KIDULT

6:30 am


"The Fashsoc squad shot another editorial"  






It's a word I've been hearing recently among my peers who've kinda reached a stage in their lives where they walk the thin line between bonafide grown-up and fully fledged, adult-hating member of the Kids Next Door team. That's me. I'm in that awkward stage between Numbuh 5 and 25, where new responsibilities are unwillingly being taken up and tons of lessons are being learnt.

The Teens have been pegged as the awkward days of development by many a shrink, journalist and Dr Phil, but I think the early twenties are being left to slip through the cracks in all these 'thorough' studies of adolescence. I'm not convinced about the whole "you're an adult" thing for a number of reasons which I'll get into later, but I'm also definitely sure I am no longer a sullen teen. This state of existence sparks some complications: including monthly (weekly) existential crises, social freedom vs financial freedom conflicts and a whole host of other emotional battles with self and others as we figure out where we fit in the big bad world.
Along with that stuff, there is also the fashion.
We are slowly but surely developing our ultimate personal styles AND slowly but surely beginning to transform the fashion industry playing fields.



Some of us revel in the grungy-cool, tumblr aesthetic of youth, characterized by piercings and thrifted stuff and the no limts, 'seize the day' type way of life, while a couple of us have gradually shifted in the direction of being regular hand bag carriers and "hot water and lemon" drinkers. The fashion game is a bit weird for us we reflect our idea of 'growing up' in the way we choose to present our selves. I know I'm currently stuck between wanting to wear pearl earrings everyday and finally signing my name into the book of grime and Adidas full tracksuits.

Despite our major contribution to the country's population, we are still treated as an afterthought market, as the magazines fight to remain relevant in a digital world where only our parents seem to be regular customers. There seems to be a a massive gap between the Kid's National Geographics and the Elle's, with the penniless early-20-somethings swimming in between. I fully back the aspirational value of some of the large publications (drooling over pages of Vogue is somewhat of a pastime) as they provide inspiration for us and our countless Future Me dreams, but if we really and truly are honest, shallow youth engagement has kinda resulted in a more "what are they up to?" kind of storytelling, over a "how can we help you?" variation.





But of course, being the multi-talented, multi-faceted, smart ass generation of kidults, we are, some of us have found ways to maneuver this minefield called kidulthood while still retaining both aspects of self. The personal style bit has seen us rock our many identities in kicks by day and stilettos by night (or the other way round). The industry has seen some major shifts as self made wunderkinds like Margaret Z, Tavi Gevinson, Tyler the Creator, Imraan Christian, Tony Gum  and a whole lot more have found a way to tell their own stories and thus our collective early-20-something story in a genuine and creative (more accessible) way.

Good ol' FashSoc has visually depicted this inner conflict with an image story outlining the the contrast between being a kid and adult*. 

I'm calling on the kidults to keep going, to push harder at cementing ourselves as a real, important category of the population with real, important  things to say. Coz we are.


Credits

Styling: Refiloe Mokgele
Creative Direction: FashSoc Comm
Photography: Justice Machaba
Models: Gaura Moodly, Sonam Shah, Lihle Ludziya, Sandrine Mpazayabo, Loyiso Mbere


*full age of innocence editorial will be made available on the fashsoc site next week (soz it's vac)

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