The story of the celebrity-loved “dirty chic” style that is now taking the world by storm

Not so long ago, in the 2000s, the glamor style reigned in the fashion world, and people tried to dress in the most spectacular and chic way possible. When there was no money to buy real diamonds, fashionistas successfully replaced them with rhinestones: the important thing was that everything sparkled. Who knew that glamor would soon fall by the wayside and its place would be taken by a trend as opposite as dirty chic (“dirty chic”, translated from English). Today, designer brands charge a fortune for ripped and wrinkled clothes, but celebrities and influencers happily accept the rules of the game and don’t mind paying a lot of money for these pieces.

We, from awesome.club, we were curious to know where this style came from and why so many people are ready to spend thousands of dollars on clothes that look, shall we say, somewhat ambiguous. In our today’s article, we’ll tell you where this investigation took us!

In 2017, the famous clothing brand PRPS seriously shocked the public by releasing a men’s jeans worth $425 all covered with a layer of artificial mud. The pants looked as if someone had used them to dig a ditch and then fallen into it. According to the stylists, this was done on purpose, so that potential buyers could try on “the image of a person who is not afraid to get dirty”. The people who actually do the dirty work took offense and flooded social media with a lot of negative reviews. Here is one of the comments: “These are not pants. It’s not even fashionable. It’s a costume for rich people who treat work with irony.🇧🇷

But even in the face of criticism, deliberately dirty and worn clothes soon began to conquer the fashion world: several luxury brands took up this trend. So the house of Gucci released a grass-stained blue jeans for $770, as well as ripped nylon tights for $190. In fairness, it must be said that before that, ripped tights had already been seen on models at a Yves Saint Laurent show, but this time it was just a Fashion Week event.

At the end of 2021, what came into fashion was the peeling nail polish🇧🇷

At New York Fashion Week for the fall/winter season, designers decided to transform one of the most horrific beauty nightmares in a fashion phenomenon🇧🇷 During the Khaite fashion show, supermodel Bella Hadid walked the runway with her nails covered in partially chipped black nail polish. Jin Soon Choi, a famous manicurist, commented that this effect seemed to be intentional. To achieve it, the model erased a part of the nail polish immediately after applying it.

This is how really messy things started to take over the fashion world.

However, it would be wrong to say that dirt, splinters, holes and other defects purposely recreated in clothes are a new manifestation of fashion, which appeared only in the 21st century. In fact, this has its origins in the 1980s and 1990s, with the grunge style. It came from the idea denial of existing social norms and rules, including fashion trends🇧🇷 Ironically, only a few years have passed and grunge itself has become one of the fashion trends.

As a style, it was formed in the 1980s in Seattle due to rock bands like Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden. Artists played rebellious music and usually performed in casual, far from elegant clothes, which was quickly adopted by the musicians’ young fans. The new trend did not go unnoticed by the stylist Marc Jacobs, who brought the grunge for high fashion, launching his scandalous collection in 1993. This was nothing short of an attempt to rethink and deconstruct fashion. At that time, the same experiments were taking place in the ateliers of Yohji Yamamoto and Martin Margiela.

It wouldn’t be wrong to say that it was exactly these three designers who, in a way, brought about a revolution in fashion, reforming the old norms and the usual orders: if before trends descended from the catwalk to the streets, now the game has turned — the street is dictating the rules for the fashion world🇧🇷 By the way, contemporary stylists Gosha Rubchinsky and Demna Gvasalia can also be considered revolutionaries, for having idealized “street fashion” and taken it to the catwalk.

I thought he was homeless, but he turned out to be a stylish guy dressed in fancy designer clothes worth at least 1 million. © sohi1962 / Twitter

But after all, what made the trend that can be called dirty chic or ripped chic (“ripped chic”, translated from English) take root in fashion?

Perhaps this trend is a protest against the standards that have been imposed on us over the years. Over time, fashionistas gave up corsets and now refuse to look perfect. Dirty chic is a metaphor for freedom, a kind of challenge: “I don’t care what I wear. Try to love me not for my appearance but for what’s behind it🇧🇷 We are probably all tired of being judged as a “book by its cover”.

In the past, women and men chose their clothes and accessories very carefully, worrying about the perfect combination of shoes, bag and belt. Nowadays, anything that is too perfect raises suspicions as it seems deliberate and unnatural. These days, it’s not perfect faces that are in fashion, but looks with a twist. The same goes for clothes. The main rule is that there are no rules.

Another important point is that dirty chic pieces are more practical to use — it won’t be a big problem if they get dirty or dented🇧🇷 In addition, they are easier to wash and do not need to be ironed. Isn’t it a real gift for a citizen of the 21st century, who is always on the run without having time for anything? Today, a person in ripped jeans and a wrinkled shirt is no longer a slob, but a follower of fashion trends. So, for those who don’t have time to take care of their wardrobe, the best time has come.

The modern rhythm of life suggests that in one day a person can find himself in several completely different places: from an office, restaurant or metro to a museum, exhibition or even a nightclub. At this rate, it is almost impossible to do without universal clothing that is comfortable and appropriate for all occasions and, at the same time, that do not lose its original appearance🇧🇷 Here what saves are the clothes with a “chewed” look, because even the most careless use will not make them worse, but more stylish.

Finally, dirty chic clothes and shoes are a real lifeguards at the time of season change🇧🇷 Remember how upset we were when we got our favorite jeans or boots dirty in the rain or in public transport? Now this is no longer a problem.

For many years millennials dictated the fashion rules, but now Zoomers are ahead, which means that today they are the ones who define the new fashion trends. One more fashion reason for clothes that are disguised as rags is the trend towards conscious consumption, very popular among representatives of generation Z. Greta Thunberg, one of the leaders of the movement, encourages people to protect the planet from pollution by limiting the quantity of purchases, Among other things. Today, dressing up in thrift stores is no longer shameful. Many have already realized that in the modern world some things must have a different life cycle than what we have been taught by the mass market over the years.

Even so, not everyone is willing to change their habits and go in search of the right thing in a thrift store, but at the same time want to look progressive🇧🇷 In this case, salvation is artificially aged clothing. Of course, this is just an “ideological replica” of a popular eco-trend, but it happens.

One of the most important values ​​in the modern world is the freedom to choose where to live, what to work with, who to love and what to wear. Any intention to follow the rules, set by who knows who, is a worrying indicator of a lack of inner freedom. That is, if you allow yourself to be imperfect, at least in your appearancethen you have already taken the first step towards inner freedom.

Furthermore, today’s intellectual elite is made up of specialists in the field of IT. And how do they dress? Purposefully carelessly, not paying much attention to the appearance of your outfit. In fact, why give importance to your clothes, if your company’s capital has already exceeded billions of dollars? A truly rich person does not care about trends and dress codes, but wears what is comfortable for him. After all, why spend thousands of dollars on clothes, if that money can be invested, for example, in a startup and yield even more?

On the other hand, one more reason for the growing popularity of the dirty chic style: self-irony. Will the renowned fashion houses promote this style just for fun🇧🇷 Just to ridicule these trends and, along with customers, laugh about how far the fashion industry can go? It would even be cool, because self-irony is a sign of high intelligence.

What do you think of the dirty chic style? In your opinion, is it just ostentation or something more?