The answer to this question is basically to solve Techwear's "brand purchase and single product purchase" problem. Still, it may not be easy for novices to understand this problem, so I will add a " Techwear rookie" answer.

For Techwear, instead of just telling you what a single product is, it is better to say to you the essential logic of this Techwear. I will answer this question in three parts: Concept, Elements, and Single Representative Products.

1. Concept

Techwear actually originates from the Japanese word "Techwear" (きのうふく), which is a style of clothing derived from Japanese Cyberpunk works, called "Urban Techwear" in English. Still, from the current mainstream Techwear origin, Techwear should have two roots.

• The first one is the Japanese ninja costumes during the Warring States Period: the Ninja costumes in the Warring States Period have different functions in different positions. Some gunpowder, emergency medicine (including sleeping pills, poisons), etc., are placed in the jacket's inner pocket, and some are set in the belt. Sundries and tools, gloves, and leggings usually hide cold weapons such as darts and daggers.

Since ninjas need a high degree of concealment to fight, the color of the clothes is usually close to the bushes or the surrounding environment. Then their clothes are not just black clothes, but also dark blue, gray, or tan attire. ▼

• The second one is the cyberpunk culture: The term Cyberpunk is a combination of Cyber+punk and originated in the 1960s and 1970s during the new wave science fiction movement of the last century. At that time, the rapid development of technology and the neglect of humanities made people think about the relationship between technology and science. Human relations, this culture is fearful and even pessimistic about high technology;

Some media and writer leaders in this new wave began to use dystopian stories as blueprints to construct stories that happened in cyber hackers, electronic chips, and high-tech societies. Use this story to remind the world that the rapid development of science and technology will cause unknown "harm" to human beings.

And these high-tech virtual world cultures are called-cyberpunk. The punk in the word cyberpunk is precisely the same as the punk rock that prevailed in the 1960s. It represents the pronoun of non-Zfism, resistance to society, and resistance to all established orders. So the core of cyberpunk culture is Pessimism, Destructiveness, Dystopian. ▼

What is most described in cyberpunk culture is the declining living environment of human beings after the rapid development of science and technology. The living environment continues to deteriorate. People begin to face sandstorms flying in the sky, intense ultraviolet radiation, and the air full of toxic substances. The low-quality life of technology makes the aesthetics of clothing less critical.

People need a kind of clothing that can isolate the harsh environment, protect the human body and help human beings solve the environmental dilemma. At this time, the functional wind came into being, which can resist the function of the harsh environment and has a futuristic visual effect, which is the characteristic of Techwear. ▼

Coincidentally, I once also wrote a style blog called Y2K. It was also a clothing style that emerged under the high-tech wave of that era. People often mix the two types of Y2K and Cyberpunk. But there are still some differences between the two styles. Y2K's style is optimistic about developing high-tech. The clothing elements will be more colorful: PVC, leather, metallic, and more vivid colors, while the Cyberpunk Techwear Style is more colorful. More pursuit of icy tones, sophisticated functionality, superior performance, and mysterious concealment. ▼

To summarize Techwear in one sentence: Techwear is a futuristic dystopian aesthetic with a sense of science fiction + practical functionality.

2. Elements

Cyberpunk combines the two characteristics of cyber and punk. It has a sense of technology and a gloomy aesthetic of rebellion, coldness, and darkness. At the same time, according to the "high technology and low-end life" standard proposed by the father of cyberpunk, William Gibson, We can also find that most cyberpunk-style story backgrounds take place in a future where advanced technology and collapsed society coexist. To resist the functionality of harsh environments and the visual effects with a sense of futuristic technological design, the most essential elements of Techwear came into being.

For example, these elements are well reflected in the cyberpunk-style movies "Blade Runner" and "Ghost in the Shell": cold and narrow city streets, dirty alleys, the sky that is always raining is gloomy and depressing, only The neon lights with a hazy feeling like a dream are flickering and glowing brilliantly. The towering buildings with powerful imaging technology will have a substantial simulated human projection at any time, shops with luminous signboard lights in oriental characters, and so on. ▼

• Functionality: The core of Techwear is to focus on the functionality of clothing; for example, when traveling in the city or traveling outdoors, in the face of changing weather at any time, it is practical, and the fabric maintains the characteristics of the equipment. This kind of functionality is given using technological innovation; the simplest can be understood as the function of clothing tends to be practical;

Clothing fabrics need to be windproof, waterproof, breathable, lightweight, warm, etc. At the same time, through a large number of additional clothing accessories such as pockets and buckle belts, the clothing looks more layered and practical. For example, after Virgil abloh joined LV, they combined the concept of technical clothing with the street fashion of "urban mobility", showing us the possibility of colorful Techwear. They also used the most concise tailoring to express the style elements of techwear. ▼

Another big brand Dior, their Techwear starts with the installation of Alyx's iconic, functional wind buckle. With big brands and street fashion, more and more Techwear elements will be added.

From here, we can also draw a revelation: the combination of functional wind is never the accumulation of single products, making oneself a bundled monster or a wandering monster, but the use of elements, a buckle full of functional wind or a pocket nylon A vest can give your suit or jacket a Techwear vibe. ▼

In addition, some brands have an obsession with the functional interpretation of Techwear. For example, Marine Serre has designed trousers, belts, and nylon fabric multi-pocket techwear jackets that can be used to store water bottles. ▼

• Future technology sense: Due to the influence of cyberpunk culture, Techwear will add some future elements such as technology sense and machinery. At the same time, in the movies of cyberpunk culture, all kinds of wars are unavoidable due to the high-tech crime controlling the world's resources in a chaotic society. The fighting scenes are solid and exciting, so some military-style elements are even added to the clothing. Equip some weapons with protective gear and the like. In real life, Techwear fabrics often use high-tech materials such as waterproof, windproof, and heat insulation to highlight the sense of future technology. ▼

At the same time, the tailoring, version, and function are also more futuristic. For example, the ICD+ series joint jacket of Philips and Levi's, which came out in the millennium, was designed by Massimo Osti, the "father of Techwear", and has the function of Techwear. A futuristic design at the same time:

All pockets inside the jacket are connected by removable wire harnesses that allow electronic devices such as Philips Xenium mobile phones and Rush MP3 players to be attached to the garment and stored in hidden pockets. In addition, there is a microphone in the collar, which can be used to issue voice commands or calls through the microphone. ▼

Equally futuristic in tailoring is Australian label Dion Lee, which has an enigmatic obsession with functional straps. When designing clothing, the element of functional straps is added to the bra, straps, and belts, which injects the texture of Techwear into the feminine beauty, and also has a sense of future technology; ▼

• Gloomy Aesthetics - Color: Techwear's gloomy aesthetics are shaped by color, such as those grim and dark giant buildings in Cyberpunk. Or like the geisha robots in Ghost in the Shell: traditional hairstyles and costumes combined with high technology. The robot girdle is a traditional Japanese girdle but printed with circuit board patterns. The color of her kimono is red as a whole, with rigid movements and an open face, plus slow movements and bright clothing colors. An eerie, gloomy beauty. ▼

But the most classic color of Techwear should be black. The standard decoration in the classic cyberpunk movie "The Matrix" is a black trench coat and black sunglasses. Black should be regarded as a color that sets the tone of Techwear, as if people are in the world of future technology for a moment, reminiscent of the tragic and depressing story scenes of cyberpunk. ▼

At the Balenciaga 2022 spring and summer series conference, a catwalk paid tribute to the costumes in "The Matrix". All black outfits and giant futuristic silhouettes formed a cyberpunk sense of technology. Screen show.

However, the overall black clothing can easily give people the illusion that "the whole body is one", which weakens the details and has no sense of hierarchy. Therefore, when choosing black Techwear, you should pay more attention to its silhouette and details, such as metal buckles, zipper nylon belts, etc. on the clothes, or choose some other color items to match to create a sense of hierarchy.

Techwear has also been deeply influenced by the futuristic art style in the development process and gradually began to use some high-saturation colors in the use of colors, as if people came to the world of cyberpunk, the colorful neon lights flickering in the dark night. High-tech society.

However, when matching color Techwear, you should pay attention to the main body and layers. Don’t be full of colorful items with a sense of technology. Colorful Techwear jackets can be matched with traditional essential color linings. At the same time, pay attention to other matching tones to highlight the main body and layering. It will look more harmonious. ▼

3. Representative single product

Buying suggestions:

1. In fact, you don't necessarily need to buy a big brand to wear the techwear style. You can also wear a single product with the characteristics of techwear.
2. Tailoring and Style: Techwear basically has little printing. The performance is more inclined to the relationship between clothing and the human body, using tailoring to create a "future sense of technology or function."
3. Fabrics: Pay more attention to the use of functional high-tech materials, such as windproof, waterproof, warm, etc.
4. Functionality: The core of techwear focuses on some designs that highlight "functionality", such as multi-pocket settings. In addition, there may be shoulder straps, magnet adsorption, various buckles or zippers to create and reflect the wearer's function. Sexual needs, or the pleasure of some functional use.
5. The Color: As mentioned above, techwear is dominated by dark colors, and "black" is the primary color of techwear. In addition, you can also choose earth colors or colorful techwear, but pay attention to the color that highlights the theme of black. Or based on dark colors.

Some Techwear OGs or wealthy people can skip these tips.

Seeing this, you can think deeply about the history and characteristics of Techwear mentioned above. Next, I will also recommend a few essential items of Techwear to everyone, not just talking about the price.

1. Techwear Vest

When it comes to Techwear Vest, many people often confuse this single product with a work vest. Still, in terms of materials, Techwear prefers to use light, waterproof or windproof fabrics, such as polyester GORE-TEX, etc., or various materials. At the same time, the tooling vest uses a little more cotton and canvas. From the perspective of version and appearance, the functional wind will tend to be "functional." The pockets will have more shapes and tend to be different shapes. The tooling vest is generally not more than 4 pockets; all pockets are symmetrically sized. ▼

Techwear vest, I found two extreme examples so that you can more intuitively feel what is called Techwear under the "cyberpunk" culture. ▼

The Techwear vest not only has an exciting version design but also has a short version and a chest bag with a unique shape, which is very futuristic. ▼

2. Techwear Chest Bag

The Techwear shoulder bag can be regarded as a simplified version of the Techwear vest. For example, the "shaped" vest mentioned above is a kind of vest formed by connecting the chest bag with a drawstring, which can be used as a vest or a shoulder bag.

It originated from the "buckle belt" designed by Matthew Williams in his own personal brand 1017 ALYX 9SM with the roller coaster seat belt. Later, this buckle belt was inspired by the Techwear small satchel. At the same time, this buckle belt is also the origin of the Techwear belt mentioned by Orihara below.

The most common chest pack is a single tactical chest pack or a "vest" composed of two chest packs.

But the choice of this kind of chest bag must pay attention to the details. For example, the details of the Techwear chest bag are not the same. There are many buckles and straps on it. The overall design is more concise and beautiful, just like the chest bag on the left below will be more casual, and the design is more relaxed. It is just an everyday shoulder bag, and the one on the right is the Techwear chest bag, which can be matched with Techwear Outfits. ▼

3. Techwear Belt

It is said that this belt was initially inspired by roller coaster seat belts. Compared with ordinary belts, the connection is indeed more like seat belts. This kind of belt seems to have injected the soul into Techwear. It is a simple black leisure belt. Trousers or suits have the taste of Techwear instantly because of the blessing of this Techwear belt.