Style & Statement: classic Julian doesn’t like trendy vintage

Style and Statement at Hanze. Baggy jeans, oversized jackets, trends and micro-trends. Fashion and hypes are everywhere. How do students dress themselves? Do they consider their clothing footprint?

Business student Julian Stuiber (21) does not pay much attention to fashion trends. At the Willem-Alexander Sports Centre, he is smoking a cigarette in the sun. Julian likes his own classic style: a business coat and smart shoes. ‘I basically just wear what fits’, he says. When shopping, that’s the most important thing as well. German-born Julian thinks it is good that there are many different types of clothes. ‘It’s the democratisation of fashion, everyone can wear whatever they like.’

Still, he takes a somewhat negative view of vintage. ‘It’s a trend now, which has made second-hand clothes more expensive. It is trendy to say your garment is vintage. In three months’ time, that could be different’, he says. Moreover, the quality of these supposedly vintage garments leaves much to be desired. ‘These clothes do not last long.’

Julian prefers to wear his clothes as long as possible, until holes start to appear in them

A few years ago things were different. ‘Clothes could be worn for longer’, he says. He regrets this is no longer the case. ‘Al clothes have to be manufactured somewhere. A lot of fast fashion is made in countries like China and Bangladesh, where people have to work long hours in poor conditions for a pittance.’

Julian prefers to wear his clothes as long as possible, until holes start to appear in them. He doesn’t want to swap his clothes for the most fashionable version every season. Therefore, he has a good tip for other students. ‘Keep that garment in your closet, give it some time and it will be back in fashion.’