032c VIDEO PREMIERE: DARKDRON
The post-apocalyptic streetwear brand Darkdron appeared out of thin air last month with a mysterious presentation in a bunker 65 meters beneath the outskirts of Moscow. Named after a fictional drone designed to “capture people’s drama,” the label (founded by Gio Forbice of Forfex shoes) merges 1980s Sci-Fi and slasher-film imagery with contemporary notions of transparency and occult secrecy.
032c spoke with the designer Gio Forbice, who shared graphics and poems from the upcoming SS-16 Darkdron collection, as well as a premiere of Darkdron’s new fashion film:
What is Darkdron? How did the brand emerge?
Open your Facebook feed. The last news that pop out is “The DJ exploded in Jaroslavl.” Hilarious or sad? I don’t want to be a hypocrite. What’s going on around is far from idealistic myths that the fashion industry has built around people. Darkdron is capturing it with no filter. It’s a military technology, a snitch that is always on you. Click, and you are a protagonist of the movie.
What was the inspiration for this first collection?
I’ve been always inspired by classic Sci-Fi, 1980s and 1990s movies. The dystopic future they’ve translated seemed real to me. Darkness not as a dramatic goal, but as a reference to the existed issues.
The inaugural presentation took place in a tunnel 65 meters underground, free from cell reception and aerial surveillance. What place do privacy and surveillance have in the fashion world? Are there still dark corners?
I don’t remember the exact moment we lost the privacy. The fingers are screened, CCTV cameras are recording, private chats are watched by the person not invited. Fashion exaggerates this happening. The lights are on, you want to be here — answer the questions. Which fashion week are you showing? Who’s in the front row? Who’s the model opening the show? What’s the venue? Is it a prime time? We stepped out and turned our drone on to show what’s really happening apart from the beautiful fantasy created on the runways. Designers break down, disappear, lose their mind, but this is something always out of reception.
I’m interested in the Darkdron iconography, especially with the t-shirts. There’s so many graphic t-shirts in the world. How do you go about making that an expressive platform?
Graphics are the easiest way to get direct with your message. Our prints represent from different stories: “Burning Freedom,” “Sick Hero,” “Glory Night,” “Tears for Fear.” Read them all on the tag attached to the side of the tee, or “Burn it for Free.”
The video is fragmented, but it has a definite horror movie atmosphere. Is it based on a larger story?
It’s one of the million stories Darkdron could capture. Trailer to the life. Crashed bike with the girl crying, psycho boy with an axe, missing girls and chained victims, a female couple kissing in the woods, a creepy man looking a them, a girl breathing hard hiding behind the wall. And the guardian angel — calm and beautiful, with white doves around her naked body. It’s a dystopic fantasy that seems so real to me.
