swap-o-rama & skaen

This sounds like such a cool idea: invite people to come by with large bags of used/unwanted clothing, a donation of $5, and give them access and instructions on how to "re-make" and reconstruct their items into DIY clothing...if you're in NYC, then you're in luck! thanks to Supernaturale for adding a link to the October NYC Swap-O-Rama info...I can't vouch for it personally, but if I were in town, I would go. They are grooving my ethos, on the right do-it-yourself anti-label activist track! (If you rummage around the website, you can find info on a workshop that will be about metallicizing your pockets to hide items from RFID electronic scanners and avoid being tracked when you don't want to)

A few years ago when I was living in a warehouse, we hosted a similar deal (minus the modification situation) where we invited friends to bring bags of unwanted clothing. It turned into the most amazing pile of goods with ladies slogging through and finding treasures out of others' trash. It was crazy good!


I ran into my friend Sachi (Santiago) at American Rag yesterday and I learned that not only is he a graphic designer but he has his own fashion line, too--Skaen (image above). Skip Urban Outfitters and their wanna-be DIY aesthetics and check out some great silkscreened tops and sweatshirts for guys and gals. The Skaen website is a thing of beauty, too. By the way, Kurt and I were at the store looking for shoes, not clothes. It always depresses me to go to a high-end boutique/vintage store where things are way overpriced and there are "modified" clothes being churned out for exorbitant amounts of $$. More on this later...I have a HUGE rant against Urban Outfitters along the same lines... ;(