Some people are trying to normalize October ’26 Paris riots. They say it is yet another iteration of a regular French unrest and looting. Other’s take it as a proof of the Western civilization downfall, because of the unprecedented scale and international coordination. Both seem to be right and wrong at the same time. Immediately after this Autumn fashion weeks runways wrapped up and pope Leo XIV left France, the less safe looking crowd is claiming public spaces. Somewhere in this ambiguity the streets of French and Italian cities are having yet another runway
“Fauchés mais en Lacoste”
Luxury brands board up their storefronts trying to fence off the problem they are part of, as they market their cheaper lines exactly for mass consumers obsessed with the brands. The odd attraction between the ivory tower designer fashion and the looters seems imminent even on the walls – “Fauchés mais en Lacoste” graffiti meaning exactly “Broke but in Lacoste”. Every revolution is ultimately about claiming the power while the broke ones stay broke.
The top fashion houses would probably sign off the value of the stolen and destroyed goods as general losses or perhaps consider it even a long term brand equity building event. Maybe even an unusual form of product sampling?
Riot! Riot! Riot! and modern Rooftop Koreans
While the high fashion stay on their pedestal, the real war of styles happens on the very streets and in front of independent shops. On one side there are the black bloc protesters one could interpret as a modern version of Raf Simon’s Riot! Riot! Riot! collection. On the other side – although supporting the same cause but sporting a different style and approach to society’s norms – the modern incarnation of the “Rooftop Koreans”. Pierre Collin, the viral comic and game shop owner from Nice, may seem a French version of the Simpson’s character Jeffrey “Jeff” Albertson aka Comic Book Guy. However do not let the slightly nerdy appearance fool you.
Unlike the dangerously stylish LA ’92 riots Rooftop Koreans, he does not hold a gun but surely he represents the same spirit of the righteous wrath. More importantly, he is wearing the totally 90’s Chicago number 23 tracksuit pants and a matching printed charcoal black t-shirt. His off-white-gray trainers really tie the his outfit together.
Revolution is coming… for sure
The exact graffiti actually in English seen today on the streets of Paris, referring to President’s Marcron famous ‘for sure’ uttered in Davos, while wearing unapologetically cool Maison Henry Jullien Pacific shades, seems to sum up the situation pretty accurate.
There won’t be no downfall of Western civilization because the term itself is much younger than what it claims to represent. The European values have been forged in the times of unrest. As Stanislaw Lem says in his ‘Return from the Stars’ book – removing aggression from humans would eventually lead to the erasing of humanity as such. So maybe we just needed all of this to start looking up even to the most unexpected heroes like Goku and make the 90’s inspired casual a modern warrior uniform?
Author: Szymon Wachal
