Profiles: Nicky — Creating “Me”

“Now I’m just dressing in a way that I think looks good and makes me feel good; in my last band I used to fall into the pit of ‘i gotta have an image’.”

Royal purple and golden yellow is a winning combination

Nicky (IG — @warpandweftand) ,musician and fuck-you drip connoisseur, like all of us is on a style journey. Creep him on Reddit and you’ll see the slow morph from classic workwear to SLP cocaine chic to something more free form and uniquely his.

Apparel and Attire sat down to chat about personal style evolution, the creation of a personal aesthetic and how style intersects with daily life.

For the people who haven’t seen your gradual evolution, how would you describe where you went with style to now?

I think the draw was originally a way for me to both be the u t i l i t a r i a n man that GQ wanted everyone to be in 2012, and a way for me to express myself a bit more.

I had gone through a lot of styles pre-2012 and then i just sorta stuck with workwear for too long. I didn’t actually get that into fashion and stuff any further until i joined reddit (way to late) in late 2016 or so. And then I discovered how much I was missing.

u t i l i t a r i a n man on the left; slick SLP don on the right

I think for a very long time I was exceptionally behind the eightball in terms of finding my style. I got into workwear late, I got into SLP shit too late. So at this point, I’ve kinda said fuck it, realized that trends are fleeting (which is okay tbh) and decided to just wear whatever comes out that speaks to me on some level or feels like its the proverbial “me”.

A way younger Nicky. Are bandana’s going to come back in season soon?

So how would you describe your style today?

I guess uh a little bit of disco, a little bit of cowboy and a little bit of uh… everything else. I try not to pigeonhole myself too much anymore. I basically see stuff I like in the runway shows and kinda snap whatever pops at me the most.

Variety really is the spice of life.

I like interesting fabrics, fun cuts, and side zip boots if that helps peg this down at all.

Unique prints and one-of-a-kind textures keeps things interesting

What’s been inspiring your aesthetic and how have you seen it change recently?

Disco sleaze core

I think these says I’ve been really inspired by like a mix of disco and Mediterranean vibes. With a nice dose of sleaze factor. I’ve always loved the 70’s and felt like it got a bad rap for a long tie.

It’s nice seeing brands like CK205 (RIP) embrace that era and it’s nice seeing brands like Jacquemus and Haider really embrace the flowy luxe vibes of coastal France/Morocco etc. My designated vibe for this summer according to my fiancee is “disco but sunnier”. So let’s go with that.

Ultimately, I think there are too many forms of inspo. Over saturation almost, especially being involved in the fashion community online. It can be a bit insular at first but there’s so much damn variety. New guns and old guns alike. Plus television, movies and music. That last one probably being the biggest one for me, being a musician.

There’s just so much out there. It’s hard to pin it down to one source.

I’ll just say Frank Zappa. haha

No change in musical style will survive unless it is accompanied by a change in clothing — Frank Zappa

How does style influence your everyday life as a musician?

You can almost hear the ensuing music in this picture

I think it used to, but now I’m just dressing in a way that I think looks good and makes me feel good in my last band I used to fall into the pit of “i gotta have an image”. But with my new projects its much more free form, both stylistically and musically. My last stuff was doom metal and now i’m doing an R&B project and a soul/prog project. Way less pigeonholed. Metal has this issue of being really genre heavy and I think getting out of that scene and just doing whatever I wanna do has been helping me a lot.

I think the image i’m cultivating now is “me”

I miss screaming about satan though. he chuckles

Where does your style go from here? Are there any grails eluding you?

Pictured: An outfit coming together, greater than the sum of its parts

At this point? I’m just gunna snag whatever I feel is cool tbh. There are always grails here and there but at this point I don’t think there’s anything I’m lusting after that I haven’t gotten already. I could always use more boots. lmao.

I think for me individual pieces don’t really matter. I love worshipping the small details a lot. My Officine blazer has incredible fabric, the prints on my Jacquemus stuff. The embroidery on my Our Legacy pieces. But ultimately it’s the way they all come together that matters.

Past grails: my Margiela paint splatter campus boots, painted hi tops, my Jacquemus wheat print shirt, my OG suit.

Grails acquired!

I don’t really buy anything second hand so if there are grails I usually have to jump at them quickly. Or very thoroughly clean stuff that’s been bought on TRR. The germaphobia is real man.

With the desire to create a truly personal aesthetic and a love for quality clothing, Nicky epitomizes the value in the journey for style itself.

It’s never going to be about that one pair of boots or specially printed shirt. What matters is how you personally style and wear pieces that come together and create a sense of “me”.

How do your clothes create “you”? What would you change and how will your style transform?