Inspirado // DwnTwn 81

Behold Urban Outfitters' Look Book for Fall '14: inspired by New Wave mode influences from the 80's downtown New York art scene.
A few years ago, I saw the doc Blank City, and it completely captured my imagination and ignited a deep interest in me and newly founded love for New Wave/No Wave art and music. Pioneered by the raconteurs/art school grads and dropouts who carved a new existence out of New York's (then) untapped territory below 14th street and the Bowery ('cause it was essentially a bombed-out, bankrupt nightmare down there), New Wave and No Wave created an energy and a scene in NYC that reignited a bohemian art universe through not only music and fine art, but also film. The challenges that came with what its creators carved out, however, came about too soon. Once the art scene became commodified, it turned what we now know as the SoHo/TriBeCa tourist trap/zoo.
My parents moved to NYC when this scene was emerging, so New/No Wave also had a presence in my childhood, only with a 90's-nostalgia kinda twist. This all gives off major Permanent Vacation vibes, and it's quite charming.
Now, Urban Outfitters has always had more than a few controversies behind them as a company (I've discussed them before on IG), but I'd like to take a moment to separate the business qualms from the creative minds for a hot second, and say how much I appreciate the eclectic styling here. A very, VERY near-and-dear-to-my-heart NYC cultural institution, Yaffa Café, closed this past week, and it really hurts to know it's gone considering how it was kind of a go-to place for celebration at many points in my life. Part of this photo series was shot in there, and it gives me pangs of too-early onset nostalgia just looking at them.
Anyway, here's more if you'd like to see.
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