Lycra and vinyl. Tones of glitter. Chloe Sevigny provocatively –yet with an innocent tongue– licking a lollipop while Macaulay Culkin is trying to conquer the night. Gay porn playing in the background. These are the images flashing on one’s mind while skimming through Eurotrash, the Fall/Winter 16-17 collection by the Athens-based fashion project Trash.
Jonny Seven and Stamatis Kalagkias, two boys who were born in the ‘90s, explore various subcultures from past decades –even those where they weren’t born yet– and celebrate trash culture with a clothing line inspired by the ‘80s and ‘90s club scene, sex parties, midnight movies, and gay porn. “It’s about having a drink at a sex party,” brand’s official description goes.
Both the design of the clothes and the depiction of each collection take elements selected from past subcultures, which are then presented in a contemporary and experimental way. For that matter, Kostis Fokas was recruited. The acclaimed Greek photographer is responsible for the first collection’s look book. He used the clothes to create a surreal story with collages that combine romanticism and fetishism.
I can’t help but ask the young curators if romanticism and fetishism are entwined. “To us, romanticism and fetishism are both an expression of desire. That was the reason we created these images, in collaboration with Kostis Fokas – to try and mix these two concepts.”
“Our inspiration was the London and New York club scene of the ‘80s and ‘90s. The never ending clubbing, the glitter, the eccentric outfits. Personas like Leigh Bowery, Boy George, Nina Hagen, and Michael Alig were a major inspiration for our clothes, and so were the directors John Waters and Jack Smith, who brought trash culture into the spotlight.”
Trash has a definite arty approach. Jonny and Stamatis consider fashion to be directly related to art. “There is a continuous interaction between fashion and art, since they affect each other. Through research and creation, the production and presentation of a collection could be easily considered as an art project.” Currently, they are about to release a limited edition zine based on the Eurotrash collection.
Both the design of the clothes and the depiction of each collection take elements selected from past subcultures, which are then presented in a contemporary and experimental way. For that matter, Kostis Fokas was recruited. The acclaimed Greek photographer is responsible for the first collection’s look book. He used the clothes to create a surreal story with collages that combine romanticism and fetishism.
I can’t help but ask the young curators if romanticism and fetishism are entwined. “To us, romanticism and fetishism are both an expression of desire. That was the reason we created these images, in collaboration with Kostis Fokas – to try and mix these two concepts.”
“Our inspiration was the London and New York club scene of the ‘80s and ‘90s. The never ending clubbing, the glitter, the eccentric outfits. Personas like Leigh Bowery, Boy George, Nina Hagen, and Michael Alig were a major inspiration for our clothes, and so were the directors John Waters and Jack Smith, who brought trash culture into the spotlight.”
Trash has a definite arty approach. Jonny and Stamatis consider fashion to be directly related to art. “There is a continuous interaction between fashion and art, since they affect each other. Through research and creation, the production and presentation of a collection could be easily considered as an art project.” Currently, they are about to release a limited edition zine based on the Eurotrash collection.
