Putting the personal in personal style

*New Balance is supporting this article which allows it to be free for all readers.*

For a recent trip to Tokyo, I was stumped on finding accommodation. I wanted somewhere that was boutique, design-led, in a certain area near where I liked exploring, and didn’t break the bank. Trunk Hotel was booked out, so I inputted my preferences into AI. It provided me three hotels. One was not even close to what I wanted (corporate hotel in the wrong location), but there were two others that looked intriguing. They turned out to not exist. When pressed, AI presented me with fake images of the hotels, and when I said I couldn’t find the website or Google Map location, it admitted it had made a mistake.

The rise of artificial intelligence anxiety is real, and no wonder. If AI can suggest something as benign as fake hotels, what else is it suggesting that isn’t actually real?

With fashion, these anxieties target our sense of self: what is real, what is something that we can control, what is really us versus what is being forced upon us.

The Industrial Revolution saw a rise in technological advancement which saw new ways of creation and the rise of the Arts and Crafts movement. Valuing visible human labour, craftsmanship and natural flaws that come with it, C.R. Ashbee, a major figure in the movement said: “We do not reject the machine. We welcome it. But we would desire to see it mastered.” The items that came from Arts and Crafts have been made by hand – it’s clear it has the human touch.

With the improvement in photography, Impressionist artists sought to capture what the camera couldn’t do in their artwork: the way the light scintillated across hay, the colour and subjectivity of what is seen by the eye and not the lens. Like the Arts and Craft, it wasn’t about rejecting technology altogether but understanding the purpose of the camera and having artists really hone in on what made them – not the camera – the true artist.

Similarly in fashion, it’s needing to overindex in the personal part of personal style – something that can’t be replicated by machine, the human touch.

The oldest Gen Zs are now on the verge of their 30s – their generation of hyperpersonal expression and wanting to stand out and really be themselves has influenced what’s happening in fashion for the rest of us, and for the better.

Every technological leap has forced the same question back onto us, the human. What can we do that the machine can’t? Painters answered with capturing the light, craftspeople focused on the mark of the hand. Fashion’s answer, right now is personalisation – not as decoration, but as proof of you. Here’s where to start.

New Balance 204L (Personalised)

It is an understatement to say that sneakers are a ubiquitous mainstay of our modern wardrobe. They are necessary – they’re comfortable, my podiatrist tells me to wear them more! – yet how to stand out and make it you? The New Balance 204Ls are the very definition of low effort yet high statement, and with charms, can add textural interest to your sneakers. And, the convertibility of them means you can transform the look of them over, and over, and over.

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New Balance are offering a selection of personalisation kits with charms to try for readers of my newsletter. For the opportunity to be sent one, please click here. And, for paid subscribers, I’d love to make sure I have you preferenced – comment below if you’ve signed up for it and I’ll be sure to do what I can to make sure you get it.

Claim your New Balance charm kit here

Beauty products

French brand Buly harks back to yesteryear with its apothecary-style stores and products. Its lip balms can be embossed with your initials, and selecting colours and finishes of your choice. Fragrance brand Le Labo can print the customer’s name/message on the label. I find the fact that these very intimate beauty products very special because it’s not something that is outwardly worn, only you, as the wearer, know about it. It’s your own private joy.

Heavenly Jelly shoes

When I clicked on ‘add to cart’, I did not anticipate that I would be sent a mini craft kit to assemble sequin and beaded decorations (what they call ‘Totzpping) on jelly ballet flats. Playing around with the different decorations to work out what I wanted was unexpectedly soothing, and like adding charms to the New Balance 204L, decorating shoes – subtly! – is happening across the board.

Handbag charms as a category

Searches for ‘bag charms’ are up 340% year-over-year. American bag brand Coach – which has been lauded for appealing to the fickle Gen Z market – have stores that allow customers to select bag charms, straps, and get bags painted or monogrammed.

Personalised tailoring

Back in the day, clothes couldn’t be bought off the rack: one had to make it themselves, or find someone else to do it. Visit your local tailor – I still remember my mother getting a flower girl dress made when I was a child at Nelder Jones on Oxford st, and getting carefully measured and having the lace-details applied by hand. They do evening gowns and other special occasion pieces. My favourite local tailor is Lauren, who is located at Little Terry Street, Surry Hills. She is old-school and isn’t on the internet, so look for the yellow door. E. Nolan provide classic tailoring made-to-measure with modern sartorial self-expression at her Melbourne studio, which is a treasure box space to visit.