skinslife

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Coming back from work, 7pm Victoria station and the Friday-night girls are all parading through the tube. The only problem is how to tell them apart - they’re all dressed the same! Not that I’m so original; I’m sure there are a few other people with similarly bad taste… But it got me thinking about customisation...

Fashion students spend a lot of time taking in, letting out and scribbling over their clothes. Like my winkle-picker trainers which are now adorned with various doodles and nicknames I’ve accumulated (only £4 so it doesn’t matter). They are rapidly being worn out which breaks my heart…

Customisation also makes for better t-shirts, especially since I’ve had enough of those 80 slogan tees (DON’T DROP BOMBS…etc). But come up with your own print and it couldn’t be easier (James’s ‘NEW GRAVE’ idea made me giggle).

Then I opened the paper to see an article on drunken friends branding each other with hot pokers; customisation of the body. Now, despite an official comment condemning anyone combining red-hot metal with naked skin as an idiot, I know of three people who have done this. One of them was me… it wasn’t quite in the same league as Daz’s I HEART REV across his arse, more in the nature of an experiment.

We were customising leather at college: branding looked and sounded good, the metal satisfyingly melted into the surface of animal skins. Then it painfully melted into the surface of MY skin!.. Stupid idea, but I already have a tattoo, piercing… now I unfortunately have what looks like the Chanel logo scarred onto my wrist. Apparently it’s fashionable in Sheffield. I must go there soon...