Austin Sherbanenko loves metal. His fidelity to all things dark, heavy, and grim is not up for debate. What is up for debate (at least to some) is whether or not that love should be translated onto a runway. Ever-fearful of being co-opted, high fashion is often viewed as the underground’s enemy. Heavy metal fans are just like every other close-knit group, highly protective of their adopted iconography and styles. When one particularly rabid metal fan I know found out I was covering last night’s Odyn Vovk show he sent a text exclaiming, “Tell Beverly death metal is a way of life, not a fashion statement.” Whoa there buddy, it’s not like we haven’t seen corpse paint on a runway before.
Older and wiser and cooler
Of course it’s easy for you to be stylish and look good when you’re young. Your skinny little frame is wrapped tightly in taut peachy skin, your feet smell like innocence, and denim hangs off you like a Kandinsky hangs off the wall at MOMA. But once you’re in the target demographic for TENA Lady and Fixodent, and clothes shops are mystifying discothèques full of travellators and impudent staff, looking good is hard. Some cool old people do pull it off though, and these people are very important because their style is a decent clue as to how God, who must be really old and really cool, must dress like. Advanced Style is a photo blog by 27-year-old Ari Cohen devoted to documenting New York’s mature fashion elite. We recently had a chat with Ari.
