Opinion
Why I won't be adding Skims’ latest «must-have» to my night routine
by Natalie Hemengül
Tell me, are you real or have you become your own avatar?
29.3.2023
Translation: Jessica Johnson-Ferguson
«Choose your fighter» is something you come across in games. If I didn’t know better, I’d have thought we were in the throes of putting together our real-life game character.
Full speed into Matrix mode
While some people call the trend «cartoon fashion» or «comic mode», others are shaking their heads in disbelief. My take? The world of fashion is secretly turning us into our own avatars.
You’ve probably spotted the oversized red boots appropriately named Big Red Boots by artist collective Mschf on the odd occasion. What you might first mistake for a photoshopped meme or a creation of said AI is actually a real pair of giant rubber boots that costs 350 USD and is currently sold out everywhere.
What I associated with computer games or anime series until recently is now waddling through many parts of the real world. Ironically, they claim to escape just that. «Cartoonishness is an abstraction that frees us from the constraints of reality,» Mschf beckons. I wonder if life is truly unconstrained in these boots. I have my doubts.
And as if shoes weren’t enough, brands including Loewe and A.W.A.K.E Mode are paving the way for you to turn into your own virtual alter ego.
Is this mundane? Or funny? Or strangely creepy? Science fiction movies such as Matrix and Don’t Worry Darling come to mind, and the placid little people from Wall-E in their alternate, fully digitised world. The way they stare at screens without ever lifting a finger, let alone communicating with each other directly.
We’re probably still a few decades away from this happening to us. As for the cartoon shoes and Playmobil looks, they’re probably best taken with a pinch of salt instead of viewing them as bad omens, as I just did. But should a planet-cleaning little robot roll past you one day, don’t say I didn’t warn you.
Header image: Instagram @sausagelord
Laura Scholz
Senior Editor
Laura.Scholz@digitecgalaxus.chAlways in the mood for good hits, great trips and clinking drinks.
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