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Denver’s Defiant Society Presents Subversive Streetwear

If you search “Streetwear” under Google images, you can guarantee that photos of brands like Supreme and Stussy will bombard your screen. And while celebrities and distinguished collaborations will also come to mind, it’s a fact that a lot of streetwear is rooted in urban culture, skater culture and the desire to rebel. Local streetwear line Defiant Society keeps this conviction close to heart as it navigates launching a fashion line in Denver. Anthony Roybal, lead designer, said, “Defiant Society represents anybody that wants to go against the status quo of what society expects us to do. Especially in our generation, we’re expected to go to school, get a job, pay off that debt and die. All of us come from similar backgrounds and we’re so over these expectations. We just want to do what we want to do, when we want to.” Roybal wants people to know you don’t have to follow the set-out path to be successful or even to be happy.

Justin Sturgill, co-founder, explained how Defiant Society’s logo, “Breaking the Rules with Good Intentions” is very representative of the brand’s mission. He said, “When people hear ‘Defiant Society’ they picture a bunch of hood rats running around messing up the environment, but it’s actually a bunch of kids who are trying to inspire others to go against the grain of how society thinks.” Sturgill points out that it’s frowned upon to drop out of college, start a clothing line and be an entrepreneur. “It’s like being a rapper. Nobody ever believes in you but that’s what we’re setting out to do, if you believe in yourself and commit a lot of hard work and dedication then we believe you can make it one day.”

Defiant Society’s strong belief is shared by all three men behind it, who all push the principle forward. Roybal makes the designs. Austin Pitzer, the technical designer, also focuses on headwear and looks out for new fabrics to use. Sturgill is in charge of getting their products in stores. Not satisfied with just making screenprint shirts, their products include socks, shorts, beanies, bomber jackets, shirts, hats, hoodies and windbreakers. The street, hip hop and graffiti are their biggest inspiration as Roybal tell us that they’re not kids that had a great homelife growing up. “It was good enough in our parent’s eyes to graduate high school. An accomplishment they hadn’t experienced themselves,” he said. Defiant Society, for the trio, is a form of expression to take themselves one step further than what everyone else is doing.

Even though Defiant Society is well underway, it was born out of a senior prank for Wasson High School. Roybal created orange shirts that read “Wasson Correction Facility” with everyone’s school ID number as a prison number and sold them to all the seniors. This humor carries onto Defiant Society’s products with unanswerable questions on their tags. Do dogs think in English? What does the inside of your nose smell like? Do fish get thirsty? Roybal began to think about the questions as a joke but then the trio decided to put it on the clothes in order to get customers to interact with them more. People will be able to submit their own unanswerable questions and the chosen winner will get a free shirt. There’s more behind the quirkiness, however. “It’s cool and funny but it also gets people to think outside of the box, which is a huge part of our brand. Just question everything, some things don’t make sense and people accept that that’s the way it is without questioning it,” said Roybal. He was quick to point out, that even with his appearance, people often accept stereotypes before getting to know him. “When I got dreads, everyone assumed I smoked weed but that’s society’s generalization. I just wanted to push the idea that you don’t have to be a specific kind of person to look a certain way.”

Having a streetwear line in Denver has come with some difficulty, the trio admits. With fashion trends taking their time to come in from the coasts and Colorado being known for its outdoors scene, Roybal explained it’s the responsibility of local streetwear boutiques to push the style. Defiant Society also doesn’t print Colorado pride or weed paraphernalia on their products, which some have questioned but it’s not what they choose to focus on. Despite challenges, the line has also been welcomed with open arms. Defiant Society won the Raw Artists Indie Arts Award in 2012 and participated in Colorado Fashion Week in October 2016.

As much as the trio loves Denver, California is in the future for them. Defiant Society hopes to be one of the top streetwear brands, with weight alongside others like Diamond Supply Co. and Popular Demand. Roybal’s dream is to never report to anyone for work besides himself, and to make it to the top without selling out.

“One of my goals is to be a leader or influencer for minority youth. You drive by a park now, no kids are balling or fooling around, they’re on their phones inside, looking at what everyone else is doing with their lives instead of doing it,” Roybal said. Sturgill hopes to help youth by giving back and showing them hard work pays off. “I want them to see if we can do it, it really can happen. It’s not a new story but it’s inspiring to see it over and over again. I also want a program that makes it easy to get in contact with youth who didn’t have a fair start. It doesn’t have to be in clothing, I believe in entrepreneurship. To give them a platform to help others,” he said. Pitzer, who grew up with a single mom and spent a lot of time at the Boys and Girls Club, wants to reinspire kids to go outside and see the sun and enjoy the use of non-technology that past generations did.

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China’s wealthy followers of fashion love Dolce & Gabbana, and for Italian legends Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, the feeling is mutual.

“We have a very good feeling in our conversations with the Chinese customers when they come to Italy,” says Dolce of the Chinese clientele who fly in for the brand’s biannual Alta shows. “When you have good feelings, you love to share more, so here we are.”

Following Alta shows in Hong Kong and Tokyo, Dolce and Gabbana were in Beijing to present their “Ode to China” Alta Moda and Alta Sartoria (their version of women’s and men’s couture lines) collection.

“It’s our love for Asia,” says Gabbana at The Peninsula in Beijing, where fans including actress Zhang Ziyi and jewellery designer Bao Bao Wan watched as more than 100 outfits were paraded. “We started with doing the Alta shows in Hong Kong in December, the first time outside of Italy, and then decided to explore more cities.”

Inspired by their dream of China and Beijing, last week’s one-off collection featured shimmering gold appliqués and sequins, feminine fluted skirts and sleeves, and the famous Dolce & Gabbana hourglass figures in flattering blacks, reds and vibrant florals. One model wore a huge ballroom skirt adorned with thousands of hand-applied, multicoloured feathers, another a bloom of red and fuchsia flowers winding around a black ball gown.

The male models sported suits and tuxedos, some with stylised, hand-painted roosters (a nod to the Chinese zodiac) or in velvet with brilliant gemstone patterns. They showed off physiques in sharp, fitted tailored pants and billowing silky shirts. Playful pyjama pieces and robes in 1930s-inspired abstract prints also caught the eyes of male fans.

Post-show, the gregarious design duo take time to speak to each of their dinner guests and it’s such personal touches that make their clients so loyal.

While Dior might have just done a couture show in Japan and Armani has shown couture in China, these will be largely recycled outfits from their Paris runways. Valentino did do a one-off, red-themed, Shanghai-only collection in 2013 for their flagship store opening but by bringing unique “dedicated” collections to the doorstep of their fast-growing club of Asian clientele not the done thing in Europe Dolce and Gabbana have broken the mould. And judging by the increasing number of buyers of ultra-expensive Alta outfits, it’s working.

As many luxury brands scale back on catwalk shows, there’s a confidence within the company that bucks the trend of industry uncertainty.

“First of all we are independent and we decide by ourselves what we want to do. That kind of freedom is the best and most important thing and we have a lot of incredible staff, we are a huge company that’s why we can achieve all these shows,” Gabbana says.“Secondly, Domenico has fallen in love with Asia, and he just keeps wanting to come back.”

Dolce adds: “This isn’t just a profession, this is our love it has no limit. It’s not work, it’s an expression of our life,” adds Dolce.

From social dinners, wild parties and plenty of face time, the designers manage a rare intimacy in a world of superficial social media connections.

“At these intimate Alta shows,” says Gabbana, “it’s not just things for sale. Of course we sell things, we’re not stupid, but we don’t come here just for money. Our approach is different. I would love the Chinese to understand more about us. We’re not just a name, or a label, we are two men.”

The designers, now both in their 50s and having worked together for 31 years, are learning, too.

“After these trips and collections we understand Asia more, and the differences between Hong Kong, China and Japan in terms of cultures, people, food, the approach to life … and since we’re designers, even the proportions of the body. You need to respect each country or place,” Gabbana says. “We need to learn. And if we don’t come here, we don’t learn.”

The travel makes life enriching too, Dolce says.

“We discovered the most beautiful men in Beijing,” he says about the male models. “So elegant, their great skin and incredible bodies for a designer it’s a dream. In this moment, for me, Asian beauty is really the top.

“We think that the future is here in Asia. We just have confidence about the place.”

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The Best In Fashion On Bollywood Celebrity Instagram This Week

Kareena Kapoor Khan confirmed that Gucci is having a moment in Bollywood and Alia Bhatt declared head-to-toe denim as the only summer trend that needs to be taken seriously.

1. Kareena Kapoor Khan confirmed that Gucci is having a moment in Bollywood in her heart-printed top that she wore with comfy sneakers and black leggings.

2. Malaika Arora channelled her inner bohemian babe in a peasant-style dress that she courageously paired with knee-high suede boots in this unforgiving weather.

3. Shraddha Kapoor nailed casual airport style in her nautical t-shirt dress from the TommyXGigi collection, and finished it with a pair of forever-cool Ray Ban sunglasses.

4. Payal Khandwala’s spring collection got a nod of approval from Karisma Kapoor who kept things indie chic in a red shirt and monochrome wide-leg trousers.

5. Kriti Sanon vouched for the cold shoulder in her Deme by Gabriella top that she paired with a short leather skirt and a pair of spring-verified Steve Madden sandals.

6. Parineeti Chopra was straight fire in a sheer Madison top that was styled with the perfect Saturday-night pants and a mane that was flawlessly sleek.

7. Neha Dhupia gave us a quick lesson in winning at summer dressing in easy separates featuring a white top and cropped trousers -and a statement Givenchy tote.

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Zara pulls denim skirt over likeness to 'alt-right' mascot Pepe the Frog

Zara has withdrawn a skirt with a frog design from its website after social media users noted its resemblance to Pepe, a cartoon popular with the so-called alt-right.

The denim skirt, embroidered with cartoon frogs wearing sunglasses, was being sold as part of the brand’s “festival edition”. But Twitter users were quick to point out its similarities to the Pepe cartoon:

Writer Meagan Fredette spotted the skirt and told Dazed: “My immediate thought was holy shit, they have no idea what they are doing here, do they?”

The original link to the skirt on Zara’s website now redirects to its front page.

A spokesperson for the company said the skirt has “absolutely no link” to Pepe or the alt-right.

“The skirt is part of the limited Oil-On-Denim collection which was created through collaborations with artists and is only available in selected markets,” the spokesperson said.

“The designer of the skirt is Mario de Santiago, known online as Yimeisgreat. Mario explores social interactions through his work and in his own words: ‘The idea came from a wall painting I drew with friends four years ago.’

“There is absolutely no link to the suggested theme.”

Pepe the Frog was created by cartoonist Matt Furie, who originally envisaged him as a “chill” and “good-natured” frog. However, over the course of the American electoral campaign, Pepe transformed from an amusing star of weird memes to a white supremacist symbol denounced by the Anti-Defamation League.

Furie has since teamed up with the ADL in an attempt to reclaim Pepe. He said: “It’s the worst-case scenario for any artist to lose control of their work and eventually have it labelled like a swastika or a burning cross.”

This is not the first time Zara has got into trouble with an ill-judged clothing design. In 2014, they pulled a children’s striped shirt with a yellow star after complaints that it looked like the clothing worn by Holocaust victims.

In 2007, an embroidered handbag was withdrawn from sale after customers noticed it was decorated with green swastikas.

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Tamara Mellon Talks About Her New Brand and Her New Life in L.A.

Tamara Mellon is six months into her new life in Los Angeles, where she has opened a design studio for her new shoe brand, settled her 14-year-old daughter Araminta into a new school and become engaged to CAA co-founder Michael Ovitz.

“I felt like I wasn’t done yet,” said Mellon, who co-founded Jimmy Choo in 1996 and helped grow it into an international luxury powerhouse, thanks in no small part to it being one of the first shoe brands to dress Hollywood celebrities for the red carpet.

It’s a homecoming of sorts for the designer; Mellon lived in Beverly Hills as a kid from 1976 to 1983, just a few blocks away from where she lives now.

“The energy in the city is so different now,” she says. “As an example, Michael has been on the board of the Museum of Modern Art in New York for 30 years, and as a board they always take a trip to a different city each year and this is the first time they came to L.A. We hosted them all at home, and it speaks volumes that they decided to come here.”

Her new namesake shoe brand is very 21st century by design; it’s a straight-to-consumer business model, which allows her to keep prices lower than if she were wholesaling and retailers were marking things up. She sells online, except for the pop-up shop she has opened on Robertson Boulevard through July 14, to help spread the message of Tamara Mellon 2.0 to the L.A. faithful.

The new brand is becoming a red-carpet favorite, too; Mellon’s Front Line sandal ($395), with its signature illusion straps, has already been spotted on star feet dozens of times, worn by Katie Holmes, Kylie Jenner, Solange and Cindy Crawford.

“I was done with Jimmy Choo after four private equity deals, and in the last deal I felt like I couldn’t get fair market value enumeration. So I said, ‘I can just take it and stay five more years,’ or I’m just young enough to maybe do it again,” Mellon says on a recent afternoon, settled into the white couch in her store.

The Robertson Boulevard space “is a touch point for the customer to come in and see the product, learn our story, our values, and discover why this is different," she says.

New styles are released monthly on the brand’s Facebook and Instagram accounts, instead of on a traditional seasonal schedule.

“It’s a different business model; we’re able to talk directly to our customer, whereas before there was always a third party in between, whether it was a department store or traditional media,” Mellon says.

She has opened an office and design studio in West Hollywood, near Urth Caffe, where her 15-person team works to develop styles such as the Front Line.

“I have always been a strappy sandal girl, but I felt like they were all dated, so I wanted to design something that looked modern,” Mellon says. “Floating straps elongate any leg, and don’t cut off the ankle. It’s the best basic in your closet.”

Another shoe that’s a mainstay of the brand is the Sweet Revenge long legging boot ($1,495). “They look weird on the hanger, then you see women try them on and have an ‘a-ha’ moment when they realize it’s the easiest thing to wear,” she says. “All you have to worry about is a top. I hate that ugly line between leather legging and ankle boot, and this fixes that.”

Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid were fighting over the Queen Bee honeycomb perforated booties ($695, below) at Paris Fashion Week, Mellon reports, also noting that her collection includes cool flats for today’s “lower heel moment,” such as the velvet Trace style ($425) with ankle lacing.

“I say there are two parts to my business now: The shoes are the old part because we manufacture in the same way I always have in family-run factories in Italy. The new part is that we are digitally led," she explains.

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