The art of era-clashing: Dangerfield’s new Retropolis collaboration blends Y2K with vintage

“Pulling from different eras opens a lot of new doors for fashion lovers.”

Whenever I talk to a born-and-bred Melburnian who lived through the early 2000s here, I’m regaled with stories about the ‘good old days’. They assure me that back then, the city was grittier, the music scene was unparalleled, and everyone you passed on the street was somehow the coolest-looking person on earth.

Maybe it’s rose-tinted glasses, but there seems to be a general consensus that the past is where it’s at. With the rise of vintage activewear, the return of low-rise jeans, and everyone un-archiving their posts from 2016, it’s hardly a reach to say we’re all longing for a different (read: better) time.

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While we can’t hop into a time machine just yet, we can do our best to incorporate a bit of that nostalgic je ne sais quoi into our modern lives. Pulling from its brand archives, Melbourne’s iconic cityscapes, and the local vintage scene, that’s exactly what Dangerfield’s newest collaboration intends to do.

Ruby Slockee, Dangerfield’s head designer, grew up in the bush. When she moved to the city, she recalls gazing upon the imposing skyline from her taxi, awestruck by the place she now calls home. 

“Melbourne was big and bold, and so was its street art, with bright colours, strong lines and attitude,” she says. It’s a feeling that’s stuck with her and a memory that heavily inspired the new Dangerfield x Retropolis campaign. 

In the early aughts, the same street art Ruby admired on her first day in Melbourne was becoming an integral part of the city’s DNA. At the same time, the Y2K-era, grungy aesthetics synonymous with street art were not-so-quietly taking hold. 

Dangerfield has always had a very specific style, thanks to pieces inspired by this period (and the alternative eras before it), but the brand’s latest collaboration with Retropolis signals a new direction. Styled with archival pieces from the Preston-based vintage institution, the collection aims to showhow blending the past and the present can create a personal style that’s unique to you – and there are so many ways to do it.

“I’d love to see the Street Grunge Mini Dress styled with a striped skivvy and kooky stockings as a nod to the ’60s Mod era,” says Ruby. “Our Buckled Goth Tank Top would look so fun styled with some low-rise leather pants, platform boots and spikey Y2K hair for the perfect punk-pop princess look.”

The ubiquity of ‘-core’ culture over the last several years has meant pledging your allegiance to this, that or the other aesthetic. ‘Clean girls’ wouldn’t look twice at a patchwork Penny Lane coat from the local vintage shop, and the diehard archival fashion devotees would never wear anything designed after Hedi Slimane left YSL. Once we’ve moved on culturally or personally from an aesthetic, it’s considered ‘cringe’ to try to revisit it.

But with this collection, the rulebook for mixing eras goes out the window. With inspiration ranging from the punk scene of the ’70s to the more recent cottagecore trend, the Dangerfield x Retropolis campaign features in-house custom prints and familiar silhouettes, paired with pre-loved pieces spanning all eras. It’s a rejection of aesthetic purity and, instead, an invitation to embrace every possible version of yourself.

“Pulling from different eras opens a lot of new doors for fashion lovers,” says Ruby. “Knowing a garment has lived another life is quite inspiring – someone else has made memories, found love and other wonderful achievements in the same garment you are wearing, and now it’s your turn to show it to the world and weave your own story.”

To check out the Dangerfield x Retropolis collection, head here.