Pedal to the Metal
Hi everyone, happy Wednesday!
As promised, I’ve got a part 2 to last week’s pop punk issue for y’all today — well, kind of. These were some of the finds I came across that I fell in love with but felt didn’t quite fit into the pop punk aesthetic; I would describe these as a bit more edgy and futuristic, possibly fitting into the cyberpunk or technocore categories. I’ve written a past issue that also had an avant-garde bent, but these are just so amazing that I simply had no choice but to share 🖤
Move Mountains
Every single design that Depop shop Candy Mountain comes up with somehow manages to be be both impossibly cool and a little bit uncanny. The owner behind the shop, Grace V., takes inspiration from earth sciences and natural phenomena, drawing on everything from molecule chains to moss and lichen to Zen garden sand patterns. Their original designs are then screenprinted onto old vintage garments that are all reworked by hand. New pieces are released in small batches and tend to sell out as soon as as they drop, so keep an eye on the Candy Mountain Instagram for updates!
State of Matter
LIQUID METAL TROUSERS - HELIOT EMIL
My dinky 14-inch laptop definitely doesn’t do these insane pants justice, so if they already look this dope through a screen, no doubt they look even better in real life. Copenhagen-based brand Heliot Emil crafted these trousers out of a polyethylene/cotton blend that’s reminiscent of liquid mercury and “reflects light and morphs according to your angle of perception” (please watch the video demonstration below!) Not to get too NSFW, but I reallyyy wanna buy these pants, take some, uhh, “mind-altering substances,” and just spend hours staring at them.
Hair Raiser
RIPPLE/LIQUIFIED HOLLOW HAIR CLAMP - YVMIN
Speaking of liquid mercury, I audibly gasped when I saw this sleek, sculptural hair claw. You know how on GBBO contestants will drizzle caramel to create these intricate spun sugar decorations for their cakes? This hair claw looks like that, except rendered in solid silver. Beijing-based design studio YVMIN is known for its innovative take on body decoration, utilizing an experimental approach to the materials and methods of accessorization; featuring textural details and careful craftsmanship, many of their pieces look like they belong on display under a glass dome in the MoMA.
Tried one of my recs and loved it (or hated it)? Wanna get something cool on my radar? Drop me a line at kittylguo@gmail.com or swing by my Twitter @kitguo!