I’m sure Justin Bieber is a nice guy IRL but he sure dresses like a dirtbag. Not a diss, by the way, just a summarization of Bieber’s wardrobe, which currently exists at a curious intersection between his former scumbro peers.
In an era where Bottega Veneta cleanliness has replaced 2022’s Balenciaga bagginess, Bieber’s reluctance to advance his personal style is intriguing.
For instance, Justin Bieber may be the last fashion dirtbag standing. His unkempt peers have cleaned up or cleared out — hardly any famous dudes are dressing like dirtbags these days, besides Bieber.
First, let’s go back to the proto-dirtbag days.
The scumbro was a creature of 2018, a heavily-tatted white dude with scruffy hair, tie-dyed T-shirts, and scuffed sneakers.
Nowadays, these dudes have either moved on to dressing like yuppies (Jonah Hill), wearing a bunch of random fashion brands (MGK), or adjusted their taste to better reflect the flavor of downtown NYC (the Jonas Brothers), if they even wear interesting clothes at all (Pete Davidson).
Justin Bieber was a little late to the scumbro party — he was still in Lightskin Bieber mode at the time — but once he got into Balenciaga by way of Kanye “Ye” West, Bieber made up for lost time by going full scumbro by the days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
And note that Bieber’s dirtbag look is distinct from the Nolita Dirtbag, a catchall phrase for a loose aesthetic preferred by the denizens of a specific New York neighborhood — chunky sunglasses, pre-faded Carhartt jackets, double-knee pants, a “creative director” title at a company that no one’s ever heard of.
Though Dirtbag Bieber stopped by the recently refurbished Aimé Leon Dore store (the Nolita Dirtbag movement’s spiritual hub) and pricey brunch spot Sadelle’s while in New York, he’s more of a dirtbag classique than a new-school scuzzball.
Anyways, perhaps Bieber enjoyed the slouchy comfort of his Balenciaga phase too much to move on; when it became taboo to wear Balenciaga, he simply…
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