What Once Lost Was Found w/ djbabysosh

Greetings, I was seeking for a persona that fills the emptiness in my heart conspicuously, ascends and cascades between my vessel layers to constitute an unprocessed meaning for alt-fashion. What once lost was found. I would like to introduce you niche influencer Sofie, as you might heard of her with alias djbabysosh.

(Courtesy of djbabysosh, Costume Designer: @sarahletalik)

(Courtesy of djbabysosh, Costume Designer: @sarahletalik)

I appreciate alt-fashion for two specific reasons; firstly, you have an enormous diversity that provided within sub-cultures around the globe to dress as you wish. Rules are not dictating. You have the portion of a freedom to combine and blend garments according to your taste.

Secondly, alt-fashion does not take heed of what other thinks. It’s concept decisive for personal happiness and contentment. Even if it’s not your primary category, you can easily find glamorous pieces in that infinite world. Just hang your preconception to the cloak room before entering.

I would like to send gazillion gratitude to Sofie for being part of my realm. Her dedication for fashion not happened in the last minute. She took the high road. Improved herself to spawn a better form. I love the might of patience and effectiveness for people who can foresee the energy hold inside.

Hello Sofie. It’s a deep pleasure to have you. Thank you for joining my realm. First things first, could you please introduce yourself to our readers?

Sofie: My name is Sofie, but most people online probably know me as djbabysosh. I’m a content creator with a focus on alternative fashion & secondhand clothing.

I would like to hear out your story, how it all began?

Sofie: It all started years ago. I was raised in a very small city in Germany, possibly the most dull place you could ever imagine. The internet was a way for me to escape this monotonous life and brought seemingly infinite possibilities to explore new things.

Tumblr, weheartit and early Instagram had a huge impact on me, it exposed me to styles and subcultures I’ve never heard of before and I wanted to be a part of it. I started to dress a certain way, which led to me noticing, how other people react and respond to it, but I wasn’t confident enough yet to share the things I do with an audience.

After graduating high school I moved to Tokyo straight away. Here I got the chance to focus on personal style and meet people in the industry. With that, I started being more active on social media, shared some fashion content, but everything was still very slow and for some reason I wasn’t really able to build a community on Instagram during that time.

I noticed how popular TikTok became and I decided to create an account for posting style related content.

My first short video went viral and since then my following kept on growing. Now I live in Paris, where I’m studying fashion and trying to build a portfolio as a stylist.

(Courtesy of djbabysosh)

In many aspects you are considered as a tastemaker and have extended responsibilities on masses. Is it become frightening for you to lose your control for your audience since you have dramatic impact on them?

Sofie: I have to admit that sometimes it can be quite overwhelming to look at the number of people who are actively following me and are engaging with the content that I put out. However, I’m always trying to do what feels right for me without really considering how it may affect my following.

Fashion have become one of the greatest entertainment line due to digitalization. Versatility is another powerful element that fashion holds in the sense of decision-making and multi-directional influence, which people enjoy to grow character in that play-ground. What was the key-element for you to join this community?

Sofie: Fashion is a way for me to escape and express myself. But not only that, it’s also just fun to experiment with different elements and combine them to make them compliment each other and look great together. There are no rules and that’s what makes it so interesting to me.

You may sensed that our lives revolve around shopping and social media. Everyone have an equal opportunity to reveal their alt character on internet. Unfortunately this situation led us to over-consumption. We consume on a loop.. I call this kind of quagmire as ‘’digital gluttony.” Do you believe we are going to be bloated and BOOM near soon due to greediness, or any chance that could led us to prodigy?

Sofie: Digital gluttony… I love that phrase! I totally agree and I can even see it in myself. As a content creator on TikTok I always feel pressure to deliver new content, which is kind of connected to presenting new pieces.

There’s inspiration everywhere and it’s very tempting to just buy, buy and buy even more, especially on the secondhand online marketplace where I buy most of my clothes, the prices are insanely low.

Sometimes I lose control and just have a sort of a “buying spree” – it always leaves me in shock when I realize how much I’m actually consuming. I really want to better myself, because I think it‘s not leading us and fashion in a good direction.

Which one have priority for you; what should I do for myself? OR How others see me?

Sofie: The ideal answer for me personally would definitely be “what should I do for myself.” In reality, I’m constantly perceived by others online, since it’s a huge part of my profession. So I guess it’s a mix of both.

In the 1980’s, the revolutionary change occurred in the sense of avant-garde fashion. Pioneers like Yohji Yamamoto & Rei Kawakubo retouched fabrics and declined traditional approach on fashion. Let’s not forget Hiroshi Fujiwara who is a reputable producer, DJ and designer influenced by American streetwear and blended a distinctive sub-culture seamlessly in Japan. Related to this, Harajuku and Gyaru had a new meaning alongside with avant-garde fashion. A culture reborn in Japanese fashion under influence of darker aesthetics and rebellion. According to that knowledge, how did you get influence by these concepts to form your unique-style?

Sofie: Seeing the culture and the fashion exist around me while living in Tokyo, influenced me as well as my personal style immensely. I love to do research on it and integrate elements of different directions in my own personal aesthetic. At the moment I’m obsessed with Rokku and Goshikku Gyaru, Gothic Lolita and Visual Kei.

(Courtesy of djbabysosh)

In Japan, It’s well known that society have distinguished style. The styling in Japanese culture comes from the descriptive identification of clothes rather than sticking to the end-product. Mika Mizutani and Takashi Kumagai are one of the successful stylists, photographers shown creativity among prestigious labels and magazines. The other thing is that Tokyo Fashion Week in the shade of prominent Fashion Week capitals like Paris, Milan, New York and London. My question is that what are your thoughts about the current fashion in Japan?

Sofie: Fashion is constantly evolving, what makes it hard for me to give you the perfect answer to your question. I left Japan two years ago, it was still quite diverse and exciting style-wise, even though only very little of the actual Harajuku-culture remained.

Seeing the fashion which was so popular in the late 90s and early 00s being a big thing on social media, actually lifts up my hopes to see it more frequently on the streets again. I hope to travel back this year and I‘m curious to see how it may have changed.

You have a wonderful personalized style from my view-point. Do you believe you have a deep understanding of clothing and what do you do to improve your skills to add more features on your style?

Sofie: Thank you so much! When my interest in fashion first started, the story behind clothing items didn‘t really matter to me. I was solely interested in how it looked and if it could fit my personal style. The more I got into it though, I realized how much fun it is to do research and understand the meaning behind certain things.

This is also the reason why I decided to enroll in fashion school. I have a different view on garments and their production now, what makes this entire industry even more appealing to me.

There are so many resources on the internet one can use to deepen their knowledge. I personally like watching fashion documentaries, scrolling through Tumblr pages or even just spending time on Pinterest for inspiration.

(Courtesy of djbabysosh)

People may think that influencers are merely uploading their videos on one-shot without editing or any adjustments. How many times do you have to cancel and re-upload your short videos on Tiktok?

Sofie: Well, I wish it would be this easy, but unfortunately it isn’t. I’m a perfectionist. If there is a minor flaw in a video I have to re-take it, otherwise I won’t upload it.

Ideas come to my mind easily, I have a file on my computer in which i note them down, because it helps me to keep track and create a posting-schedule. I even used to write scripts when I first started out, but I don’t really do that anymore, since everything comes more naturally to me now.

It’s kind of like I have my routines and I just know what works. Filming a 30 second video usually takes around one and a half hour. After this, I start editing and sometimes I like adding voice overs.

Could you please tell me about your most loved garments in your wardrobe?

Sofie: Over the past few years I was able to collect many amazing pieces and assemble my dream wardrobe, what makes it almost impossible to pick favourites.

One of my treasures is a pair of dark green knee-high boots by Ann Demeulemeester. They go very well with a beautiful all black Junya Watanabe set that I just recently bought at one of my favorite concept stores in Paris. There are a ton of other items, which have a deeper meaning and are very special.

One of my friends @sarahletalik for example is a knitwear designer and she custom-made an entire outfit just for me. I really like owning unique things.

What is the garment you will NEVER wear?

Sofie: Tough question! I’m always trying to be open-minded and experiment with garments and shapes.

Personally, I’m just not a big fan of clothing in vibrant colours. They can look great on other people, but they just don’t suit me.

How do you form a sentimental bond with labels you wear?

Sofie: To be honest, I don’t explicitly look for labels when I shop. I just wear whatever I like.

Of course, I can appreciate the works of specific designers like Rick Owens, Rei Kawakubo, Yohji Yamamoto, Vivienne Westwood and Ann Demeulemeester.

Their creations are spellbinding to me and awake some sort of emotion. I can’t really explain it though, I was captivated from the first moment I saw them.

Thank you for sharing your valuable time for me, any last words you want to state?

Sofie: Thank you for having me and for letting me be a part of the community of amazing artists you curated!

(Courtesy of djbabysosh)

Credits

Sofie’s Instagram Page: @djbabysosh

Sofie’s Depop Page: djbabysosh

Costume Designer: @sarahletalik