Techwear Clothing is a Dead Trend (And That's OK)

Channel over everybody go home
...until next week probably. How are you feeling about techwear clothing atm? And what's your style looking like these days?

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Persona 5 OST

[bjamofficial]

Techwear has evolved into more than one look and become part of the overall fashion zeitgeist, I would call that maturing. I like the edgier looks whatever they are called personally, but I always saw 'technical clothing' as a tool in my fashion kit and not the end result. Putting pieces together from different ideas so they fit your style and life is what fashion is for, I for one think this evolution is nothing but good and I am here for it. Trying my best to mix ACR, Nike, Guerilla Group, Hamcus, Maharishi, and even Stussy into a coherent look that is my own.

[confucheese]

Personally I’ve found that the vast majority of people never even knew what techwear was at all anyway, even at its “peak”. I can count on one hand the number of techwear inspired outfits I’ve seen in public within the last 7 years. So the idea of it being a dead trend doesn’t really significantly alter how the aesthetic is perceived by 99% of people; it’s always been a (usually) quite avant-garde, edgy and out-of-place look, and so it will simply continue to be as such.

[Meg_A_Byte]

It seems that a lot of people don't get that just because a trend is dead, they shouldn't be wearing the stuff anymore.
That's exactly what I hate about fashion and design - trends. Artificial made up concept - to go after new stuff and reject the old, only fueling consumerism. Just to come back around and wear the same stuff a few decades later.
Okay, techwear aesthetics from 2015 are no longer trendy - why should I care, I still like how it looks and what it stands for.

Really nice video Ant, showing that everything evolves will help understand a lot of people that they don't need to wear a set uniform and they can experiment a bit. Sadly at least within the techwear community it took a long time for people to get that.

[AntboyIan]

the "classic techwear" aesthetic is one that I'm not really going for as often these days, but the techwear philosophy of having reliable, utilitarian clothing that's suitable for your environment is still something that drives my decisions on clothing. aesthetically I've also become a lot more experimental and I've begun mixing and matching my "techwear" pieces with "non-techwear" pieces and I've created some cool fits by doing so. whereas before I used to have a pretty rigid mindset of "I wear techwear, this is what techwear looks like, so this is what I have to look like", and freeing myself from those rigid labels and just wearing what I think looks cool has been so fun.

[Flameseeker]

I don't care much about what's trending honestly. I have my taste and that taste will develop naturally over time as I age and have new experiences but I don't care about what the mainstream thinks is hot or whatever. What I like about techwear is the additional functionality of the clothing, emphasis on quality, fits, silhouette etc. Those were cool 10 years ago and still are. I can understand getting sick of a trend if literally everyone is participating but I feel like techwear can just exist as a subculture and that's fine. There will probably always be people who want to look like cyberpunk secret agents. Besides, trends get recycled over and over. Back when I was in high school baggy pants and flared jeans were cool, then it became all about skinny jeans, now the oversized stuff is cool again and skinny jeans are "dead". They'll be back in a few years. So it goes with trends.

I've personally already been combining techwear and gorpcore. Not just cause of style but also availability of clothes and most definitely the price. The styles can be pretty close together anyway. I agree with your points, having a very rigid idea of what the "techwear uniform" should look like makes a style stagnant and boring. The underlying philosophy will be around but the output is evolving. I mean these designers (like Errolson) are artists right, they're going to want to explore different ideas and looks. Ultimately I think it's good to have more diversity within the style. It revitalizes it and gives people more options to experiment with different pieces.

[Jedwoods]

what appealed to me about techwear was never a particular aesthetic, but rather the integration of technical fabrics, greater articulation of movement, and interesting features into an aesthetic that fits into an urban setting. I've been glad to see that continue, whether it's Gore-tex Vans or my work uniform including a softshell now.

I notice that you didn't mention Outlier, and any of the brands who've derived from their niche, such as Swerv or Western Rise, which I've had good results exploring.

[davidwave]

For me, techwear has always been out our vision for what the future looks like. It’s kind of heartening to see new visions of the future that isn’t monochromatic war core. Maybe we can have colors and comfort in the future!

[saltytatertot]

Even if techwear as a trend goes by the wayside, it has introduced me to quality garments that make their high price points much more understandable. If I can get a black T-shirt that is breathable AND keeps me warm, it doesn't matter if its labelled as techwear and/or costs twice the average price.

Ultimately, if my life becomes easier due to what i wear and it happens to form a cohesive look, that's all I really need out of my wardrobe. I'll just have to get used to wearing more colors going forward.

[russellsandivar]

I agree with "Techwear" as a trend being dead, I think loads of people jumped on the hype train because of all the bombardment in publicity, drop shippers and techwear influencers. The majority of people who explored techwear clothing were probably disappointed by the horrendous quality that cheap techwear clothing offers (not to mention the heavy graphic use the drop shippers use that also gets old pretty fast) also disappointed by the extremely high prices good techwear clothing like Acronym and others end up having. But if anything I think the concept has made an impact in the fashion industry, people are now aware that clothing can be functional and solve day to day problems, myself included I appreciate the technical features a piece of clothing can have and that has shifted the process in which I make my purchases.

[PenmanLupine]

yeah, I just started losing weight and being able to fit into some of these clothes so I'm gonna rock this style. I enjoy the look, it's the only style that really started to clique with me and pay attention to fashion, I don't care whats in or out. This is for me.

[GuzziHeroV]

As with cybergoth, I seem to have a habit of glomming onto 'dying' styles. I'm cool with that, I always was a bit behind the times!

[nimajneb]

Techwear was my first real aesthetic to get into, and it's been really interesting to see the trends that exist around it. The fact that these performance garments are sold for such high prices really blocks off a lot of casual interest in the clothing line, asides from the hardcore enthusiasts. The lower priced clothing i find either goes full ninja or is a blend of performance combined with other aesthetics. An example of this is 5.11, which gives a lot of functionality, but is middling on the design aspects that really scream cutting edge. Personally, with less and less sci-fi looking pieces being produced, I'm looking to the accessories such as belts, bags, and etcetera to announce that my fits are "techwear", instead of trying to explain to everyone that everything i'm wearing is waterproof.

[KJ_KJ_KJ_KJ_KJ]

But in general I agree with your take. The problem is it makes me sad - at the time Acr came up with their best items (in my opinion ofc) I was too young and broke to even look at them at the mothersite, so I just scrolled through fits on social media. And now, when I can finally afford at least some of it a pair of lf1s costs enough to buy you a month worth of rent (and the pair will be secondhand and most likely smelling like some hypebeasts feet). I’m not even talking about stuff like acr j64/41/46 (which look absolutely mad imo)

[Majesticon]

The problem with techwear was that it was always a finite genre. There were only a few brands acceptable in its oeuvre, and almost all of those brands had elusive price points. So, expensive plus insular = not gonna last long. Plus, this limits the kinds of fits one can wear. How many times can that grid tshirt and a pair of pretos make a unique outfit?
The best thing for techwear is the integration of its core brands and styles with other tangential brands, styles and clothing families. Like right now im wearing an acg cap, Prada shades, rick shirt, army of me hoodie, bbs11 bag, hamcus shorts and new balances. The fit is fly af and im not beholden to the rigidity of any of the original designers demands or any scenes.

All genres are dead. If you're not mixing to blend your own personal aesthetic (mine is afrofuturist cyberpunk in a pre-dystopia, naturally) then you're doing your wardrobe a disservice

[EpicCompilationTV]

I think techwear items match really well with some neat clothes and a pair of mocassins or boots. Full techwear outfits are a bit too much for me personally.

[WinderTP]

This video resonated with me on a lot of points. I've always felt a type of disconnection between myself and the "core" techwear community like those in r/techwearclothing, while I love and envy the style and their fits I just can't justify myself to afford them (nor can I really); I mostly just spend 60usd here, 50usd there for my clothes. The budget restraints has led me to trying out different types of styles and materials in order to make myself feel like I look even remotely good while aiming to maximising function with price. And I don't think it's a bad thing - a lot of people like the pure aesthetics of techwear, and I admire them for looking good in it, but trying out other styles, materials, and colours while still being technically minded is still a viable option, be it corporations or individual. At the end of the day, I'm just happy I can make myself look a little bit more "advanced" or "cyberpunk" than others.

[cameronmeade]

I'm more into the goth/alternitive scene so adding bits of techwear/darkwear into my outfits has been pretty nice~ not too into the gorpcore hiker look tbh, think I'll keep dressing like a ninja.

I may be cringe, but I am free

[MaxRovensky]

4:50 "nobody is really going to think "ah, I've just discovered this cool techwear clothing thing, I think I'll go and spend $1, 000 on a jacket"

Let me introduce you to my J56

[ZeroTookTheKids]

I miss the trend, personally. I got into techwear when I got into the artist Scarlxrd and wanted to learn more about his style.

I feel like as the trend has died techwear has become more minimal or gorpcore adjacent and that’s just not for me. I’ve always thought that was a little boring in comparison.

[UNKNWN]

I was heavy into skating for a lot of high school/college and I remember all my clothes were beat up and bloody and I way way too broke to afford buying new clothes all the time. I remember I got rid of everything in my closet, got a Uniqlo blocktech jacket and some taobao cargos bc I was super into scarlxrd at the time.

I remember I was on Twitch and found this one streamer (Albert Chang) who was really into techwear and was like “huh I’m pretty much almost there” and was surprised that there was a name for the fashion that I naturally gravitated towards. I then found sub communities on Reddit and YT and fell in love with it. I can’t see myself dressing any different for a long time and I am slowly gonna start changing my wardrobe and saving up for some higher quality pieces.