Ever heard of Siren Music Festival? It's a legendary indie music fest that takes place annually in New York City and has featured acts like M.I.A, The Donna's and Death Cab for Cutie. This year, the bands which performed were just as fierce, including Broken Social Scene, Ra Ra Riot and Beach House.
%Gallery-29909%
After a few minutes at the festival though I noticed a strange synergy between the bands on stage and the fans offstage: American Apparel. From shirts to dresses to skorts and onsies, everyone seemed to be wearing the brand. So, naturally I had to ask is a v-neck tee, ripped denims and converse sneakers all it takes to be indie-chic? Well, many of the bands at the festival begged to differ. I caught up with a few of them backstage and
here's how they defined the essence of "indie-chic."
here's how they defined the essence of "indie-chic."
Islands
Montreal, Canada, islandsareforever.com
Nick "Insincere. False sincerity. Fake poverty. Classicist. Bullshit."
Patrick "Trust fund kids dressing like bike messengers."
Alex "Getting bed bugs in your sister's basement."
Dan "Anything you find in a Dumpster. "
Sarah "I think indie chic for me involves sweats and hand me down clothing."
Joe "Indie chic is cut off jean shorts with paint splattered on them."
BJ "Emptiness"
Dragons of Zynth
Brooklyn, New York, myspace.com/dragonsofzynth
Aku "Indie Chic?...Wow. I don't know. I don't even know."
Akweytey "Indie chic is the possibility of vomiting on yourself and having no recourse. I don't want anything to do with that. That's not healthy."
Bizza "Indie Chic? It's a hard one. Chic is one thing. It's if you are at the forefront of whatever the fashion is. Indie has taken on this whole different idea of not really caring about it, but doing your own thing. It's a hard thing to not care, but be at the forefront. But for me Indie Chic is more about finding what it is that makes me feel fashion forward."