Art students in homemade outfits aren't usually what you picture when you hear the phrase "street style photography." But take one look at the new-to-OC book RISD STREETWALKERS and you'll realize the wacky fashion subculture of art school is as worthy of documentation as the Taylor Tomasi Hills of the world (or more). From gravity-defying haircuts to socks worn as hats to bejeweled teeth, RISD Streetwalkers won't disappoint those looking for creative style inspiration. The book captures a community that “celebrates personal style with zero restriction," said author and RISD grad Dana Davis.
For those of you not familiar with Providence geography, Brown University (which this writer attended) sits atop “College Hill,” while its more artsy, collegiate contemporary, the Rhode Island School of Design, sprawls over the hill’s descent into downtown. To me, College Hill always seemed more like an anthill and RISD students were the little workers, hauling canvases up and down its steep impasse, often identifiable by their ostentatiously atypical garbs. Five prints in one ensemble, wearing seven different necklaces at a time, and always, always statement socks! Compared with the understated hipster style of the Ivy League, RISD screamed uniqueness. This wasn't your New York Seinfeld normcore—these students took individual style seriously. So it was to no one’s surprise (and many’s delight) when, in 2008, someone started a RISD fashion blog.
Dana Davis didn't start the RISD Streetwalkers Blogspot herself. But when the two upperclassmen who did left it to slowly die on the Internet two months in, Dana saw her chance and took over the mission. For the rest of her college days, she became the sole historian of RISD sartorial antics.
Davis, who studied graphic design, has now moved on to New York, but her days as a street style blogger have now turned her into author. Designed by Davis using bubble letter font and bright gingham page backdrops, RISD Streetwalkers the book presents an IRL version of years of online fashion chronicling.
Beyond just immortalizing the trendy whims of art school kids, Davis includes some particularly comical insights on just what those crazy RISD students looked like.
“There were a lot of overlaps in wardrobe choices across both genders,” Davis recalls. “Homemade hair cuts, tight pants, nail polish art, even some nail polish on the face, food worn as jewelry, shirts worn as hats, and some strategically placed toothpaste stains.”
Ana Cecilia Alvarez writes about art and feminism in Brooklyn. She tweets @_LLO
For those of you not familiar with Providence geography, Brown University (which this writer attended) sits atop “College Hill,” while its more artsy, collegiate contemporary, the Rhode Island School of Design, sprawls over the hill’s descent into downtown. To me, College Hill always seemed more like an anthill and RISD students were the little workers, hauling canvases up and down its steep impasse, often identifiable by their ostentatiously atypical garbs. Five prints in one ensemble, wearing seven different necklaces at a time, and always, always statement socks! Compared with the understated hipster style of the Ivy League, RISD screamed uniqueness. This wasn't your New York Seinfeld normcore—these students took individual style seriously. So it was to no one’s surprise (and many’s delight) when, in 2008, someone started a RISD fashion blog.
Dana Davis didn't start the RISD Streetwalkers Blogspot herself. But when the two upperclassmen who did left it to slowly die on the Internet two months in, Dana saw her chance and took over the mission. For the rest of her college days, she became the sole historian of RISD sartorial antics.
Davis, who studied graphic design, has now moved on to New York, but her days as a street style blogger have now turned her into author. Designed by Davis using bubble letter font and bright gingham page backdrops, RISD Streetwalkers the book presents an IRL version of years of online fashion chronicling.
Beyond just immortalizing the trendy whims of art school kids, Davis includes some particularly comical insights on just what those crazy RISD students looked like.
“There were a lot of overlaps in wardrobe choices across both genders,” Davis recalls. “Homemade hair cuts, tight pants, nail polish art, even some nail polish on the face, food worn as jewelry, shirts worn as hats, and some strategically placed toothpaste stains.”
And you thought this whole time those were paint stains! Damn art school kids. And the parties? Seemingly less about clothing. “There was lots of dancing, body paint, and occasional nudity,” Davis shared.
When I’m walking down a New York avenue and the sea of baseball caps blends into a grey one-ness, I often miss my college days of half naked, colorful, carefree raving. It seems like RISD Streetwalkers is not a bad way to momentarily relieve that nostalgia. That said, Davis and I both agree that there’s one appetite College Hill filled that you can’t really gleam from a book. We both really miss the pizza.Ana Cecilia Alvarez writes about art and feminism in Brooklyn. She tweets @_LLO