Dude, Where’d You Get That Shirt?
As the rave phenomenon swept across America in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, the burgeoning electronic sounds and surrounding culture birthed its own style and code of fashion.
Graffiti artists and young entrepreneurs began to develop not just a look for the generation of party people flocking to warehouses, fields and beneath bridges across the country to experience the new dance music, but also an industry.
Upstart clothing labels began to emerge, with Southern California being a hotbed for companies including Fresh Jive, Conart, Third Rail, JNCO and more crafting a distinctive style profile for ravers.
Brightly colored, oversized jeans and bold graphic t-shirts featuring innovative artwork screen-printed on them became the easily identifiable raver wardrobe, with record stores and boutiques becoming the outlet for the rapidly developing new look.
For SoCal native and classic rave clothing collector Frank Foley, it was subculture and style sense that he embraced wholeheartedly, immersing himself in the local scene and fledgling fashion labels.
“It was on from pretty much the first rave I ever went to,” Foley remembers of his introduction to the scene back in the early ‘90s. “I’d never seen anything like it. The scene was a shock, a totally different culture, and the rave gear went right along with it.”
As Los Angeles’ rave scene exploded, Foley gravitated towards the same place that he and fellow party people considered ground zero for everything related to it.
“The big hangout spot was Melrose Avenue,” he recalls. “There were stores like Beat Non Stop, the Atomic Garage—all those places sold records and rave gear. I would hit the shops every weekend, and every week they’d have something different.
“Back then, the clothing companies would have guys who would go out with sample designs to the stores on Melrose to get them to carry their lines,” he continues. “My buddy Brandon actually used to work for Fresh Jive. I would go over to his place, and he’d have racks full of samples that never went into full production. After he showed them to the shops, they were his. He would sell them off, and I bought so much stuff from him. Some of the super sick pieces in my collection are from the stuff I bought off Brandon.”
Invoking names of smaller labels including 26 Red, CloBBer and SJOBECK, Foley harkens back to a time when the rave scene wardrobe was primarily provided by truly DIY independent minds.
As time passed and Foley went on to get married, he continued to cherish the clothing from the early ‘90s underground, sometimes to the chagrin of his wife.
“I never considered getting rid of it. Every once in a while I would dig into that stuff just for fun,” he says. “It wasn’t until the advent of Facebook that I realized how rare the clothes are, and how many people there are like me who still love everything about that era. Otherwise, I’d have no idea.”
Still one to go out and hit EDM events, Foley makes a point to sport items from his classic collection (which includes the first four pieces Fresh Jive ever produced) when he does, and he says the pieces always get a strong reaction.
“People will pretty much freak out,” he laughs. “They’ll be like, ‘Dude! That shirt!’
That’s exactly what happened when Foley and his wife Kelly when to Nocturnal Wonderland recently decked out in all vintage gear.
“We were dressed as old-school ravers, and hanging out in the VIP area,” he explains. “Pasquale (Rotella) saw us and just flipped out. It really felt good to be recognized like that.”
Foley talks about going to the now closed collaboration Fresjive/Reserve shop that owner Rick Klotz opened with Naama Givoni at 420 Fairfax in Los Angeles in the recent past, and how much the label has evolved over the years.
“The stuff is totally and completely different now. He’s a lot more political. I was hoping to find some of that old-school flavor, but it wasn’t there,” he laments. “It’s funny, because they’ll occasionally do throwback remakes of the old shirts, and I’m like, I already have the original.”
