Style Highlight: Techwear - Topic of the day 1/14/24
Advanced clothing technology, storm-proof fabrics, the color “PANTONE® Black 0961 C”, straps, and lots of pockets. Cyberpunk or Solarpunk? Is techwear the illogical conclusion of utility? Do you take any cues from the style?
177 Replies
can be very cool or very boring
Can really lean way too hard in to cosplay in general but i like the base idea of every piece of the outfit being functional
Is tech wear just black gorpcore? With a little black militaria?
I like that techwear folks have a narrative about their outfit that’s beyond “I’m a cool dude in my little clothes” but I’ve never been able to feel like anything but a cosplayer
Especially because a lot of the fabrics aren’t what people use for long distance hiking or activities with high performance requirements so it always feels a little contrived
What are the fabrics often used in techwear? Im not well versed in this style.
Usually waterproof. Lots of synthetics and gore-tex
always had a soft spot for early online techwear
Often gore-Tex but for everyday - if you hike around in goretex during the day you’re going to have a bad time
But it’s really focused on various ways to achieve water resistance, and most hiking/ high performance activities tries to limit actual waterproofing to only where it’s necessary bc those fabrics don’t breathe well
It's really weird. Does anyone know what cultural base it spawned from? Is it really just cyberpunk cosplay? I'm def an outsider to the style, but the function of the clothing seems incoherent to me
https://aesthetics.fandom.com/wiki/Techwear
Techwear mostly grew out of a shared obsession with the craft and innovation of functional, durable, all-weather clothing. Arguably started by Errolson Hugh and Michaela Sachenbacher, the founders of Munich-based label Acronym, techwear became more popular after Hugh teamed up with Nike to relaunch their dormant outerwear sub-brand ACG. Techwear is inspired by the Karasu Zoku subculture and the Japanese Mode movement that followed it. Much of the color palette is black like the former (though other dark colors aren't uncommon), but the forms and patterns of techwear more closely resemble those of the latter. Additionally, techwear draws heavily from the fabrics and innovations of industrial, scientific, paramilitary and ninja apparel. Techwear pieces are often baggy, and have features such as straps, clasps, locks, and multiple large pockets. They are also usually waterproofed and look to serve a weather-ready purpose with their styled functionality. As such, Gore-Tex is a common inclusion.Tbh i don't find it too weird. In a way most styles are just a larping on an imagined ideal. Look at prep, workwear, or "dark academia" in the modern world. Techwear is just more notable due to its distinctness. If you're a total neophyte to fashion - sure weird.
I mean, prep, work wear, and dark academia have their respective roots in country clubs, labor, and academia. It's weird in the way that its roots seem to be a reflection of a literary movement to the outside observer. Instead of stemming from a real world sub-culture, culture, or necessity. It being heavily inspired by a bunch of Japanese goths makes a TON of sense tho
I guess it makes a lot of sense that it came out of the early 2000's and the way the internet created strange bubbles
people who work in academia don't dress like dark academia is what im trying to say here
it's some twee imagined image
by media and gen z
which is out of touch
and the imagined image of workwear is obviously disassociated so far from real lived history
also ur "real world" v not is a bit funny since that dichotomy is very 2000s
I think dark academia is the most larp-y of the other vibes mentioned. Prep/ workwear are aping the color palette and fabrics of an actual time, dark academia is trying to evoke a vibe that hasnt ever really existed as a fashion sense
like do u think that historical paintings and staged photos are generalizable in representing the common life or look of the time?
each was just a tiny slice or picture of the time
if u read any history or anthropology books on hippies, for example, it was counted that there were only ever about 4,000 true hippies living the sub cultural lifestyle. before the look got co-opeted and popularised and just focused on the clothong
I thought the hippy life style was protesting against the man before buying a home and deciding property values were more important than human values
And there are a lot more than 4K of those
sidenote - also goes into the assumption people make that wearing clothes shows social or subcultural values. i.e. lots of pictures of Iranian middle class pre-revolution with the assumption that meant they had "western values" rather than then just showing off a Veblen good to signal rich social status
sometimes clothing suffers context collapse and meaning gets lost
the same way 19h century Croat mercenary neckgear became the hallmark of white collar servitude and business dress in the mid-1900s
the necktie.
i'm a techwear enjoyer. i agree that it often hard leans into looking like cosplay.
i think when you put all your skill points into techwear, it's going to come out looking a like cosplay, you need to divide those points into softer gorp looks so you don't end up looking like a wish.com cyberninja.
i've been enjoying comfy outdoor garment a lot recently
Yea, but the basic language of the twee stuff of dark academia has roots in actual British royal culture and shit and the continual aping and bastardization of it. Sure, it's larpy, but the foundation has a through line to a material reality of a british upper class asserting cultural control.
u r rite. larping for rich brits is better than larping for cyberpunks
really makes you think
My point is that rich Brits existed. Cyber punks never did. Making techwear strange and interesting
i dont think they ever existed tbh
brits have always been culturally poor
just ask the french
think ur wrong here bud
sorry
Cool, man. Brit jokes are solid content keep it up
Something I like looking at but don't wear at all.
As for practicality, workwear trumps it for 99% of most folks day to day. (The other 1% is people who probably need actual athletic wear like the shit I go running in)
Dark Academia is the most entirely social media thing by people who think Harry Potter is aspirational. I will die on this hill.
For context my wife is a professor at a Russell group university
This is my thinly veiled excuse for being a hater
condolences
Hell yeah do I get to shit on dark academia today
to the editor
In a techwear thread no less
now this is podracing
Dressing like I want to study but at night time ass style
She puts that shit on (between nervous breakdowns)
Elbow patches but a little sad
uwu smol bean tweed
I wanna dress like a dork but I don’t want people to call me a dork so I’m gonna put a ‘dark’ before it so I seem mysterious and misunderstood
Im Not Like Other Boys (Slytherin)
Ok these fits hard tho
Not wrong
Back to techwear though, I do like some of the more adjacent companies that lean into being a more streetwear hybrid. Your ACW* and the like
The problem with ACW specifically is that Samuel Ross just doesn’t do designs that are that interesting anymore
I do still own ACW pieces tho lmao
Again its not really something I'd wear, but I cant say what they do with textures and patterns isnt interesting visually.
https://wwd.com/fashion-news/shows-reviews/gallery/a-cold-wall-mens-spring-1235236816/
Great pull. It's wild to me that anyone could read this and still say that techwear has no roots in any "actual culture" but what the fuck do i know.
Bro plz. I'm making a historical argument, not shitting on techwear. Techwear divorces itself from the cultural history and vocabulary of fashion. It's fashion for an imagined future, which is cool. It's okay to have different roots than traditional fashion.
techwear =/= cyberpunk tho. It's not all about some imagined future. how exactly is it divorced from "the cultural history and vocabulary of fashion"?
I find techwear cosplay-esque a lot, but there are really clear roots in the outdoor scene (see the use of dyneema and gore Tex) athletic-wear scene (heavily tapered pants/ tights) and militaria (cargo pockets)
Also wtf does "cultural history and vocabulary of fashion" even mean
Techwear is also influenced by dystopian fiction but academia is influenced by fanfic about students studying under candle-light
Hell, double riders are popular because of a man who wore them in a movie but that doesn’t make them divorced from fashion
Hauntological fashion
Man now I want to see solarpunk fits
That'd be sick. Some optimistic dune stuff in all white
Cyberpunk is 2019, we’re on desertpunk now
Hamcus kinda does this but its more a dystopian vibe
I think one can def make a strong argument that no fashion is divorced from the historical culture of fashion, but I'm referencing the clear anti-fashion influence in techwear, specifically Acronym's work
Have you... read anything from Erroslon Hugh? Acronym is probably the worst example you could give for techwear being divorced from fashion.
What does anti fashion mean?
And how in the world could a brand that does hype sneakers with Nike be anti fashion
Oh both are certainly larpy, but the vocabulary of dark academia (blazers, tweed coats, cashmere sweaters, plaid) has its roots in British royal culture. Specifically the rural side of things and the whole set of rules they made back then. Stems from the 19th century. Techwear's vocabulary (Zippers, utilitarian, pockets, synthethic materials) come from much more modern ideas: 80's antifashion, cyberpunk anime. It does have older roots too, like athletic-wear, outdoor, and military wear, as @aservetnick pointed out. I just find the out-of-time vibe of techwear the most interesting
This feels like a distinction without a difference. Theyre both adopting historical influences in new ways to try to signal something
Anti-fashion is like 70 years old and has become the mainstream tbh. 1950's rock and roll white tees were anti-fashion, as was punk. I'm mostly referring to the 80's and 90's wave. Anti-fashion is fashion that arises in rebellion to that time period's assumptions about fashion. The white t-shirt James Dean shit was anti-fashion in the 50's, but has become mainstream. It constantly changed with the times.
Yea, but one embraces the Brits and their 400+ years of colonization and the other's a modern rebellion against the norms that they established
And you're stanning for the former?
Lmao what
Hell naw dude
Wait so fashion only comes from Great Britain otherwise it’s sparkling rebellion?
Or is the more history you have, the more fashiony it is and not cosplay
Fashion comes out of native populations and the way they dress themselves according to their environment and the cultural dialogue that stems from doing that. There's a reason the traditional suit is too hot for California, but high end businesses expect their workers to wear suits. The brits brought their standard of dress over during their process of colonialization, their vocabulary that signaled "upper class" evolved into the suit, and so did our vocabulary of dress. The history of modern American fashion is entwined with British norms.
Ok so fashion is how you dress according to your environment and culture. That’s… everything?
Why is your entire understanding and definition of fashion predicated on British culture
That's fucking wild, genuinely
like of all the cultures too
Cause I'm American and those fucking brits exported a culture where I occasionally have to wear a suit in the summer and I hate sweating
I'm talking about western fashion. It's different for Asia and other places, but British colonization was world wide dude. It really set the norms into place, it's a wild history
suits are a specific example where thats valid but like
workwear builds heavily on non-british fashion
for example
either french or american fashion generally being the base building blocks, or more rarely, japanese
Ty for explaining British colonialism to me lmfaooo
Dawg why are we talkin about the british empire and not like
Zippers
I don’t like zippers very much
I prefer buttons
Not very techwear of u
metallic buckles 
That is true 😢
Good point! "Western" might be a better term to use
but also
who cares
why is it not fashion
like is streetwear not fashion cause it doesn't have history or something
Where did I say it's not fashion? Cause I used the term "anti-fashion"? This may seem paradoxical, but anti-fashion is still fashion
but its not anti-fashion
like anti-fashion is a defined term
techwear is absolutely not anti-fashion
anti-fashion is defined by its opposition to normal fashion, it also arguably doesn't exist
but techwear is basically just fashion derived from people who like modern textile technology, and looked to integrate that in the clothes they wore
i mean how could it be anti-fashion given its mixture with cyberpunk fashion like thats inherently contradicting
I said it was influenced by anti-fashion. Not that it was anti-fashion
i just don't understand your dissertation then
it spawned from the cultural base of "people who thought modern textiles were cool"
how is a cultural base that is looking to fake ideas of the past any different than a cultural base that is looking to fake ideas of the future
dw the amount that i spend on technical fabrics is not fake and is very real
also why does it matter
you gotta calculate the price per pocket to get the true value
I just honestly think fashion based on a fake future is a cool and interesting idea. It's very simulation and simulacra. IDK why everyone jumped on me for pointing out. I'm just trying to explain why there's a difference
Because techwear isnt based in a fake future
You just kinda asserted that and ran with it
That is like the entire brand ethos of Hamcus, but they're an egregious example
I’m not wearing a raincoat so I can pretend I’m Johnny Mnemonic, I just wanna be dry
Errolson Hugh is literally consulted on things like Ghost in the Shell and Death Stranding. It's interesting to see the cyberpunk aspects materialize in the real world
That's valid
Chicken/egg
You don't have to look at it the way I do. I'm not telling you how to think, I'm just trying to show how I do
That’s fair but it also felt like you were combative about it
I felt like a lot of people here were pretty combative also. Sure I write in a divisive way, but I'm just trying to learn here
I'm gonna defend my pov tho, that's just who I am
i don't understand, you asked a question, nay answered it politely, and you went off on some rant about the british
like i understand it sucks to be told an answer by a brit but still
I mean, dude called me a total neophyte which is pretty condescending, and I just tried to provide historical context for my pov
Yeah but your point was that Techwear wasn’t tied back to any historical fashion
Because it didn’t embrace British fashion
That's def not what I've been saying
No but which is it, are you trying to learn or are you already the teacher?
Uhh both. Those aren't mutually exclusive. I've learned about the techwear's ties to outdoor-wear and military wear today
And what have you taught us about techwear? That the British did colonialism? Genuinely, I don't understand what any of your points have been or what you're driving at.
Dude it's clear that you don't want to understand my pov. You don't have to give a shit about what I say. I'm just posting about the broader history of fashion and trying to explain why I think that makes the cyberpunk aspects of techwear weird and interesting
You have no obligation to find what I'm talking about interesting. It's just a matter of different tastes
You were given a rundown of techwear's origins wherein a Japanese subculture and cultural movement were both cited as key inspirational cornerstones and then u said "yeah but it's not real culture"
Anyway yeah best of luck learning new things.
I never said that it's not real culture. You're engaging with such bad faith
And you're engaging with??? Hard 2 tell,l tbh, ig someone else said these words
I'm clearly referring to the "roots that are a reflection of a literary movement (cyberpunk)"
And I've made it clear now that I believe techwear also has roots in outdoor-wear, athletic-wear, and military wear. I just find the cyberpunk ones interesting to examine
i definitely take design cues from 'cyberpunk' media
I think the thing you may be missing is where does cyberpunk and transhumanism come from if not real world culture anyway
I think people are rubbing up against seemingly authoritative statements about things
Which is why this thread ended up off the rails
If you think about the early works that cyberpunk draws from, they are all about sort of logical extremes from culture at that time
So it’s an imagined reality but one based in the current in much the same way many fashion movements are
Heightening the real is extremely typical
I agree. I find it really interesting to compare that media driven creation of fashion culture to things like workwear, which came from the direct material needs of industrial laborers and stuff. The cyberpunk stuff comes from the cultural zeitgeist and it makes you wonder why techwear never went down the roads of other sci-fi fashions like retro futurism
There are retro futurist fashion pieces as well, it just wouldn’t be tech wear
The connective tissue isn’t the concept of imagined futures
The definition of tech wear is more limited than that
Especially considering that there is an imagined future containing nearly every bit of fashion you can imagine
I think that tech wear and cyberpunk influences are clearly linked but are not intrinsically so
I think your tone is being read as dismissive of techwear because of your belief that its origins are disconnected from reality in a way other fashions aren’t
Which others don’t agree with and also don’t appreciate
There are the cyberpunk elements to techwear and yes there are brands that are explicitly about what you’re talking about, but techwear really comes from materials and design appreciation
I think it actually has roots more in workwear than you think
Think about the people who have an appreciation for technical and functional details and where they may draw inspiration for those things when developing new ones
The details and form language of techwear really comes from modern workwear
Think about cinches and buckles and quick releases and all of that
They were developed for other reasons, more practical “real” reasons
And they get used in gorp wear and workwear of the time
Then designers who see value and have love for technical tidbits heighten and exaggerate them
To the point they are no longer functional
I think the point is that nothing comes from no where
It’s interesting to think about the connections btwn veilance and acrnm
Which are both the prototypical Techwear but have very different takes on it bc they’re coming from very different places
Motocross p-10s vs arc’ jackets
I think you're probably right about the work wear thing. And we can all agree that nothing comes from nowhere. I apologize if my tone hurt anyone. Admittedly, I'm a huge cyberpunk guy, so I focused on that
i honestly love high tech, low life media too
I love neuromancer but I haven’t gotten through any other Gibson books yet
And Syd Mead is one of the greatest concept artists of all time, and probably the most influential
Necromancer is absolute poetry, it's amazing.
If you love cyberpunk media and aren’t familiar with syd mead you should absolutely check out his work
He basically created what we think of as cyberpunk
Concept artist for blade runner and alien
I didn't know they were the same guy
Was also an industrial designer and visual futurist (which basically just means drew beautiful drawings of the world in a fake future)
He didn’t do everything for alien, a lot of it is very giger, but the ship and more human parts
Are mead
speaking of techwear, i've finally found the perfect snood
which is on it's way 👀
does it attach or is it wholly separate?
wholly separate
dope
ordered in black, comes in khaki + beige
I saw this one at CHCM today and it’s extremely cute
I like the longer collar bit on the ones you posted though
love a snood, my ears get really cold and i get headaches.
This one felt like it would be a bit gappy without a tall collared coat
i think a more bally look is still valid
i was wondering if it was more of a temperature or rain thing
What’s the difference between gorp and techwear? Is it like a purely functional toward more decorative spectrum?
my ears also get cold as hell, walking around today in this weather (v windy) and seeing people without hoods or hats blew my mind
Yeah I think techwear is more exaggerated
they kinda feel like different vibes on a similar wavelength to me
i like to think of techwear as more urban, and gorp as more outdoors.
it's definitely not the definition, but the environment both looks tend to be in
They are definitely on the same wavelength though
techwear son or gorpcore daughter???
And some stuff crosses the boundary like salomon
Salomon kinda goated
techwear is like... 11bybbs, gorp is retail salomon, a lot of overlap. colour palettes tend to different tho
it's a down snood, so i think it'll definitely be weather relevant.
Got it yeah, I definitely appreciate techwear but feel like when I see pics of it you have to fully commit to it
I appreciate that gorp can integrate with other styles a little more easily
i've been trying to marry my interests of avant garde + techwear for a while. i think there's design elements you can take from techwear without having to go FULL acronym
Craig green
The techwear + avant garde center Venn diagram
Though he kinda only has one thing
Curious if the room would call this techwear?
love CG for sure, i think you're right
Eh it could be styled techwear but I wouldn’t say it is on its own
I think The Viridi-anne could go here as well
gorp colour palettes
tech colour palettes
I think white also works for techwear
It’s there in the numbers lol
But yeah it does feel like that’s the common distinction haha
I’m just bein a silly bitch
tech elements, i think more dunepunk
Yeah Rick been on the dune wave heavy
More nasa/artic explorer type stuff though
i honestly really fuck with that colour palette
another arm of technical wear, which i think is very sick
This is techwear to me
The details from cillian murphy’s jacket in this part of inception are super tech weary too https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/794023852107628555/1196281872154624100/b124f96180038a593c00e34d67e03c49.png?ex=65b70f50&is=65a49a50&hm=7a89e3cb5bb5cfc9ed01304edd6ddc7904bbdc4852bb562cbe622fc029ea32bd&
Hard to find a good photo though
similar vein, i think we talked about this last week with CG doing costuming as well
compared to CG AW17 very interesting
i think you're bang on bishop, i need to buy more CG
Hell yeah
I saw someone wearing some the other day and they were walking that avant garde techwear line actually now that I think about it
It was like a tabard type version of the puffer shirt thing he does
pls drop links if you ever find
the answer was right in front of me this entire time
Closures are so sick
What's funny about this whole discussion is that techwear pretty much has it's roots in British Colonialism as well - see Ventile fabric developed in england to make the technical parkas for the 1st British Mount Everest expeditions for example
and current designers like Nigel Cabourn who draw heavily from this
To add to this, which doesn't look like it was referenced anywhere techwear (certainly the Acronym, CP Company, Stone Island Shadow Project kinda stuff) is pretty linked to European Club Culture.
Based and Britpilled