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Fashion trends come and go — then often return decades later. Today we are witnessing a complex mashup of styles inspired by both the distant and recent past, which includes grunge-era flannels, cargo pants and wired headphones that nod to the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s.
Fast fashion can be blamed for this muddling, but the democratization of influence is also a factor. The traditional tastemakers of culture — celebrities, movies and magazines — still hold sway. But the power of those institutions must now compete with social media reality, as almost anyone can achieve an audience online and shift what’s in vogue.
As the world inches its way out of the pandemic and nightlife resumes, people are emerging with outfits and energy that have gone unused for years. On a recent Saturday night, The Chronicle stopped by an event where the latest looks can sometimes get their start — or their revival: an underground rave.
The following portraits and conversations collected that evening in Richmond aim to provide an insightful — and sometimes irreverent — exploration of today’s tangle of trends.
Responses from each subject have been edited for length and clarity.
Emily Beck
Age: 19
City of residence: Berkeley
Why did you come here?
I came here because I saw the flyer on this DJ I follow on Instagram, and I thought it’d be cool.
Style: I’d say maximalist, for sure. I just love everything. I love clothes!
What eras inspire your style?
I definitely pull a lot from Japanese street fashion and also the ’90s rave scene.
Do any genres of music or artists influence what you wear?
I wouldn’t say my music inspires what I wear.
What are you wearing tonight?
I’m wearing a s— ton of candy, which I make. I’m wearing furry boots and a cool skirt that I found on eBay. … This is (my friend) Nolan’s shirt that I’m borrowing, and my fish bone hair clip is from Etsy.
Is there music on your USB stick?
Yes, there is so much nightcore on here. Nobody knows that I have 64 GB of nightcore hanging around my neck!
What’s your favorite piece?
Probably my USB.
Where do you shop for most of your clothes? Where do you pick up stuff?
EBay, Poshmark, Mercari, Buyee.
Kelton Blackshear
Age: 31
City of residence: West Oakland
Why did you want to come here tonight?
A good friend of mine, my roommate, we were making some burgers, chilling, and this was going on with a couple of folk I know — Doggiechow, Cel Genesis. We really enjoy seeing them, so we just wanted to come out and support.
Style: My style is a ’90s take on the urban gentleman vibe with a lot of feminine expression. A lot of crop tops, a lot of nice colors, a lot of long, draping pieces, but a little bit of everything.
What eras inspire your style?
Tonight I’m pulling from specifically an ’80s- to ’90s-era vibe. The anime on my coat is from the early ’90s “Rurouni Kenshin,” a classic. I’m rocking some local brand sweats right now, but just more of an old-school kind of fitting vibe. I’ve got my (Teenage Mutant) Ninja Turtle socks, some Adidas and a crop top polo shirt that’s like a custom job. So very old-school industry basketball, or whatever from the ’80s and ’90s.
Do any genres of music or artists influence what you wear?
Yeah, I’m a singer-songwriter myself, so I take a lot of inspiration from music. Prince is one of my biggest inspirations right now for my style and also just my aesthetic. I really love the fluidity, the androgyny. That’s something that I want to try and capture in my style.
I like a lot of pieces that’ll go from baggy on the bottom and then tight fitting or crop top on the top. Or a cropped baggy shirt with a more slim-fitting and high-ankled pant. I like formfitting and colorful.
Outside of Prince, right now I’m drawing a lot of style from the current trap and hip-hop artists. They’re all drippy, so everybody wants to drip! You know everybody wants to have those pieces that are like “Bam!”
What are you wearing tonight?
So on my feet I have Adidas Cloudfoam, all white with an iridescent label on the back. Really subtle but really colorful, and on my socks I have some (Teenage Mutant) Ninja Turtles green socks.
I’m wearing Run the World sweats right now; it’s a local designer and store in Oakland. They have a classic taper, nice and formfitting.
This is a custom one of one polo long-sleeve crop top, with some custom flower embroidery all down the sleeves. It’s a really nice piece that has that baggy, masculine side, with the flowers and the touches.
And then my coat is some one-off brand from somewhere like Vietnam or Thailand or Mexico, or something like that. It’s a long coat with fur on the inside from “Rurouni Kenshin,” a very classic anime TV show. It’s got all the characters all on the back of it. The faux fuzzy cotton on the inside will keep you warm.
What’s your favorite piece that you’re wearing?
To be honest, my earrings are probably my favorite piece that I’m wearing right now.
My earrings are done by hand by Epiphaunye. She’s local in West Oakland, one of my favorite crystal and jewelry makers. Oh, and she raps — she raps like no other!
I really love the draping, long dangling earrings. That’s been something that I’ve been getting into since I pierced my ears recently, so there’s some tiger’s-eye and some other stones mixed in there.
Where do you shop for most of your clothing?
A lot of the things that I’ve been wearing recently have been given to me. Gifts! A lot of vintage pieces. A lot of one of ones, I really enjoy that.
When I do go shopping, to be honest, I really enjoy going to places like Nordstrom Rack. I’ll go to places like Bloomingdale’s for certain pieces, but for the most part, online is a really good place. Or just in town, the one-off shops that are in town like True Oakland.This polo that I’m wearing, and some other pieces that I really like, I actually got in Divine Oakland in Chinatown. They have a lot of really dope artists that are local artists and designers.
Cy Borg
What’s your age: 23
City of residence: West Oakland
Why did you come here?
I came for a good time. I love the raves. I love the DJs that play here. I love Doggiechow.
I love Engelsia. I love Gartex. I f— with a lot of the DJs here. I go out. I’m a rave DJ.
I f— with this vibe.
Style: Eclectic. It’s different every day. Lately I’ve been in a black and neutral tone phase, so just kind of embracing those colors. But yeah, I don’t really stick to one style or another.
What eras inspire your style?
I’m told that I bring back a lot of eras when I wear s—. … They’re like, “That was cool in the ’90s, now you’re wearing it.” I was like, “Oh, sick, I didn’t even know that.” So I’m told that, but I’m not really actively perceiving it.
Do any genres of music or artists influence what you wear?
Eartheater. You should check them out. They’re an electronic artist. I feel like a lot of their s— is very experimental. They have really cool fits. I also f— with Rico Nasty’s fits.
What are you wearing tonight?
I’m wearing Demonia boots, of course. I’m wearing a skirt that’s turned inside out and is actually assless. I’m wearing a bikini top that I made into a cute little thing, and then I’m wearing a necklace that says “Cy,” and then I’m wearing a thrifted, cute old-school choir boy shirt, and then a wool jacket, and then a cute little black bag. And, oh, white earmuffs.
What’s your favorite piece?
Oh, definitely the assless skirt! It’s kind of wild.
Where do you shop for most of your clothes?
Thrifting and hand-me-downs.
Jan Klamoth
Age: 27
City of residence: San Jose
Why did you come here?
I came here for good music. I’ve been here before. It is a good time up in here.
Style: My style is eclectic, all over the place. It’s not the same thing every day, it’s just like whatever. I got a lot of clothes, and sometimes they mismatch and sometimes they match. It really depends on what I’m feeling.
What eras inspire your style?
I guess you could call it gorp. I’ve been going outdoors a lot lately. My friend Alex takes me camping and stuff!
Can you define gorp?
Camping gear, outdoors gear. That stands for “good ole raisins and peanuts. What you eat when you’re on trails and s—. I’m sure a lot of people dressed like this tonight. … there’s a lot of people dressed like this right over here.
Do any genres of music or artists influence what you wear?
I’m not wearing it now, but most days I’m inspired by a lot of like visual kei musicians from the 2000s. They’re Japanese rock musicians. It was like rock music with an emphasis on image and style. I have this bucket hat thing — that’s kind of what they wore, wide-brim hats and stuff. They usually just wore rock star clothing.
What are you wearing tonight?
I’m actually borrowing a couple of outfits ’cause I’m staying at a hotel up here. I’m borrowing my friend’s Engineered Garments bucket hat. I’m wearing my other friend’s Snow Peak fishing vest for fishing. Like I said, outdoors. This is also my friend’s ACG puffer jacket because it was gonna be cold. The rest is mine. I don’t know what shirt this is, but I mean, it’s got a pocket! I got stoges and USBs in here. These are Yohji Yamamoto pants, you have a little plaid thingamajig right here. It works as a blanket, I guess. Costco socks. Reebok Instapump Furies. I got these a long time ago, and I just started wearing them again.
Jay Molina
Age: 22
City of residence: Petaluma
Why did you want to come here tonight?
This is actually like my second rave. I went to one yesterday, and it was really cool — the “Matrix”-themed one. My friend invited me to it and then invited me to this one too. It’s really awesome. I like it.
Style: I would say my outfit right now is based on inspiration from Fruits Magazine, which is a magazine from the early 2000s in Japan. So I guess my style is ’90s and early 2000s Harajuku.
What eras inspire your style?
Late ’90s, early 2000s for sure.
Do any genres of music or artists influence what you’re wearing?
I really like a lot of visual kei bands, or a lot of the old J-rock stars like Miyavi. He’s really cool.
For music in general, I’m a fan of a lot of different genres like techno. I also really like hip-hop, and I’m really into screamo.
What are you wearing tonight?
I’ve got a plain button up top that’s nothing special, I think I thrifted it. Then my tie is a 20471120, and my skirt-leg warmers-pants piece kind of has a jester look. It’s Takuya Angel from the late ’90s, early 2000s Japan. And then my shoes are also late ’90s from Belly Button. They made really cool platforms, and these are really hard to get a hold of, so I’m really glad I have them.
What’s your favorite piece?
Definitely my Takuya Angel bottoms. I feel like it’s like it’s the most interesting, and it kind of gives me that jester vibe.
Where do you shop for most of your clothes?
Definitely online, all secondhand. I thrift sometimes, but online mostly. I’m always just looking.
Mariana Barsotti
Age: 20
City of residence: Berkeley
Why did you want to come here tonight?
I’m just learning how to DJ. I moved into a co-op and started DJing my own house shows, and I just really loved the scene, and all of my friends love the scene. It’s just fun to dance and listen to a bunch of drum and bass and garage music.
Style: My style is secondhand everything, and I either sew it or paint it myself. I’m really big into not paying into consumer culture and just getting your own s— or making it yourself and reusing.
What eras inspire your style?
I’m definitely pulling from the ’90s/2000s music era, but I think there’s a lot of gorp and super interesting fashion coming from the rave scene itself. It all just emanates from your mind and from music in general, you know?
Do any genre or music or artists influence what you wear?
When it comes to rave-type music or electronic music, the kind of aesthetic of hard-core and breakcore with these like little meme, anime, cutesy accents, that’s definitely a really big inspiration for my outfit tastes. It’s kind of big, baggy, formless, androgynous, genderless.
What are you wearing tonight?
A pair of youth Air Jordans that I found on the side of the road. A pair of pants that my friends gave me, an old pair of ski socks that are mismatched, a pair of lingerie underwear that I got from Ross that were on sale. This is my dad’s old flannel. This is a broken O’Neill sweatshirt I’ve had since I was, like, 5. I made these necklaces. And my friend gave me the bra.
What’s your favorite piece?
Well, these are my skate shoes. … I love my Jordans.
Where do you shop for most of your clothing?
Buffalo Exchange, Goodwill, Urban Ore. Anything secondhand.
Ryan “Fitnesss” Bernardo
Age: 29
City of residence: Los Angeles
Why did you come here tonight?
I had to because I was performing tonight.
Style: I like things that are black because they’re easy to match with. I used to care a lot about fit, but now I care more about comfort and utility.
What eras inspire your style?
If I had to say, maybe like ’80s punk. I grew up in the hard-core scene, so it’s just a very comfortable and nostalgic way to dress for me.
Do any genres of music or artists influence what you wear?
The Damned, Bjork, T. Rex.
What are you wearing tonight?
I’m wearing a skirt. I’m wearing some tights ’cause it’s cold out today. I’m not wearing a shirt — that’s just how it goes — and then this is a crazy (synthesizer pad) setup on my chest that I use to perform live, and it’s fully wireless. It makes me feel like a punk again.
Where do you shop for most of your clothing online?
Uniqlo and Amazon. Corporate as f—.
Zhang Jie Lim
Age: 25
City of residence: San Jose
Why did you want to come here tonight?
I came to support the community and the venue.
Style: My style is very personal and tries to incorporate subcultures while not falling into those stereotypes. (I’m also) trying to dress in a way that I feel comfortable and still feel very self-expressive.
What eras inspire your style?
A lot of what I pull from is from 2010s Japanese fashion. Also a lot of the very new styles that are coming out in recent years from Southeast Asia, mostly smaller designers. I like designers that are not very well known but also not very expensive, because I think that’s important.
Do any genres of music or artists influence what you wear?
Baile funk.
What are you wearing tonight?
I’m wearing a Vietnamese brand called Vaegabond for pants. I’m wearing a top from Ato Matsumoto, who Kanye West made very big before he released his Yeezy sneaker line. I’m wearing MMY shoes, and then everything else is just thrifted.
What’s your favorite piece you have on now, and where did you get it?
My favorite piece is this “Serial Experiments Lain” button I have because my friend sent it to me to cheer me up.
Where do you shop for most of your clothing?
For the most part, I shop online, and I mostly buy secondhand. But I try not to spend too much time or buy too many pieces, and I limit myself with how much money I spend. People who are very picky about the pieces they pick find it much easier to develop a personal style because you don’t have so many options. So you really have to buy something you actually like that will last.
Sasha Black
Age: 33
City of residence: San Pablo
Why did you come here today?
I came here to hear some loud, hard, fast techno music.
Style: Low-key health goth, as dated as that is.
What eras inspire your style?
None, really.
Do any genres of music or artists influence what you wear?
This is stupid, but I have a pair of joggers that say “techno” across the crotch in rhinestones that my boyfriend’s sister gave me. So I have a hard time not wearing them to every show. … I feel like I just Googled “Euphoria makeup” once before a rave last year, and then I’ve just been kind of running with that vibe.
What are you wearing tonight?
I love this Raiders statement jacket, especially because I knew it was going to be cold out here. I actually have this even stupider “Live Laugh Love” antifa shirt underneath, if you can believe, the brand is called Ion Drip.
What’s the favorite piece that you’re wearing right now?
Honestly, probably the Raiders jacket. My mom wanted to get it for me for my birthday. We got it on eBay, but the guy was local, so I was like, “Don’t pay for the shipping,” and he just delivered it to me.
Where do you shop for most of your clothes?
I go to Ross, frankly, and look for the “let me find designer bulls—” or like “boutique overstock, blah, blah, blah” and comb through all of their stuff. There genuinely are things I’m excited to find now as a 33-year-old who is getting to dress the way that I wanted to do when I was the age that is now setting and adhering to trends.
Larry Finkelstein
Age: 21
City of residence: Oakland
Why do you want to come here tonight?
To see my friends DJ.
Style: San Francisco unique.
Are you pulling from any eras in time?
’70s, ’80s, ’90s.
Do any genres of music or artists influence what you wear?
Rave! Like New York ravers and Euro ravers and S.F. ravers.
What are you wearing tonight?
My skirt is made by my aunt Natasha Robinson, who is the fashion designer who runs Tashka Design. This is one of her mock-ups, and her intention was to preserve pieces in the garment industry that are usually wasted.
In the garment industry, when they’re working on a piece, they go through several mock-ups, and those are always thrown out. So in an effort to produce more consciously, the designer held on to all the mock-ups, and now I have this “one of one” piece that looks great. I think it would be cool if companies started auctioning off their mock-ups. Like a one-of-one Supreme mock-up? People would go crazy.
But it’s frowned upon because the industry is just very rigid, built on a lot of unethical practices, and they’re not trying to disrupt any of them. That’s what my skirt represents.
Then I just got on a Forever 21 shirt — well, it’s a dress — and I stole my dad’s suit. He might have given it to me, but it’s kinda hard to tell, it’s Dries Van Noten. Then I got Y-3 Qasa high shoes, my dream shoes since I was a little kid. And then I got some thermal leggings that I got in Sweden to give it the Rick Owens techwear look.
What’s your favorite piece that you got on right now?
Definitely the skirt.
Where do you shop for most of your clothes?
I f—ing love Wasteland thrifting. The Bay is great for thrifting. Then Grailed for things that I can’t thrift — you know, the Y-3s.
Victoria “Vickee” Lee
Age: 22
City of residence: San Francisco
Why’d you want to come here tonight?
I love the raves!
Style: Streetwear mixed somewhat with my Instagram Explore page; the algorithm’s got it right. I just try to be myself. I try to switch it up. Athleisure, mostly all black.
What eras inspire your style?
I mean Y2K is pretty big right now. I like the chunky-style shoes and the low-rise skirts, but that’s not me ’cause I dress more masculine.
Do any genres of music or artists influence what you’re wearing?
Drain Gang, Bladee, Yung Lean.
What are you wearing tonight?
I’m wearing an Issey Miyake crew neck from my boyfriend and North Face HyVent ski pants that I thrifted, and black Air Force 1s with some leg warmers ’cause it’s cold.
What’s the favorite piece you’re wearing right now?
This chain, it’s a Yung Lean chain from 2016. It’s in this death-metal font. It’s one of his early pieces from when he was underground, and now that he’s more hyped now, it resells for a lot. But that’s not why I like it. Yung Lean and Drain Gang kind of blew up during quarantine. Now it’s like all these TikTok, Instagram-type people flocking to this underground music group that I’d attached myself to, and I’m feeling like this loss of identity because of how big they’ve gotten.
Where do you shop for most of your clothes?
I thrift most of my clothes online on Mercari and sometimes on Grailed, but mostly thrifting.
Tara Hathcoate
Age: 21
City of residence: Petaluma.
Why do you want to come here tonight?
My boyfriend invited me, and, I don’t know, it just looked fun.
Style: Right now I think it’s kind of like sporty schoolgirl, kind of edgy.
What eras inspire your style?
I guess late ’90s.
Do any genre of music or artists influence what you wear?
I like everything. I like experimental music, anything that’s a little different.
What are you wearing tonight?
I’m just wearing a random sporty jacket and a plaid skirt and leggings and leg warmers.
What’s your favorite piece?
Do my hair ribbons count? Cause I think they’re really cute. I look like a Christian girl … like a milkmaid that is cute.
Where do you shop for most of your clothes?
Secondhand, thrifting online.
John MacMillan
Age: 26
City of residence: Oakland
Why did you want to come here tonight?
Support the homies, see some good music.
Style: Bay Area, maybe? I feel like everything I’m wearing is from a shop in Oakland.
What eras inspire your style?
I feel like fashion cycles, so maybe this is kind of 2000s era, with the B.B. (Simon) belt and kind of baggier jeans.
Do any genres of music or artists influence what you wear?
Definitely yes, but I can’t think of anyone off the top (of my head).
What are you wearing tonight?
Air Force 1s, Purple brand jeans, B.B. belt, Cookies shirt and, surprisingly, an Oaklandish hoodie, but you would never guess — it’s a collab with a local graffiti artist — and then I’ve got this big bag full of Layer 22.
What’s your favorite piece?
It’s gotta be the belt!
Where do you shop for most of your clothes?
Recently, Inner Desires Oakland and True Oakland. Just local shops.
Quetzal Solamente
Age: 25
City of residence: West Oakland
Why do you want to come here?
To see Cel Genesis, to head bang.
Style: Emo c— bitch goth.
What eras inspire your style?
Maybe a bit futuristic, so maybe a little bit of what we haven’t seen yet.
Do any genres of music or artists influence what you wear?
There’s this one artist Tomasa del Real, a total seductive vamp goth mami. She creates neoperreo music,, this weird-ass Spanish genre that’s kind of trappy. I like that style, and those artists inspire me a lot. Also vampires … the seductive kind.
What are you wearing tonight?
I’m wearing a pleather skirt from the rave shop Toxic Thrilz on Haight-Ashbury. These sleeves are also from there too. My shoes are Vans, so that I could be in the f—ing pit tonight, and I got on some leg warmers.
What’s your favorite piece that you have on tonight?
Probably my purse. It’s my little guy, my friend when I’m dancing, you know?
Where do you shop for most of your clothes?
To be honest, if it’s not that rave store, I will get it from free piles.
Brandon Tauszik is a freelance photographer whose work examines elements of America’s social periphery.
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