Decora - More is More
You can spot decora from a mile away. Bright neon colours added together in excess, clothing and hair detailed with accessories to the nth degree. If you imagine Harajuku fashion, decora is probably the first thing you’ll see.
A System Designed to Break - The Enshittifcation of Clothing
So, why are clothes getting shittier? And are we funding a system now designed to break after a few wears?
Gyaru - Rebellion in Animal Print
Gyaru don’t want to be treated like the traditional Japanese woman, they didn’t want to be confined by the same norms. They wanted to free themselves, express themselves and find community and strength in each other. Gyaru started as a protest, fighting against society through their clothing, makeup and accessories.
Post-Human Fabrication - Matières Fécales
Matières Fécales is a collaborative label between two ‘outsiders’. They shared the same hatred for the restrictive fashion industry and the same pursuit to dismantle it. Now, they’re at Paris Fashion Week.
When a Woman Dies Twice - The Life & Style of Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy
She was the icon of 90s clean girl style, swept up in the romance with one of the most famous men in America. Her style has been praised & endlessly replicated, but who exactly was Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy?
“I am the Blueprint” - Grace Jones
She was once too dark, too unsellable, too threatening, too volatile. Then, she became a supermodel, a James Bond actress, a Grammy nominated singer and a muse to Andy Warhol and Keith Haring. Now she is what others strive to replicate and become.
“It’s not a bag, it’s a Birkin” - Veblen Goods
Surely if something becomes more expensive, less people would want to buy one. If it becomes so financially unobtainable, why do people want to obtain one? Why do people want what’s most expensive? How does that work?
From Privilege to Protest - Shocking Pink
I have a love hate relationship with the colour pink. I used to hate it because it was just a ‘girls colour’, something so clearly feminine and carried so many stereotypes with it. But its meaning has changed throughout the years, and I’ve come back to respect pink and what it can represent. So, I thought I’d go through the history of the colour pink, especially through the lens of fashion.
“A woman who wears my clothes is not afraid to be noticed” - Bob Mackie
His work is present through fleeting moments; TV specials, concerts, red carpets, living on through photographs and old recordings. Mackie has always committed himself to the art of the costume, to commit to the fantasy and the aesthetic without considering marketability and retail profit.
How to Dress Like a Serious Actress - Cher, Bob Mackie & The 1986 Oscars
Cher wanted an Oscar for her work but didn’t want to compromise herself in order to get one. She was seen as an over-the-top pop star, not a serious actress, but Cher wanted to show that she could be both.
“I Don’t Believe in Good Taste” - Gianni Versace
Versace was inspired by the world around him and the world he wanted to create. Inspired by the Italian Baroque movement and mixing it with rock, pop culture and sexuality, Versace blended old and new to create a unique point of view. His move to the US turned up his use of bold colours and prints, showcasing Versace’s daring aesthetics.
The Intersection of Fashion and Watches
In my mind, watches were just a thing that existed, a simple way to keep time. I knew there were some facets of ‘fashion’ in watches, Rolex being the luxury brand and watches in general being a ‘wealth indicator’, but turns out, there’s a lot more to it.
“It came right off the street and out of the ghetto” - The Zoot suit Riots
As the zoot suit was continued to be worn, this led to rising tensions between white and minority communities, ultimately coming to a head in the 1943 Zoot Suit Riots.
Beautiful and Haunting - Robert Wun
Wun is inspired by motifs unrelated to fashion, rather than fashion’s own history. A main inspiration is the relationship between humanity and nature, the future intertwined with the present. It’s a combination of haunting and beautiful.
Black Dandyism - Met Gala 2025
Okay - another year, another Met Gala. And honestly, this one was pretty good. I know there’s been a few recent ones that haven’t been the best, but I feel this one was consistently good. This years theme was Superfine: Tailoring Black Style. Its inspired by the 2009 book by Monica L. Miller named Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity.
Coexist - What to do when a brand’s original designer no longer designs
Why is it fine for other designers to take control over fashion brands/houses after the original designer has passed away? Why is the McQueen brand still around even though Alexander McQueen is no longer with us?
The World is Yours - Hatsune Miku
I don’t think there’s been many people in the past 10 years that haven’t heard of or at least seen Hatsune Miku. I mean, she performed at Coachella this year. Have I been thinking about writing an article about Hatsune Miku since I started PERSPEX? Absolutely. Am I just getting to it now? Yes, but better late than never.
The End of Personal Style
There’s been something happening to fashion recently, something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. But I think I’ve figured it out - personal style is dying. There’s a lot of different reasons for this, big and small.
Uniformity - The Connection between fashion and sport
Now, I know what you’re thinking, fashion and sports don’t go together. but, technically they do, in their own way. And I’ll be real with you all, I’m not much of a sports person. I can appreciate it, just from a distance. And my distance is writing an entire article about the connections between fashion and sports uniforms.
Famous for being Famous - Angelyne
Angelyne is obscure, shrouded in mystery and eccentric. We still don’t really know who she is or why she's famous, but she is. And I think that’s the whole point. Angelyne is purely Angelyne. She’s famous because she’s famous.