THE STYLES THAT SHAPE THE WARDROBE (And How They Inspire the Clothes I Sell)

If you’re wanting to know what inspires my curated wardrobe/ shop, or what you’re inspired by but you don’t even know it, keep reading. I'll be bringing in influences from the 90s/ 2000s in western/ Japanese/ Italian urban street styles and how these all integrate together to build the styles that are trending again today.  

If you've just discovered NTL, this brand is based on my own personal wardrobe built from my fixations, temperaments that I've felt / wanted to feel, influenced by the aesthetics I’ve studied and lived in. Growing up in the 2000's, I was born in the era of what they call the 'simpler' times (the flip phones & early computers), but actually grew up in the Gen-Z era, the pre-social media days. I'm not surprised now, being 24, that this era is cycling back, those who are familiar of the 20 year fashion cycle + the influence of pop culture celebrity influences. To understand the era's I'm going to be talking about, it's important to see how pop-culture/ artists have really influenced how fashion is today, in a space of Y2K resurgence currently. In my opinion, it's more about the resurgence of the feeling of what these artists/ era's portray & what we all collectively are wanting to seek & feel - we'll get onto that...

There's not denying the correlation between brands & pop culture figures especially in women's streetwear, most of the Y2K streetwear brands that we see coming back all hung out in the same space with similar celebrities repping. To name a few, Miss Sixty & Bella Hadid's rebranding, Diesel & Paris Hilton's collaborations, Ed Hardy with Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez, Madonna, & Juicy Couture, Von Dutch, correlating with the rise of the 'it girl' phenomenon - maximalism - think big sunglasses, velour tracksuits, innovative denims & accessories, low rise, experimental cuts - The wave of female rebellion that defined the 90s and 2000s, now resurfacing in today’s culture. Compared to now, the most well known recent reference to be with the Charlie XCX's Brat album, PinkPantheress & y2k hyper-pop influence which we're seeing in a lot of women's vintage shops at the moment, who are all circling back to now, 20 years later,  where the world feels a bit out of control, feeling a sense of divide mixed with individuality.

If we go back to the 90s/ 00's meanwhile in New York, the world of hip hop with brands like Polo Ralph Lauren, Versace, Gucci etc was rising with artists like Jay-Z, P Diddy, Snoop Dog with the baggy jeans and oversized boxy tee's, iconic sneakers like nike Airforce 1's, Air Jordans, dunks, bringing urban streetwear to the mix, with a lot of earthy tones and boldness to the off-duty swagger. Brands like Supreme & Stussy rising in the 90's hip hop skate scene through their international Stussy tribe that was full of artists, DJ's, creatives & pioneering collaborations. We haven't even touched on the bling culture from NYC which we see a lot now subtly online. I'm not just talking about rappers, but also influencers we see today decked out in jewellery. I wear an obscene amount of jewellery, bangles, big hoops, rings. In terms of the oversized silhouettes from the hip hop rising culture, it offered the comfort aspect to women whilst still embracing the feeling of rebellion against fashion norms, something that a lot of these brands like Miss Sixty, Diesel etc shared & radiated in the 90s/ 00's, all happening during the rise of Japanese brands like A Bathing Ape, popularised by artists like Pharrell Williams. 

In terms of the technicality of production of clothing I am influenced by, it is of course Japanese & Italian craftsman-ship. Japanese style focuses on the feeling of pieces, integrating precision, fabric obsession, and respect for construction. We're talking structure, tailoring, understanding the body, cut to move, sitting properly and generally just feeling very 'right' when worn. One category of Japanese clothing that I'm obsessed with is their workwear and utility styles. I integrate this a lot into what I sell, old style military caps, lots of structured denims. The visual language of Japanese denim and workwear (clean edges, structured construction, selvedge finishes, and boxy or oversized silhouettes) aligns closely with the silhouettes and values seen in hip-hop style, where the main crossover lies, at least for my style & what I sell in my opinion. However this also where Italian craftsmanship comes into the conversation, gravitating toward denim with structure, fabrics holding shape. The look sometimes can come across as a bit loud for the everyday style, which is kinda the whole point, I'm here to give you statement pieces. 

The Italian vibe comes with a lot of attitude, a lot of the time I pair vintage Italian leather jackets with Japanese style jeans, adding in the NYC hip hop influence, aka the blueprint of streetwear, with the statement belts, oversized jorts/ jeans/ tee’s/ boldness represented in a different way as well as the unisex silhouettes that they NYC do so well, mixing the masculinity with the femininity of pieces. Intentional mess. When I travelled up Italy to source earlier on this year, feb/march 2025, this originally inspired a lot of the clothing i resold & would go on to resell, all be it now i look back they weren't the best, but the the reason Italy attracted me so much was partly just watching the way Italian’s would wear their clothes, making me want to find what they were wearing and share it also - this is the whole point of clothing for me, whatever you feel makes you feel a type of way & the Italian's showed that the best. The 90's in Italian fashion was the aura of Miss Sixty - this was one of the golden brands that started the low-rise denim, chunky buckles leather belts, the ultimate “don’t care but care” that they continuously advertise.  I definitely sub-consciously use their brand as a blueprint to picking the denim shapes and bold accessories that i do for NTL drops. 

There's too much to say but this gives a good idea. When I’m curating a drop/ collection, it’s never just about what’s trending. The reason i know exactly what people want is because i am my target customer, I am essentially you. Just a normal 24 yr old y2k girly who loves clothes, curating collections that i would buy, selling at prices that i would rate and buy. As someone who was drawn to all these different pieces but never knowing why, it's been so interesting delving into what really inspires it all.