"Streetwear is a way of life": fashion according to LifeSux
The Italian brand that introduced tailoring in the streetwear world
Fashion
October 8th, 2020
October 8th, 2020
Among the brands that make up the landscape of the Italian streetwear scene, LifeSux has always occupied a deliberately secluded position, because it has never completely belonged to that world. Since its foundation in 2016, the brand has been characterized by a melting pot of inspirations, ranging from graffiti - at the origin of the brand's name -, skate aesthetics and graphic patterns. Those black and white checkered trousers, released for the SS17 season, quickly became a staple of Milanese fashion, and beyond. A fate that was similar to that of the trench coat with a graffiti effect logo released as part of the SS20 collection, an ideally perfect symbol of the different souls that characterize LifeSux.
LifeSux SS20
LifeSux SS20
LifeSux SS20
LifeSux SS20
LifeSux SS20
LifeSux SS20
That distance from the obsessions of industry, its practices and its unsustainable rhythms, together with an approach and a far more tailored and personal vision of the concept of fashion, have ensured that LifeSux remained unique in the Italian street scene, a dimension further enhanced in the brand's most recent collection, the FW20, and in this exclusive interview.
LifeSux FW20
LifeSux FW20
LifeSux FW20
LifeSux FW20
LifeSux FW20
LifeSux FW20
LifeSux FW20
LifeSux FW20
LifeSux FW20
#1 LifeSux's aesthetics has always combined items and pieces typical of the streetwear world with properly tailored cuts and silhouettes, a particular yet winning choice. How did it come about?
Streetwear is a way of life, feeling really free to wear an item without necessarily adhering to a codified fashion. For this reason, we have included a more tailored aspect in our collections, an element of further interpretation of everyday life. We don't want to set limits, or constraints, in the way of being by forcing one's mood through the choice of a recognized and recognizable style. What we want to propose is, first of all, a lifestyle. We couldn't find items that represented us in the tailoring world and, therefore, we decided to propose them according to our vision (DIY suit), alternating their downplaying with the praise of a taste that contrasts two apparently different worlds. Ultimately, LifeSux embodies streetwear that, far from the chains of its origins, is projected towards a change capable of generating an evolution.
#2 In all these years LIFESUX has never made a collaboration, a coincidence or a well-conscious choice in line with the brand's philosophy?
First of all, LifeSux must become a brand by autonomously building its own image and identity. Once this status has been obtained, collaborations can be carefully evaluated. Also because this trend is becoming very inflated in recent times and the risk of demeaning our work is always around the corner. Having said that, we are not closed to collaborations in general. We will evaluate the opportunities that may come in our way.
#3 In the new FW20 collection you experimented with new materials and shapes. How does your creative process develop and how does the constant search for the next collection take place?
The collections have all the same soul because we have no intention of betraying our DNA. While offering always different garments, LifeSux has a precise reference that starts from the primitive idea that generated it. From there, the inventive process moves through an evolution that involves the continuous change of our personal tastes. We can say that the creative flow coincides with the emotional one in a mixture of intuitions and stimuli given by everyday life. The collections are created thanks to the research trips that we periodically do; in each place visited we try to experience the local culture by wearing the clothes of a sponge. Intercepting those changes that must improve us without distorting us.
#4 How important is the Made in Italy component in your production?
Made in Italy is one of the factors that define LifeSux. We live in a country that can boast enormous craftsmanship and whose production quality makes the difference in the creation of garments. Often the world of fast fashion, and large chains, does not fully appreciate the product made in Italy. Big mistake! Because we are convinced that the customer is ready to understand when the creative idea of a brand is strongly supported by the quality of the packaging.
#5 From 2016 to today, the streetwear scene has experienced unprecedented expansion. How do you see the next five years?
We live in a time when everything is extremely fast. Raffle, collaborations, flash collections, reselling are part of a too chaotic context in which we tend to mainly enhance the trend without enhancing the work, study and research that are the basis of a garment. We hope that in the next five years the product will return to the centre of our attention, supplanting the ephemeral search for visibility given by now not very credible influencers. Streetwear was born to be accessible to everyone but today an increasingly elitist concept of this world is passing through. LifeSux streetwear, then, means getting up every morning, opening the wardrobe and choosing garments that represent our way of being, feeling free to combine different genres together in a balance that enhances one's personality.
