On A Budget

As much as I would love to wear Ann Demeulemeester, Number (N)ine and Rick Owens on a daily basis (to name a few), I am alas but a struggling student. Realistically speaking mine is an appreciation of high fashion from a distance, although I do frequently window shop and try on clothing more expensive than I could possibly afford, but then you need those little moments of escapism. Designer pieces are the rarest of luxuries rather than the norm.

Rick Owens
Long Sleeve T-Shirt

DSquared
Light Twill TrouserMaison Martin Margiela

Replica German Army Sneaker

Your average glossy magazine will usually picture celebrities in couture dresses and then rather lamely suggest how you could emulate their look from the high street (more often than not entirely missing the style of the original dress). Yet rather than trying to emulate a celebrity (there are actually few celebrity men whose style I look up to anyhow), or emulating an entire look from the catwalk, I tend to look for specific pieces that captured my attention in collections. The skill is hunting down a piece that fits both the inspiration and your own style and body.

COS/Asos/Uniqlo/UO Renewal

Produced in the late 1970s the Bundeswehr Sportschuhe, otherwise known as the German Army Trainer, was a combination of brute functionality and elegant minimalist design. Featuring a leather upper, with suede toe box and gum soles, these distinctive sneakers served as uniform for the enlisted during physical training. Its life span ran from the later 1970s to the late 1980s, essentially serving the last decade of a divided Germany. Even as a piece of design history they are a remarkable design to behold.


Uniform is used to create a sense of unity, with the individual only really standing out in the absence of the correct uniform. It is therefore curious to think that such a functional and mass produced design has served as inspiration for a number of high end designers. Mass manufacture turns into high end exclusivity through the use of high end materials and manufacturing methods. Hedi Slimane famously used the German Army Trainer as the model for the sneakers he designed at Dior Homme.

However the most notable use of the German Army Trainer would have to be under the Replica division of Maison Martin Margiela. Released every season with both hi top and low cut versions, the sneaker has become iconic of Margiela, undergoing a variety of coloured and textured offerings. Indeed the use of the design by Margiela stands at the level that observers are more likely to comment that one wearing an original German Army Trainer is wearing Margiela. As such it is curious to think that the price difference between the two is so incredibly vast.


The Margiela version is high end luxury, the original is mass produced functionality. They stand apart not only in terms of construction, but also ideals, and yet to wear either provides a similar aesthetic. Maybe removed from context they are so not different after all.

Currently playing: The Instrumental ft. Jonah Matranga - Lupe Fiasco

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