they can be, so many sources (especially from the company themselves) can say incomplete numbers, or numbers wihtout perspective and frame them in a totally different way to how they are actually affecting the business. For example: Brand A *made* 40 million USD in 2023. This number is likely talking about revenue, and it makes me suspicious of how many costs the company has as to why we dont get told the profit. Idk, I think its fascinating, and a totally different way to analyse fashion
It’s the same with so many industries. I used to write press-releases for several companies in different fields. The formula was the same: “New thing is better than previous thing and hence definitely worth your money because ~quality~”. The information exchange between brands and the media is a celebration of emptiness. It’s mostly auto-generated text nobody bothers to read.
I receive so many press releases that I don't understand sometimes I feel dumb for not understanding them until I found out from other journalists that they don't understand either. Just a lot of poetic mental masturbation.
Critical thinking is almost banned from the face of the Earth, now if you dislike something or even if you express your disinterest you're called a hater. Thanks for putting it out so clearly.
You might be interested in the book Burnout Culture by Byung-Chun Hal, it’s only 60ish pages and it talks about the way over positivity destroys all sense of otherness. The absence and depressing qualities of a culture defined by over producing positivity.
Dont follow fashion. Just swing on thru time to time. Let elements of ever changing fashions be potential inspiration more on the level of shapes and textures - not the wholesale prescription of your identity. Wear you.
Loved the video. I'm completely fed up with the cheap articles that Google pushes in its home page about how "this new (meaning: just barely slightly different) Nike shoe is just the perfect one/new all time classic blablabla"
It would be very dangerous for the people trying to sell fashion if consumers began to think critically about fashion. It would raise standards. It would reduce consumption. It would destroy current revenue models and slow the pace of production. It would basically make every brand more thoughtful and careful about what they output and the quality of their output. It would raise fashion to be a respectable and impressive craft, where low-effort marketing isn't enough to push low effort mass-produced overpriced goods to fomo-powered scroll zombies. If Antwon disappears we'll know the fashion mob got to him for spreading the radical idea of thinking for oneself and thinking critically.
I think it is rare that the mainstream does anything except maintain the status quo, which right now is over-consumption. Isn't it counter-culture's place as an outsider that allows it to truly critique it, while also giving it more credibility and authenticity while doing so?
I consider being baited by the media/journals etc. into buying something you got hyped about but then dont wear more than 3-4 times just a part of the journey. You cant grow if you dont make mistakes lol. Everyone that gets into fashion goes through this, its as good as a rite of passage at this point. Plus it helps you figure out what you actually do and do not like on a personal level, regardless of how hype it might be.
But cause you like the way it looks, not because it's a clothing item with a special name attached to it. Not saying you can't buy items with designer names attached to it or fancy brand names, but make sure you get it cause you like it and not because it has a name
I haven't even finished the video, but just need to say your latest batch of videos are really insightful and being well made is just the cherry on top
Thanks so much!
@@ThisIsAntwonbro you're wearing Christian's merch?
This made me think of a RUclipsr I watch recently joking about how much "viewers love negative content" and it hit me that we love it for not making us feel like we have to buy things
Whoa... I never realized that before, but I think you're absolutely right.
This style of video is the sole reason I subscribe. You are excellent at commentating on cultural/art shifts through the lense of fashion while being an entertaining communicator with a sense of self-aware humor. Keep it up! You’re in my top 5 on RUclips
I used to run a fashion history insta to not much of an audience . I would tirelessly research to give all adequate info about the designer, model , year etc , only to have accounts with huge followings steal them and be like , “Friday mood 1/2 off earrings lol “
I love watching the Rose Anvil channels....he proper goes into the materials and construction of the footwear and pulls no punches haha
He's an interesting character for sure and love the quality and depth of his videos
Except RoseAnvil isn't a Shoemaker so his comments should be taken with a little sprinkling of missing context.
I'm not into fashion culture personally, despite that, you are always able to keep the topic interesting and down to earth while promoting discussion. Great Video!
Thanks so much, glad you enjoyed it
Music Journalism is the exact same. People at GCSE level English obsessed with the thesaurus describing a song as if we're deaf - rather than talking about what they think of it, it's musical arrangement, it's lyrical content, it's meaning, it's cultural or historical reference.
Also, I‘m not saying it has to happen, but a collab with „Rose Anvil“ about advertised premium materials has to be a no-brainer…
Great analysis! In the past (let's say 1980s) there were fewer gatekeepers and it took far longer for trends to make their way from for example Japan or the U.K.. The gatekeepers (or tastemakers if you will) were the magazines, some mainstream, some avant garde, as well as TV shows like Fashion TV and Style with Elsa Klensch. Editorial gave a point of view and informed us about trends.
Now, the volume and velocity of fashion is so high (my elder brain boggles) and the profit motive is high across the board, it's hard to have any 'editorial'. Trends can still be identified, but it all seems so dishonest and, I agree, uninformed from a historical pov. It's all just "in the moment".
Now the barrier has been lowered so much for creating content around something (which on the whole is a good thing!) it's tricky to raise it again!
I think your point about different regions having distinct styles is a good one - the internet has created a lot of homogeneity rather than unique vibes.
Thank you, this is much needed.. been observing this for years and thought I was crazy for thinking otherwise.
I really appreciate how down to earth you are. Thank you for speaking your mind
The principle behind your point on fashion media is a lot more far-reaching than just fashion too. A news outlet is less likely to run a negative story about a business that runs ads on their network. A politician is less likely to vote for a bill that puts restrictions on a business sector that has a donor to their campaign. Especially in media, access is king.
this was a great nuanced video. I feel like fashion trends these days have the lifespan of memes and we quickly have to move on to the next collab. Like Marvel movies, they are just pumping out more products to consume. Although I try to stay with the golden age of 2018 techwear, I fall for the consumer attitude too. Especially now with brands like Goopimade and ACW coming out with a lot of cool fresh stuff that fits into techwear.
8:17 It's massively prevalent in the watch industry too. There was a release a few years back where this one hugely famous brand (Audemars Piguet) gathered as many social media influencers and bloggers as they could for an EXTRAORDINARILY fancy dinner in Switzerland to launch their new product line (CODE 11.59) and it was the absolutely most hilarious series of reviews ever. The CODE 11.59 itself was absolutely RIDICULED by the general watch community and it was so bad that you could even feel it from how forced and different the super positive "reviews" were from all the people that wanted to get invited back to Switzerland the next year.
I bought so many clothes I got exposed to one way or another that I just HAD to become more deliberate, I still have actual thousands of sick outfits (Greater than linear growth can kinda explode like that), now it's 50% ''Damn, I need a gray zipper cause these don't work with all my tees/hold back their combinations'', 49% ''Well, I do love Uniqlo's oversized half-sleeves, I do love raglan sleeve color blocking, I gotta get 3 of these Uniqlo oversized raglan color blocked half-sleeves'' and 1% ''Fine I'll get the green and off-white striped one and orange solid color one too''
I can only imagine how hard some people who have trapped themselves in the TikTok cycle are gonna one day realize they need at least some constraint, damn.
So weird, I was thinking the exact same while reading through the German GQ-Magazine.
It‘s kinda surreal when you think about what they write is gonna be an essential item this summer bc some balenciaga catwalk „Model“ was wearing it…
Completely agree with your stance, and this is why I only stick to more critical/analytical(/meme) channels such as yours. And the magazines that are more critical are so niche unfortunately.
awesome video! highly recommend Bill Cunningham's book for more perspective about the relationship between fashion and the press/critique, to me it really conveyed how there's always been a tension between critics needing to be somewhat liked by the industry and given opportunities vs being able to publish more honest critical writing about clothes/brands/designers and that being an important part of their work as well
Ooh interesting, thanks for the recommendation
In a way it reminds me of the video game journalists most won't give any game a bad score because if they do the big companies won't send the review codes again. So instead of honest critical reviews we get a 10-30 minute advert
I once worked for a small music magazine and before they gave me any material to review they explicitly told me to write nice reviews. I was supposed to approach reviews more as adverts instead of critical pieces. So no surprise that fashion is the same. A lot of journalism in general is so uninteresting for the last 10 or so years to me. RUclipsrs have so much better content these days, I agree.
I'll have you know I have been stupid independently of that, thank you very much
Antwon , I’ve been binging your content recently. Super insightful stuff and I’ve even begun reading some of the books you’ve mentioned in prior videos 🤝🏽
Thanks so much, glad you found them helpful
Wtf who are you? What is your educational background?! I just stumbled upon your channel, and your analyses are amazing, well written, dense in information and I frequently need to stop the video to appreciate what you just said.
AMAZING!
Edit: 11:05 When I was 26 or so I got sick of trendy things falling apart and losing their shape despite sometimes being pretty pricey. I started watching channels that teach you about different stitches, leather types, shoe sole quality and so on and it just made me feel so empowered to be able to critically look at a piece of clothing and make an informed decision whether or not to buy it instead of just buying it because it's pretty.
antowonton's drip in this vid is unparalleled. remidns me of frugalAesthetic
Really appreciating the critical consciousness in fashion approach to your videos. Well said and done.
I feel that the content of your channel has become more and more to teach people to identify the media, rather than fashion information, you are on the pass of your enemies, Antwon！
Think this is reactionary to the general hate that Criticism has an art has been receiving. The whole “let people like things” has turned into “there are no bad things because someone has to be into it”
I totally feel this - 'no gatekeeping' can end up turning into 'toxic positivity'
This is absolutely true. Reminds me a lot of gaming journalism and how generally positive and inoffensive it has been (and continues to be).
Fashion journalism needs its own Yahtzee Crenshaw to tear into it and call things as they are.
So many brands rely on "next big drop" news to advertise these days I wouldn't be surprised if a majority of those articles are paid for in some way. It's definitely too much to tolerate. Decided for my own sake to just find something that appeals to me and ignore all the text.
Not sure if you're into this brand or even heard of them, but APL, Athletic Propulsion Labs, I don't see them fall into this cycle very often and they have fun silhouettes. Might be worth a glance to see if they have something worthwhile. The Superfuture models look pretty nice for techwear.
From my experience in other industries you might have 'implicit agreements' in some cases, where if a brand pays for a lot of advertising and sponsored articles they get a little priority when it comes to other non-paid coverage.
Thanks for the recommendation! I don't think I've seen anyone wearing them but they look quite interesting, anything technology-focused is worth a look as far as I'm concerned
I ain’t stupid cuz I know my ABCs:
Antwon, Bliss (Foster) and Christian (Frugal Aesthetic) 👌
Damn mate I really see your brain filling in at the edges after that trim
The irony of a fashion media advertiser talking about how fashion media makes us stupid😅
Can't wait until you start a University course Professor Antwon
Really enjoying your channel, although I'm not super interested in fashion as a 'lifestyle hobby', the way you use fashion as a lens to talk about culture more broadly, often bringing in some philosophy, is really interesting.
Excellent analysis. The rise of social media tipped the balance of power toward brands and away from critics. In the past, fashion journalism could be more critical as they had exclusive access to massive audiences and not every brand could afford their advertising rates. Now, any brand can leverage social media to build their own audience, they don’t need fashion journalism to do it. And the majority of brands can pay influencers to market their items incentivizing positive content. Social media effectively cut out the middle man of fashion journalism.
Influencers who build their audience based on truthfully reviewing brands will have a much harder time getting sponsored in this pro-brand environment. They’d need massive scales of reach (10M+ followers, on par with music, sports and acting celebs) to claw back leverage from brands. That’s why I sadly don’t think we’ll see a proliferation of critical fashion influencers anytime soon.
Your hair is looking so cool by the way
Antwon invented clothes.
My finest creation
Week late to this video, but Articles of Interest is an amazing podcast deep diving into history and reasoning of fashion items + trends; they did a whole series on the origin of ‘Prep’ style that is fantastic
I’d also recommend checking out the stylezeitgeist podcast
Being used to the tech/PC space it seems wired the reviewers are trying to tip toe around companies not wanting to displease them. Some of the biggest reviewers in the tech space will happily call out garbage products have ruined relationships with companies because of it and have no intention to stop calling out bad products. At lest for me knowing I'm getting honest opinions and reporting is the main reason I look of reviewers content, touting a marketing line or avoiding being negative is, or at lest should, be a quick way to kill a review site or reviewer career.
Liking the pain station tee
Raised.online came in with the hook-up 😎
Was about to say the same thing lol
@@ThisIsAntwon you sure it wasn’t from Frugal Aesthetic’s teespring?
@@electricvehiclehead Raised Online is his brand!
i think its intersting that way of thinking. That i am allways looking something new and fresh when its about fashion. Thanks to you i am trying to get out of been an npc, and start thinking more be myself. In my honest opinion, maybe this was a good video to watch. Thank you for your time to make it.
Appreciate the kind words - glad you found it useful!
Every time I look at your background it makes me want a pair sneakers 😂
Everyone’s become an NPC
Need some more anime protagonists in here fr
I actually think your videos add that kind of value you talk about. While I have no interest in wearing most of the things you are wearing you make me think about fashion (and in extension other hobbies, that are often based on consumption) differently.
Thanks, I appreciate that! I felt the same way in that sticking to product reviews meant only a few people could really get maximum value from the videos, but by using the clothing I like as examples to talk about wider themes I can make that more relevant to more people
@@ThisIsAntwon even though we don’t really have the same style either, I’ve always enjoyed your videos because you care about the technical side of clothing, but never forgot about discussing the sociological aspects. Being critical and thorough is always more interesting ❤
OMG. I remember our little Antichrist leaving for college. Look at him now! Roasting them fashion critics. And this shot. Coat rack with so many jackets. Tasteful thiccness of the shoe. Ahmahgawd, he even has a Gundam in it.
so you're telling me as a hater, its my time to shine??? finally.
Let it be the Hater Era
@@ThisIsAntwon Dark Trill Collins shall rise
I’ve mostly moved away from fashion content but this still feels so relevant. Over the past 3 years much of my online time has been spent in trading card collecting communities and I can see many of the issues you speak of (going back to the hyper reality video) going on in that space. I’m sure it’s relevant in countless other spaces/hobbies/markets. Never thought I’d be watching This Is Antwon videos in 2023. Gotta love late stage capitalism
Don’t usually comment, not a participating type, however, there is a real easy way of releasing yourself from this
Don’t use legacy/social media that much, but if you are going to; use it for your niches interests.
The whole idea of this video is the supposed influence that is put upon you by consuming what to consume, so in my mind the easy solution is to remove yourself partly/entirely from it.
Fashion is no longer dominated by the rich, the influential, the tabloids, the magazines, or such. Find the designers/designs/aesthetics you like and just go with it instead.
yh that is the path i am taking. well said
I’m curious to see if the DIY fashion space will grow since the middle class is slowly dying in America.
gorpcore was preparation for homelessness
It seems that fashion journalism is immature in its approach then as we should look at other types of journalism and see that fashion and other micro trend based output (food, consumer electronics), has not matured into a state where it can be critiqued in a way that allows the readers to think for themselves and pick up how to think about a new item. Although I know there are times where the line can be blurred between hyper positive "press releases" masquerading as journalism I also know that there are lots of instances that this is not the case (see TV, Film, Video Games journalism). There has to be some independence between the writer and the piece otherwise you'll always get to this point.
Love your new style of videos, but I NEED you to tell me what the new sneaker releases are
I guess those few marketing and advertising classes have paid off because I never fell for the hype.
Loved the longer hair.
What a banger of a video 🔥
it isn't just fashion. as far as a specific industry, videogames have run this dynamic into the ground. on the whole, media has normalized awful dynamics for the average person - specifically regarding millenials and gen z - by running with stories about non-existent norms for how we should scrimp and save to try to mitigate corporate greed.
Yo, the Frugal Aesthetic shirt!
No one wants to lose sponsorships, no one wants to "be negative", etc. There's Hautelemode, but that's more critique of runway shows and red carpets than it is at the consumer level.
I feel like my cognitive ability is being destroyed
my favorite techwear guru
🙏
i don't need fashion media to make me stupid
They are paid to say it, it’s not usually their own opinions, it comes from the new release sent by the fashion review. There’s affiliate links and so on. It’s all very dishonest.
haha love this episode already after 2mins watching :) so on point.
Now extrapolate this out to political journalism and you’re one step closer to understanding why things have been going to the dogs.
Now, this is a great point.
Whaoo insane video, really professional bro 👌👌👌
Thanks so much!
Being critical = being negative now apparently. There's clearly a difference between being a hater and giving constructive criticism, but too often the two become misconstrued. I recently went back to art school and noticed it was way worse than it was 10 years ago. Everyone just wants to be told great job, now buy my stuff
For sure, and if you're in a creative position often the negative feedback (provided it's constructive) is more helpful than people just saying they like your work
@@ThisIsAntwon sometimes the most cruel thing you can say to someone is "good job" with no further feedback, especially from teachers and peers
do people actually read fashion websites anymore?
i really cant remember the last time i saw a headline and felt compelled to click
A lot of their output has moved to IG (and I'm sure they'll start ramping up TikTok more) which I guess only condenses their writing further in favour of pics of the thing they're talking about
@@ThisIsAntwon god help us all
I cant see anymore everyone wears same shit and looks soo cheap
Because People Can't Handle The *Truth*
anyone know where that sound is from at 0:44?
It's the THX sound lol
@@ThisIsAntwon Cheers 👍
I do really like your content so I'm not trying t be a Richard but I don't understand why people don't care how the companies, who's products they buy and consume, behave and their actions. Nike is evil. I'm sure many other companies are and even some I consume. The difference is they don't broadcast and brag about their immoral deeds, if they are committing any.
Most modern fashion is actually terrible and not mature or smart looking and it’s a shame
OH MY GOOOD I HAVE TO CONSOOOOOOOM IM GOING INNSSAAAAAAAAAAANE!!!1!!!
do not think just consoom product and then get excited for next product
@@ThisIsAntwon THE REPTILIAN OVERLORDS REQUIRE THIS OF ME SO I MUST CONSOOOOOOOOOM
Maybe it's not haute couture, but this small workshop of 20ish artisans on etsy custom made me a hoodie... wait, haut couture is custom dress making from a design house of about 20 craftsmen in at least one atelier, hey, my Akira Kaneda hoodie is technically haute couture, the more you know!
I just still wear Rick I don't care
based
If uou truely want fashion critiques™️, your best bet would be religious groups. They for sure have some opinions on fashion trends xD
This is action 🤌🏽🥷🏽✨
if you see this, do not reply to it, but use persona 4 music in the next video please. i luv u
Loved the video, and I totally agree. One thing that I love about a lot of fashion media on RUclips is that they are not scared to be critical of a piece or garment.
Youre so right that its almost all marketing. A lot of fashion content is basically a press release for new products instead of a genuine analysis of the product. Brand often get butthurt when you criticise certain parts of their design style, but also, people can be very unkind in their reviews too so I can understand why sometimes.
However, for me, the fact that fashion content is now basically PR *is the interesting thing*. I find it so interesting to read between the lines and find the bias or what people are trying to sell you and why. I especially love numbers and how misleading they can be, so many sources (especially from the company themselves) can say incomplete numbers, or numbers wihtout perspective and frame them in a totally different way to how they are actually affecting the business.
For example: Brand A *made* 40 million USD in 2023. This number is likely talking about revenue, and it makes me suspicious of how many costs the company has as to why we dont get told the profit. Idk, I think its fascinating, and a totally different way to analyse fashion
It’s the same with so many industries. I used to write press-releases for several companies in different fields. The formula was the same: “New thing is better than previous thing and hence definitely worth your money because ~quality~”.
The information exchange between brands and the media is a celebration of emptiness.
It’s mostly auto-generated text nobody bothers to read.
"Celebration of emptiness" - what a phrase!
I receive so many press releases that I don't understand sometimes I feel dumb for not understanding them until I found out from other journalists that they don't understand either. Just a lot of poetic mental masturbation.
Critical thinking is almost banned from the face of the Earth, now if you dislike something or even if you express your disinterest you're called a hater.
Thanks for putting it out so clearly.
That's super annoying - big difference between 'hating on' something and having a legitimate complaint with it.
That‘s why fashion magazines are dying
can anyone id the sqaure design shirt + pants at 12:19 ?
You might be interested in the book Burnout Culture by Byung-Chun Hal, it’s only 60ish pages and it talks about the way over positivity destroys all sense of otherness. The absence and depressing qualities of a culture defined by over producing positivity.
Dont follow fashion. Just swing on thru time to time.
Let elements of ever changing fashions be potential inspiration more on the level of shapes and textures - not the wholesale prescription of your identity.
Wear you.
Loved the video. I'm completely fed up with the cheap articles that Google pushes in its home page about how "this new (meaning: just barely slightly different) Nike shoe is just the perfect one/new all time classic blablabla"
I see exactly the same thing! And sometimes they're not even current, it'll be some random 'hot release' published 3 months ago for some reason
based take, fr
🤑🤑
OMG YOU SAID MY NAME!!!! Thank you so so much I love your channel
Strawberry Culture, it's all about the money. It's all about marketing gimmick helping the brand get on their foot with all the bombastic words.
Antwon is the finest dressed RUclipsr change my mind
you're too kind 🤩
It would be very dangerous for the people trying to sell fashion if consumers began to think critically about fashion. It would raise standards. It would reduce consumption. It would destroy current revenue models and slow the pace of production. It would basically make every brand more thoughtful and careful about what they output and the quality of their output. It would raise fashion to be a respectable and impressive craft, where low-effort marketing isn't enough to push low effort mass-produced overpriced goods to fomo-powered scroll zombies.
If Antwon disappears we'll know the fashion mob got to him for spreading the radical idea of thinking for oneself and thinking critically.
I think it is rare that the mainstream does anything except maintain the status quo, which right now is over-consumption. Isn't it counter-culture's place as an outsider that allows it to truly critique it, while also giving it more credibility and authenticity while doing so?
I consider being baited by the media/journals etc. into buying something you got hyped about but then dont wear more than 3-4 times just a part of the journey. You cant grow if you dont make mistakes lol. Everyone that gets into fashion goes through this, its as good as a rite of passage at this point. Plus it helps you figure out what you actually do and do not like on a personal level, regardless of how hype it might be.
Haha that's a very good point! Hopefully it's a lesson people only have to learn once
But cause you like the way it looks, not because it's a clothing item with a special name attached to it. Not saying you can't buy items with designer names attached to it or fancy brand names, but make sure you get it cause you like it and not because it has a name
thanks antwon, but i’m stupid as is!
Wake up bae... oh, you're up
Antwon the GOAT. No cap
i was alreddy stoopid tho
The persona music in the background 😮💨
It's a vibe