The Alt Cult is about everything going on around us. The very good, the truly bad, the horribly ugly and the downright mind-boggling – whether it’s in Fashion, Music, Art, Food, Travel, Business, Society and whatever else catches our attention. Basically, Life. There are always times when it’s good to know you’re not the only one wondering how the hell we got “here” and WTF is going on. Much of this started because of growing irritation at the way alternative cultures were were being appropriated by and into the mainstream. Erstwhile un-mainstream movements such as skate, punk, rock, hip hop and more general ‘street’ culture (among so many others) were taken as mere looks and gimmicks rather than the embodiments of forms of thought that they were and still are. By “mainstream” one should understand any movement or style that doesn’t usually fall into the “alternative” or “counter” category. Mainstream styles and movements are accepted without drawing much attention. They carry no obvious visible social drawbacks and in opposition to so-called “alternative” and “counter” counterparts do not expose  concerned parties to any kind of social disadvantage, prejudice and stereotyping and in extreme cases, violence – whether they are expressed or not. 

 “Mainstream” movements and styles demand no personal engagement from those who choose to adopt them. It isn’t a criticism but it must be noted that there is nothing at stake with mainstream movements since they require virtually no social, moral or ethical engagement from those who adopt them. And to a certain extent we all do. TAC sees the appropriation of so-called alternative cultures as the symptom of a much wider problem. We are living in an age of much fakeness, bs, falsehood and mediocrity (to put it bluntly) and though it might be amusing for all of two seconds, it gets extremely boring and it often feels like we’re regressing instead of progressing. This has created a new kind of alternative culture that TAC refers to and wants to champion – one of ‘realness’. Being what you are. Having your own tastes and preferences rather than just jumping on the latest bandwagon because everyone else is. Engaging with people and things on a tangible level rather than because you think it’ll look good on social media.  In short, trying to get to and live in some kind of truth.

Just being stylish on the outside isn’t enough, it’s also about having a stylish mind. Because thinking is stylish.