ORGANIK ROCKA - UK

Self-proclaimed misfits with a dream to "make the revolutionaries look superfly", Organik Rocka is a refreshing brand in the fashion industry. As a collective, they aim to bring out east London cool in ethical bamboo tshirts,which from the looks of their latest collection "demo" is very likely.  I became a bit fascinated with the solgans slashed across their tshirts like "work, buy consume, die", which, quite frankly, describes the people in the western world today. Kay from the team was kind enough to answer a few questions.. 

Why did you decide to create a label? 

At the time of creating Organik Rocka, we could not find top quality ethical/organic tees that had rockin designs or text. The brands that were out there, were kinda boring,so we decided to do our own.

Would you ever consider branching out into other aspects of the fashion industry? 

We are spontaneous, so we do what we do when we feel like doing it.

What inspired your latest range? 

Chocolate, dance, music, sex, romance - in no particular order.

You are a very political/ethical label how do you intend to portray that through your clothes?

Are we very political??? I suppose being that all aspects of modern living is politics - then I guess we are. I think the clothes speak for themselves!  

Will your next range have the same background?

The misfits that make up Organik Rocka are not tied to only one thing - so god only knows!

Do you think fashion can change the world for better?

Hell yeah!!! And at the very least, we can make the revolutionaries look superfly!!!

 Organik Rocka's clothes are perfect for the shy person in all of us and allow everyone to express their opinions through their clothes. My favourite design is the "work buy" tshirt which retails for £32, it's simple yet still gets peoples attention, once again proving that less is sometimes more. If you are looking to purchase their clothes, you can either buy them online or from their Spitalfields/Broadway Market stalls. There is no doubt that I will be checking out their stall personally next time i'm in London. B.x

LINKS
https://twitter.com/organikrocka

http://www.youtube.com/user/organikrocka

https://www.facebook.com/organikrockabiz 

THE REBIRTH OF THE RIOT GRRRL

For you guys who don't know what a riot grrrl is (don't worry I didn't for ages):

Riot grrrl is an underground feminist punk rock movement that originally started in the early to mid-1990s, in Washington, DC and the greater Pacific Northwest, especially Olympia, Washington and Portland, Oregon. It is often associated with third-wave feminism which is sometimes seen as its starting point.
(wikipedia)

There has always been an underground for punky feminist girls in the western world, but it managed to make it to the mainstream in the 90's with bands such as Bikini Kill, L7 and Sleater-Kinney. This third-wave feminism sparked a new generation of alternative girls who serve as an inspiration for many to this day. For instance, if there had never been bands like L7 with the coolest bass player of all time (Jennifer Finch) I doubt that the chick bass player in school of rock would have been a chick and without her I would have never even thought of picking up a bass. However, in recent years this wave of radical feminism has slipped into the background and women's rights have taken the backseat. Unfortunately this has resulted in a new form of "acceptable sexism" putting women at the butt of misogynistic jokes about getting back into the kitchen once again. Quite frankly I could not think of a better time for something so serious to become trendy. Sure it must be annoying for some people to hear impressionable youths declaring their status to the world as a feminist when they haven't even studied the fundamentals as hard as you did, but can you really say that promoting equality into the mainstream is a bad thing?

The increase of girls choosing to not shave their armpits in the name of feminism is major, although this may seem disgusting to some I think it's quite a good choice no matter how unconventional it is. I suppose the reason why i'm so supportive of people like this is because I am pretty much a slave to the razor, I've always had it drilled into my head that body hair is disgusting when really it's natural and the more people we see embracing that promotes a better attitude to women's bodies everywhere and the choices they make. However, even if there are more girls throwing out their bics there is no doubt that the everyday persons point of view on how a woman should look is still pretty deformed, with the easy access to porn and sexualisation of almost everything in the media it's not really a surprise.

One of the more interesting things about the modern riot grrrl has to be the way in which they function. Although it was only 20 years ago our society and the way it functions has changed greatly since the end of the twentieth century, for instance, the internet. It is no longer necessary for people to make zines and hide their opinion on certain subjects when you have tumblr, twitter and whatever else is out there. The new riot grrrl isn't an underground scene but more of a nostalgic trend, founded by the girls and boys that were just a bit too young to know what it meant before.

Unfortunately, I would not be surprised if this revival is short lived like so many other things these days, not to mention the fact that it's probably going to become some sort of joke for those that piss everyone off. If you're a riot grrrl keep riot grrrling, you guys are cool. B.x

*image from - thisishangingrockcomics.tumblr.com

AN ALTERNATIVE TO FUCK OFF.

I always find myself totally lost for words whenever there is some sort of verbal confrontation, partly because I don't really like getting into arguments with people, but mostly because I'm very very slow. Don't get me wrong, I do have my moments where sass takes over me and I can totally belittle people with my words, but I usually tend to get these great insults a few hours later when I'm in bed trying to get some sleep.  My solution for this reoccurring problem is to create a facade by dressing with sass, wit and a little bit of attitude.

OUTFIT No.1

 I think it's pretty apparent that this outfit is inspired by the classic movie Heathers, because quite frankly, I couldn't think of a better group of girls to personify the two words "fuck off". I think my favourite thing in this mood-board (is that the right word?? I'm not very pro with these things) has to be the Houndstooth jacket. If you think about it, the jacket alone is pretty intimidating, first of all its called HOUNDSTOOTH, the print itself is totally confrontational and kind of looks like loads of sharp objects and then there is the shoulder pads which basically make anyone look tough. Speaking of being tough, this red leather skirt is the love of my life in skirt form. I think it's necessity if you're looking to use sass to kick-ass. The pleats make it look very cute and innocent but also allow great leg room if you ever need to kick your opponent. As for shoes I think that flats are imperative if you're planning on telling your nemesis where it's at. Running heels isn't flattering or convenient, especially if you're trying to save yourself from a beating.

OUTFIT No.2 

My love for all things funky, groovy and disco is unfathomable, so you can imagine how pissed I was when I couldn't find a pair of gold flares to complete this ensemble. Unfortunately the look didn't turn out as studio 54 as I wanted it to but I still think it could give the intended message. Gold is the main colour here, simply because it's the colour of POWER! I think you could win any argument in this outfit, granted, you could be a bit vulnerable in a black bandeau but why not see it as an opportunity to show who's in control, of not only your body but what ever circumstance you're in as well? Rainbow print doesn't get enough credit these days which is a shame because it's so fun and versatile because it has literally got all colours of the rainbow in it . If you still don't feel safe from your enemy in loud prints and tight trousers, just get physical and use the chunky jewelry and mad platforms as weapons (only as protection though).

OUTFIT No.3
  

For my last 'alternative to fuck off', I decided to seek inspiration in one of my favourite idols, Annie Lennox. I tried as hard as I could to imitate her look from the music video for Sisters are doin' it for themselves because not only does she look bad ass in it, but the song is all about standing up and fighting for what you believe in. Even though the look is pretty androgynous I think that you can still look really feminine if you want to, adding red shoes for example is a pop of colour that most people wouldn't think to make when wearing a trouser suit, but it still looks amazing even if it isn't "the norm". Once again, we see the shoulder pads, I don't think you really need to say much when you're wearing something that's called a 'power-shoulder', but if you are involved in some sort of confrontation, they definitely act as great protection if you need to barge into someone. I'm also really into the high-waisted peg trousers, sadly these days most people shy away from a trouser which isn't skinny, harem or chino, which makes it all the more intimidating! The way I see it, by wearing these trousers you can change loads of peoples minds, and if they find your clothes cool, they're going to find your side of the argument cool as well*. 

For me, dressing like this can be very therapeutic, it's never nice to have a confrontation with someone but sometimes it can seem necessary. Sending messages with your clothes is a fun alternative to something that is usually quite stressful and altogether nasty and has been going on forever, even in nature. Think of yourself as a tarantula, terrifying to look at but lacking in venom. I sincerely hope you manage to put your rival in their place and kick butt! B.x 

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*This can't be guaranteed. 

LOLA, 17.

A cute girl with a passion for metal tshirts seems to be the only way to describe Lola, she has an effortless look that never ceases to be stylish, fun and personifies not caring about what people may say. I suppose one of the best things about Lola has to be the simple clarity she has of the world, which I think comes out in the following discourse. Lola was a pleasure to interview and I hope she is just as lovely to read.. 

How would you describe your style?

Um well, I like to blend stuff. Like, I like Japanese street fashion and then I just wear band tshirts because I wanna show off my music taste. And then I just take my dads clothes because he has all these stussy tshirts and stuff

Your dad is stylish! 

Mhmm, he gave them all to me, so it's pretty great. 

Have you always dressed like this, or is this a new look for you? 

Well, I was really emo until like year 9 and then in year 10 I went, not indie but I wore lots if flowers and stuff like that and then it turned into this around year 11, just mixing stuff together. 

That's cool! So would you say that your style is quite individual?

I don't think so, I think I wear what everyone else wears.

Really? I think you dress quite originally! 

Thank you! It's kind of that I don't want to wear just street stuff or just band stuff and I don't want to look too much like a greasy metal-head so I wear pink cardigans and stuff.

How do you pick your band tshirts? Are they like your favourite bands or does it have to be a cool design? 

It has to be cool!! I love some bands but I know they're shit so I don't buy their tshirts, like I love You Me At Six but I'm not going to buy their tshirts because I know people would judge me as some scene kid.

Do you think that kind of thing happens to a lot of people? 

Yeah probably. People are always like "I don't care what you think" but wont say what they listen to. I don't think people would show their guilty pleasures and wear a tshirt with that on it.

Yeah, I can't find an east 17 tshirt anywhere so i'm kind of fucked...Have you noticed any particular trends that you've been interested in recently? 

No, not really. I've noticed that most people in Cotham wear highwaisted jeans and I was like "ooh those look nice!" so I bought some and now I wear them all the time. But that's about it. 

Have you got any fashion inspiration?

Like people? I kind of do but I don't copy them. I love what Alice Glass from crystal castles wears and Yolandi Visser from Die Antwoord. I love what she wears, I mean I obviously wouldn't wear that in the street but I still love it. 

What do you think of this whole 90's revival thing that's knocking about? 

I can never tell what stuff is from what decade, like I have no idea what is from 90's or 80's.

What advice would you give to someone starting college who's worried about their image?

Probably just that you don't have to wear loads of different clothes, you can just mix things together. Also, if you think colours don't really go it doesn't really matter, because I think that pretty much all colours go together, I don't really have any colour coordination. But yeah, don't  go out and buy loads of clothes just buy a few things that you really like that you can wear all the time because no one really cares. 

Thank you Lola for letting me interview you and Thank you ShOp for letting us use the artspace as a make shift photography studio!! B.x