The Vision Behind The Mask: Bad Behaviour, Breaking The Mold Of Traditional Fashion And Telling Stories Through Art
Photo Sourced From @badbehaviour.babe
Caution: This is NOT a clothing brand.
Bad Behaviour. This is never brought on at random. In fact, bad behaviour is usually brought on by a moment in time, a dissatisfaction for a situation at hand. In this case, it was brought on by young teen angst towards the crazy and never-ending unpredictability of the world we live in, and two young artists from Austin, TX, James Inman and Melanie Alva, took steps to create for this purpose through fashion, art and a vibe.
The two met at a high school party, as lots of lasting friendships do, but little did they know, they lived right next door to each other all along. This fortuitous meeting solidified a bond that would see them through the many challenges young inspired artists face and led them to fully pursue their dreams together. They dropped out of school in order to chase what they knew was theirs, so that a vision led by their wild minds, turned into what would now become their signature and brand name, Bad Behaviour. Not to be listed under the clothing brand spectrum, it is safe to say that nothing this label does is ordinary. With every exhibit and collection comes a story, and this time around, their creations truly embody their belief that fashion is art.
I had the pleasure of sitting down with the two artists and got a glimpse inside what they call their “mad brain” and to explore this young angst and interpretation of Bad Behaviour.
Photo Sourced From @badbehaviour.babe
KR: Tell us about yourself and your Bad Behaviour team. What inspired you to create this label?
BB: We’re two makers currently located in Austin, TX collaborating to create experiential storytelling. The inspiration behind Bad Behaviour was originally angst. The irony that dropping out of school and pursuing a dream shouldn’t be considered ‘Bad Behaviour’. Now it’s much more at peace with itself. Our art is our therapy. Its existence is to entertain, shed light, and just be.
KR: What is the story you want to leave behind with your designs? How do you hope to inspire the clients who wear your clothes?
BB: In order to understand us better, we need you to understand how we see the world of fashion with respect to how we see ourselves. From our perspective, most fashion is fundamentally fake. Most of the iconic looks and outrageous collection stories of the runways are never worn by more people than the models, and maybe a few celebrities or wealthy influencers. The garments fundamentally don’t fulfill the original purpose of clothing because they do not get lived in. However, they fulfill a further-reaching purpose, to speak. These few creative directors at the top of high fashion houses are given the freedom to speak with clothing as a medium of communication without as many expectations regarding functionality.
It was always puzzling why this same freedom was not extended to independent clothing makers and fashion people. New designers are asked “who will wear this?” while high fashion creatives are asked, “what are you saying?”
We would like to say things. Because of this, we do not really see ourselves having ‘clients’ at this time. We are looking to build an audience. People who are willing and open-minded in hearing our commentary on the world around us. We can only inspire the people who are willing to follow a rabbit down a rabbit hole.
Photo Sourced From @badbehaviour.babe
KR: Your depiction of the fashion world is inspiring. Turning clothing into art and clients into an aesthete. What would you say is the Bad Behaviour fashion philosophy?
BB: Fashion should be fun, genderless, and make you feel like art. We’re just trying to tell stories with our art.
Photo Sourced From @badbehaviour.babe
KR: You mentioned your art is your therapy, can you walk us through the journey from your ideas to the articles of clothing that come from them?
BB:Our process is forming at the same time as our current project. We are curious to learn more about it ourselves. Most of our next exhibits are nothing like what has been seen from us, And we are most likely not what you think we are.
In short, we build settings & plots, a few vivid characters created with their statement looks, and bring them to life with models/actors/etc. to tell an experiential story of our ideas. The looks of each character come together to form the collection and our art of all other mediums supports the storytelling for each exhibit.
Photo Sourced From @badbehaviour.babe
KR: The initial inspiration of Bad Behaviour was Angst. What was a pivotal moment in your life where you decided to release your emotions through art as fashion?
BB: We are not sure that it is possible to be born when we were and not feel angst. We are nearly certain we were born with it in our bodies already. So, It was not necessarily one pivotal moment that we decided to express how we felt about things through fashion. It was more like many moments we had to resist different cults of personalities and become more conscious of the reality of reality itself. A lack of space for verbal expression caused our emotions to bleed into our art of all mediums.
Clothing being, one of many.
KR: When you picture your ideal customer, what do they embody?
BB: We do It for the Boys, Gurls, Gays, and Theys.
KR: What has been your inspiration for you latest collection?
BB: The Mad Hatter. Poison. My mad brain. The Mad hatter is the main character. Poison isn’t always bad. And every brain is mad, It just depends on who you ask.
Photo Sourced From @badbehaviour.babe
KR: Bad Behaviour could arguably be a “choice.” “Mad brain,” however, implies that there is something deeper going on there that almost cannot be helped. Can you allow us into your “mad brain” to further understand the stories you are showcasing to us. Do you think you are “mad” or are you suing the idea of “someone mad” as inspiration?
BB: The mad brain is the current inspiration for an upcoming project. We will dive more into this subject on our socials as the release of our first story approaches. We agree that it is your choices that can cause you to be labeled as having Bad Behaviour. However, this is a label chosen for you, and placed on you by societal expectations. We use both the terms “mad” and “bad” ironically to draw attention to the fact that you can be labeled either (valid or not) for simply being autonomous in personality.
