2/3
>>57442129I think "heavy metal fashion" as we know it has gone through periods where the kayfabe mattered and where it didn't.
>Late 60s - 70s: British era, focus on music>80s: Glam metal/thrasher era, focus on kayfabe>Early-mid 90s: Groove metal era, focus on music>Late 90s-mid 00s: Nu-metal era, focus on kayfabe>Mid-00s-present: Metalcore era, focus on musicThen the atomization caused by the internet destroyed the centralization of whether bands should should focus on their kayfabe or not, these days almost all bands will just perform in band shirts, though leather and denim is still rather common, but a far cry from the glam metal era. Meanwhile a select few bands like Ghost used viral culture to put out subpar music, focusing on their dress-up. Interestingly, the more extreme end of European and American bands that dress up a bit still mostly focus on their music and kind of just have fashion as an add-on.
Contrast this with the Japan which still seems to be dominated by visual kei and kayfabe ever since its revival, to the point of oversaturation, with OG musicians complaining that everyone sounds the same and just wants to look visual kei.
If you’ve been into extreme metal for several years like I have, you’ll start to notice a pattern where the bands most dedicated to pushing the limits of music will not put too much effort into their image, at most they’ll have some black cloaks on or such, while bands who focus the more on their image aren’t really innovative or heavy.
Going back to the question of “who is extravagant fashion for”, ouji/lolita looks pretty hard to design and put on, I feel like it appeals to a certain kind of person and I can't exactly articulate who. I guess I'm just trying to figure out if Alex would actually be into it, he'd look good in it, but I don't know if he would avoid it in order to appear as not relying on his image over skill, unlike his typical streetwear which is more lowkey and subcultural by chance.
