What to wear to the first-ever I Made Rock ‘N’ Roll Festival
INDIANAPOLIS (MIRROR INDY) — Music festivals provide a safe space to express creativity, freedom, and liberation through style. Curating a look that channels the influences of the sounds to be heard is a creative journey for every fashion-forward festival attendee.
For inspiration, Mirror Indy turned to Michelle Anastasia (aka MJ), the creative and merchandising expert for I Made Rock ‘N’ Roll, Indiana’s first Black rock festival, on May 18 at the American Legion Mall. She led the festival’s merchandising choices by paying homage to the repurposed and crafty approach classic Black rockers had, and styled a few outfits for Mirror Indy to inspire festival-goers.
Attributing the genius of Black style in rock ‘n’ roll to the necessity of paving their own way in fashion due to oppression and racism, MJ said she wanted the merch options to be modifiable and have DIY potential.
“Black rock stars weren’t able to go to the designers that white artists were going to, so repurposing and style origination happened because of that,” she said.
MJ made sure the merch was something attendees could build on and make their own. From a collaboration with Dickies and Howl + Hide comes a pair of quality overalls that can be customized with fabric paint, distressing and burning, and patches, stencils and buttons. Vintage denim jackets and guitar pick earrings also play into the DIY aesthetic.
“We approached it with a mindset of: What can we repurpose and how can we stay true to the origins of Black rock ‘n’ roll in the carrying on of the ‘something out of nothing’ tradition?’” she said.
MJ is an Indianapolis local with roots in the South – her mother’s family is from Mississippi and her father’s side from Louisiana. She is from “here but not of here,” as she puts it. MJ also works as the merchandising director at Forty5 Presents, a local music brand that is partnering with GANGGANG, which also hosts BUTTER: A fine art fair, to present the I Made Rock ‘N’ Roll festival.
MJ pulls her style influences from icons such as Lenny Kravitz, Colman Domingo, Eartha Kitt and D’Angelo. She styled these five outfits inspired by the Black rock aesthetic for all different kinds of personalities.
(Provided Photos/Mirror Indy)