The Copper Defense Bracelet

Last week, two dear companions of mine and I were having drinks at a cool bar downtown. The three of us work in style, and appreciate it the most when it's at its strangest. We're cautious and accommodating with regards to our style and the manner in which we dress. We are not casual or easy. For example, one of my companions was wearing a tiger print Dries Van Noten skirt from his spring 2020 coordinated effort with Christian Lacroix, and conveying a zebra stripe Brandon Blackwood lunch box sack. Sitting in a bar loaded with ladies wearing stylish dark turtlenecks and men in dull Arc'teryx coats, typifying the laid-backness that became famous in the late aughts and mid 2010s, we stuck out.

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Not attempting is cool. The ascent of moderation introduced a time where apparent attempt hardness was disliked. The pandemic overstated this energy. Assortments emerging from the early Coronavirus months mirrored the grim, solace looking for state of mind of the world; fitting relaxed, and loungewear turned into a backbone across assortments.

Recently, however, I've seen a shift in both URL and IRL. There's a freshly discovered pride in attempting. See Luar's Raul Lopez at the CFDA Grants, where he wore a pinstripe top with huge shoulders over a fresh white button down and a goddess-hung scarf; or beautician and expert Amanda Murray, who consolidates Loewe expand shoes with a Junya Watanabe dress, and a Vaquera optical illusion unmentionables tee with the goliath Y/Task boots made popular by Rihanna. See likewise Jeremy O'Harris in a luxurious Peter Really do suit and Schiaparelli gems at the New York screening of Dark Puma: Wakanda Always recently.

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This stretches out to the runways where panniers and crinolines arose as an unexpected pattern at Christian Dior, Loewe, and Christopher Kane. Indeed, even Matthieu Blazy's heavenly "unreasonable cliché" at Bottega Veneta mirrors this plan to look easygoing and loose à la Kate Greenery in a plaid shirt and pants, however the two pieces are cowhide? That is a decision.

Trying has gone from uncool, to endearing, to a sought after aesthetic. Our post-pandemic re-emergence is partly responsible, but there are other things at play. On social media, there is always an audience for our every outfit, everything is a photo op, so we have to always try. Rihanna and Bella Hadid stay viral on Twitter and TikTok, where their every look is the topic of endless discourse. And it’s true for us normies too, and most of the folks you see in our street style galleries have made calculated style choices in order to catch the eye of our photographers.

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From Instagram photo dumps to “Get Ready with Me” TikToks, the “trying” trend means wearing key items is no longer enough—you now also need to style them in a way that’s surprising, and place them in context with other carefully selected “random” photos. Our taste, or lack thereof, has never been as available for public discourse. Every time I scroll down TikTok I see these endless outfit videos, all full of palpable try-hard energy. Before you frown at your screen in disagreement, hear me out: a hot guy flexing his gym gains before putting on a Patagonia baggies and a carefully selected thrifted “vintage” t-shirt to the viral song du jour, and a cool guy styling Grailed finds to obscure SoundCloud mixes–both in front of a ring-light–have the exact same calculated energy.

But what does trying actually mean for what comes next? The fall 2023 collections are coming up in February, and before that we will see menswear and couture. It’s safe to say that this highly considered, calculated approach to dressing and look-building will carry into the shows.

Thank you.