From emo workwear to spooky jewellery: The best in alternative style this month

I looked outside this morning and finally the leaves on my tree are turning orange. It’s code orange greebos – aka our time of year!

Hey, if you don’t know me yet, I’m Kitty! I’m a fashion stylist and long-time greebo/elder emo. I’ve been buying Kerrang! since I was a kid, and now I write this column and style some of your favourite K! cover stars like Fall Out Boy, NOAHFINNCE, Enter Shikari and Scene Queen. Growing up I was always trying to find news for alt. fashion between the merch pages and the pull-out catalogues from skate and goth stores (anyone remember those?).

I always wanted to start a style column and bring the best alt. fashion news to my favourite mag – and now I do! So, this column is for you guys, to bring you the latest news on collabs and collections. You’ve gotta stay looking slick for your next gig, and trick-or-treating season means partayyyys! So, let’s get into what’s new this month…

These Vans are FUCT! Sorry, I’m not actually swearing – I’m talking about the brand. Vans have teamed up on a three-way collection alongside Italian Streetwear store Slam Jam and LA brand FUCT. A trio of incredibly strong brands designing a collection together with a bold vision.

The five-piece collection designed by FUCT sees them create their first footwear capsule, focused on the LX Old Skool Reissue 36 and the LX Authentic Reissue 44 models. All of which feature Vans’ new premium build with elevated construction and comfort – something all us Vans fans will be stoked to hear. More comfortable Vans just in time to walk around When We Were Young!

I have a special place in my heart for FUCT. I had one of their snapbacks as a teenager which I wore to see Green Day play Milton Keynes Bowl in 2005. I came back without it and have been missing its presence in my wardrobe ever since. It was a good hat! Very Y2K, which in turn is also very now.

Each style includes iconic details that pay tribute to FUCT’s design history, complemented by Slam Jam and Vans’ signature branding. The campaign is bold, which is nothing new from a brand like FUCT. One image just simply says ‘The Vans are Fuct’, and the next two have the same punchline but one with collection on fire and another with them covered in dirt. It’s a simple statement, and perfectly in line with the alt. and skate community.

Highlights of the collection include the co-branded footbeds and crystal outsoles (see-through with text on the sole), Slam Jam’s Chaos Is Order mantra foxing print, FUCT heel counter deboss logo and internal woven Steal This Shoe label (but please don’t actually steal mine). And there’s even a special event taking place in Milan during Fashion Week this month.

Available now at FUCT.com, slamjam.com and otw.vans.com

If I said ‘Screaming Hand’ to you I bet you would know I’m referencing the legendary Santa Cruz logo designed by Jim Phillips. Their graphics have become some of the most instantly recognisable in skateboarding history, since the brand’s introduction in 1973. Well, the screaming hand turns 50 next year! And to celebrate you can find new versions of the Screaming Hand; the Flame Hand and the Evolved Hand in the Fall ’24 collection on T-shirts and hoodies. The flame is my personal fave!

Santa Cruz also honour new and legacy team riders throughout the Fall collection because OGs and newbies are important. Firstly, with the Sommer Sparrow capsule, which celebrates team rider Justin Sommer. This capsule features the Sommer Sparrow cord over-shirt and cap with sick embroidered graphics, as well as bringing the graphic to life on a tee and hoodie.

There’s also new team rider Kevin Braun featured with the Braun Fever Dream celebrating his love of fast-food snacks with a mean monster pizza slice celebrated on a cap, hoodies and T-shirts. Erik Winkowski, with the Winkowski 8baller and Winkowski Creep repeat – an all-over print which can be found on multiple items throughout the collection.

Legacy riders Jeff Kendal and Eric Dressen are also key features of the collection with the Kendall Wolf Dot – inspired by the fact that Jeff Kendal did in fact have a pet wolf! – a gnarly graphic with a badass looking wolf in the SC logo and the Dressen Rose Cross a classic tattoo inspired T-shirt print for a skate legend.

The Big Pant is a key player this fall, and I want a pair bad. Inspired by and named after the Big Pants Small Wheels video from the early ’90s, arguably when everyone dressed the best. Available in denim, cord and all-over printed denim – I would like them all. I’ve never grown out of my love of baggy jeans, and neither should you!

Available now at santacruzskateboards.eu

Instagram influencer and photographer Trix Eden has teamed up with UK workwear brand P&Co to create a capsule women’s collection and it’s giving dungaree emo love story vibes.

Entitled Labour Of Love, Trix says she follows her heart over her head and that was the inspiration for the collection. So emo, and so cute!

The capsule is made up of six pieces influenced by her love of vintage workwear and the desire to wear items which are both practical and flattering. A girl after my heart! If you like looking cute but also getting a little dirty, rolling about on skateboards, fixing up bikes, crafting, sewing, etc… then you need cute workwear – and this is it!

From an adorable T-shirt to carpenter’s pants, a barbed wire heart bandana, turner jacket, dungarees and a bucket hat, you can buy in to a small accessory or a statement piece.

Carrying the theme of love, red is a prominent colour throughout the collection. With cutesy phrases like, ‘Call me if you get lonely,’ this collection is perfect for the hopeless romantics. And as it’s P&Co you can be sure the quality will be fantastic as well as the fit.

Available now at pand.co

London based quirky jewellery brand Tatty Devine are the go-to brand for original and fun statement jewellery – they even call themselves ‘art jewellers’. They make kitsch, loud and alternative pieces for everyone, and they just released an official Beetlejuice collaboration which is perfect in every way.

This autumn they are also gracing us with their Shadow Of A Doubt capsule featuring tones of spooky designs in time for Halloween. Skull necklaces, glow-in-the-dark ghost brooches, pumpkin earrings and bat pendants to name a few season pieces.

Their signature jewellery is made from acrylic, and ranges from dainty pieces to very large statement pieces. Who doesn’t want a shiny stacked acrylic skull necklace to spice up a boring outfit? Or a small pair of pumpkin earrings to give a little spook to your office looks!

While you are there, don’t forget to check out the Beetlejuice range – perfect for the recently deceased…

Available now at tattydevine.com

Other UK have collaborated with punk icons The Ramones on a collection of premium vests and T-shirts.

If you don’t already know, Other is a unisex rock’n’roll-inspired luxury fashion brand founded in 2012 by Welsh designer and musician Nick Davey. The company has been around gathering hype and progressing as a lifestyle brand for some time. Earning a cult following and improving their quality of design to establish themselves as a pioneer and champion of high-end alt. fashion, they now hold the official collab licences for some of your favourite rock bands. Do not underestimate the quality of their pieces. They use very high-end materials and premium silhouette designs to achieve the most incredible merch you will ever wear.

This latest collection is packed full of classics designs but better than before. The Ramones burst onto the New York scene in 1974, sparking the punk rock revolution which paved the way for our favourite bands of today. With Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee, and Tommy at the helm, their music became anthems of rebellion. I think almost every alt kid has a Ramones tee. It’s basically a rite of passage.

My favourite design from the collection has to be the Ramones NYC one, because it’s a little different to the classic motifs. Their tops are carefully washed and treated to create an authentic vintage look and feel, featuring unique distressing throughout. And they’re made from high-quality cotton, so they’re very comfortable to wear, as well as looking awesome on!

Available now from Otheruk.com

Read this: The 40 best punk albums since Never Mind The Bollocks…