So, ‘scumbro’ is a term coined by Vanity Fair in June of this year and described particularly well by Hadley Freeman of The Guardian as someone who wears: “Oversized, overpriced skatewear by labels such as Palace and Supreme, obscure graphic T-shirts, ridiculous shoes and even more ridiculous hats. They also wear wildly expensive labels, such as Gucci, Versace and Prada, but deliberately make them look terrible.”
Jonah Hill is a scumbro as is Shia LaBeouf. Justin Bieber, in all his bright red shorts and checkerboard Vans, is one. And so too is Pete Davidson, as Queer Eye’s Tan France taking him shopping on SNL illustrates:
But what does it all mean? And is the scumbro over before it really began?
As you can probably tell, on this week’s i-D podcast, Fash-ON Fash-OFF, we’re talking all things scumbro. We discuss the rise of the trend — one that has seen Justin Bieber, Jonah Hill and Pete Davidson heralded as style icons for dressing like teenage slackers. We figure out what it says about the world today and where it fits in the wider embrace of irony within fashion. And we consider whether the bubble has already burst, with the news that Justin Bieber has shaved his head (!).
Today, I’m joined by i-D Senior Editor Clem De Pressigny and i-D Deputy Editor Felix Petty.