The consistent look between groups of people, and especially young people, is an important statement – it’s not just about looking good, but also saying ‘We are one.’”įilm critic Carmen Gray is reluctant to call it a uniform “because uniforms tend to be sanctioned from above by an organisation to signify belonging and the antithesis of invention. The film remains relevant by focusing on the relationship between the police/the government and working-class suburban youth, as there will always be a struggle between young people and the police in most big cities around the world. Instead, it suggests a shift from antipathy to interest: “La Haine has a resonance for its style and its political context. But this isn’t as bleak as it sounds, explains vintage expert Kevin Soar. Just as “working with our hands has become fetishised”, as fashion historian Amber Butchart explains, so it seems has our obsession with social appropriation, which has left an incremental mark on style. ‘It’s not just about looking good but also saying: we are one.’ Photograph: Moviestore/Rex/Shutterstock Labels such as Marques’Almeida, Gosha Rubchinskiy and a slew of luxe sportswear – from Adidas to Nike and Everlast – are exploding the mid-range menswear market.
But it’s the accidental uniform – tracksuits under coats – of our three heroes that is precisely the anti-luxury luxury permeating menswear now. Then there are the plain-clothes policemen in their Clarkson leather jackets and the rookie cop who wears a polo neck under his sweater (one part Dior to another part David Gandy) as he observes a rather unpleasant scene in a police station holding room. Saïd – confused, lost, unformed – sticks to non-branded clothes. Hubert, meanwhile, wears Carhartt, Everlast and shearling, all indicative of his internal conflict: he’s angry and fierce, but when it comes to violence, as shown in the film’s denouement, he’s both gentle and dangerous. Their clothing is integral to their characterisation: Vinz – repressed, emotionally impotent – remains zipped in his Nike tracksuit throughout. Multiple shots from the film could be straight from the pages of Man About (Ghetto) Town: the three men on a balcony, smoking weed, zipped-up Nike track tops under overcoats facing a group of racist skinheads (in Lonsdale), or even stealing sausages on a rooftop (bright white polo shirts, chains, a lot of Fila).
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