I was reading this very interesting article in this months New York Magazine "The Confession of a Serial Shoplifter". Kevahn Thorpe is a fashion fanatic and a serial shoplifter for whom jail was not too steep a price to pay for the labels he loves. Kevahn is a slim 17 year old from Queen bridge projects. He started at local stores like Macy, until one day when he and his mom was looking for a train station and he ended up on the corner of Madison and 5th where names of Prada, Gucci, Dior and Fendi ring out loud. Kevahn decided that he no longer wanted the cheap Ed Hardy T-shirts from Macy's but he wanted the cashmere v-neck Hugo Boss sweaters and True Religion Jeans. Some people will do anything in the name of fashion, below are a few snippets from the 6 page article.
"Sometimes he likes to perform what he calls “the Outfit Check.” Coral J. Crew cashmere V-neck sweater—check. Gucci charcoal skinny jeans—check. Gucci double-G logo belt—check. Spotless brand-new cream-and-gold Louis Vuitton Damier checkerboard- pattern sneakers—check. Blue Fendi glasses frames with the FENDI sticker still stuck on the lower corner of the lens—check. When he’s dressed like this, he says, “I feel high-class—like nobody can tell me nothing.”
When I ask about his plans for after he gets out of prison, all he wants to talk about is fashion, firing questions at me: “Who does Dior now?” “Who designs Paul Smith?” “Remember Louis Vuitton? Like, a few seasons ago, he did a SpongeBob theme? You know Louis Vuitton started off making trunks, right? In the 1800s?” “Balenciaga, who does it for women’s?” He pauses to learn how to correctly pronounce Nicolás Ghesquière’s name. “You know that Yves Saint Laurent died, right? At 71 years old. He’s the first person, the first designer, to have black people model his clothing.” A burly Department of Corrections captain is supervising our visit, and I’ve been imagining his disdain as he listens to this conversation. Now he interrupts. “He could be good working for a fashion publicist,” he says. “That’s something I can see you at, right there.”
Read the full article, click on the link below.
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