She adds: “The real force of fashion like this is not only to draw the disenfranchised together in unity, but also to defy the language with which they are named and oppressed.” Here, as with many disenfranchised subcultures, clothing functions more like costume, and signals desire and resistance – the hope that if you look like and imitate the figure you would like to become, you will embody their essence.” Take Vinz’s chunky knuckleduster: “It’s an over-the-top subversion of his powerlessness.” The consistent look between groups of people, and especially young people, is an important statement – it’s not just about looking good, but also saying ‘We are one.’”įilm critic Carmen Gray is reluctant to call it a uniform “because uniforms tend to be sanctioned from above by an organisation to signify belonging and the antithesis of invention. The film remains relevant by focusing on the relationship between the police/the government and working-class suburban youth, as there will always be a struggle between young people and the police in most big cities around the world. Instead, it suggests a shift from antipathy to interest: “La Haine has a resonance for its style and its political context.
But this isn’t as bleak as it sounds, explains vintage expert Kevin Soar. Just as “working with our hands has become fetishised”, as fashion historian Amber Butchart explains, so it seems has our obsession with social appropriation, which has left an incremental mark on style. ‘It’s not just about looking good but also saying: we are one.’ Photograph: Moviestore/Rex/Shutterstock Labels such as Marques’Almeida, Gosha Rubchinskiy and a slew of luxe sportswear – from Adidas to Nike and Everlast – are exploding the mid-range menswear market. But it’s the accidental uniform – tracksuits under coats – of our three heroes that is precisely the anti-luxury luxury permeating menswear now. Then there are the plain-clothes policemen in their Clarkson leather jackets and the rookie cop who wears a polo neck under his sweater (one part Dior to another part David Gandy) as he observes a rather unpleasant scene in a police station holding room. Saïd – confused, lost, unformed – sticks to non-branded clothes.
Hubert, meanwhile, wears Carhartt, Everlast and shearling, all indicative of his internal conflict: he’s angry and fierce, but when it comes to violence, as shown in the film’s denouement, he’s both gentle and dangerous. Their clothing is integral to their characterisation: Vinz – repressed, emotionally impotent – remains zipped in his Nike tracksuit throughout. While Vinz vows to take revenge if the hospitalized Abdel dies, Hubert portrays a calmer, more considered demeanour, with the lively Saïd providing something of a link between the two.Multiple shots from the film could be straight from the pages of Man About (Ghetto) Town: the three men on a balcony, smoking weed, zipped-up Nike track tops under overcoats facing a group of racist skinheads (in Lonsdale), or even stealing sausages on a rooftop (bright white polo shirts, chains, a lot of Fila). Shot entirely in black and white, this seminal work shone a light on the tensions between those who lived in the banlieues – typically some of the city’s poorest inhabitants – and the police, whose presence was often symbolic of a political class unwilling to address the wider, more systemic issues in these neighborhoods.Ī tale of teenage boredom and lost youth, Vinz, Saïd, and Hubert resolve to live the most important day of their lives, after a night of riots sparked by the beating of their friend, Abdel Ichah, by a police officer during an interrogation. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the release of the iconic French film La Haine, Carhartt WIP has created an exclusive capsule collection in collaboration with its creator and director Matthieu Kassovitz.įirst released in 1995, La Haine recounts a whirlwind 20 hours in the life of three friends – Vinz, Saïd, and Hubert – from Paris’ banlieues, found on the outskirts of the French capital.
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