Photographer, skater, and agent of chaos in Mr Buran’s class; senior Maxwell Walker’s slick, punk-adjacent fashion sense was a joy to learn about. I knew the interview would be a blast from the get-go: Maxwell literally walked in with an entire chromebook in his pocket (his take on “anything but a backpack day”). Here’s what he had to say about the role fashion plays in his life.
Describe your style in 3 words:
Textured, unique, and alternative.
Who inspires your fashion?
My good friend Jeffy. I met him at the skate park and he’s got the toughest fits. He inspired a lot of it. Also, just kind of the cultures that I try to be a part of, like a lot of alternative areas and scenes. I get a lot of stuff from that. Also honestly the music that I listen to inspires it somehow. Sometimes I’ll base my outfit off an album cover, that’s fun, and that’s actually what I did today.
What’s your favorite item in your closet?
These pants right here dude. Technically it’s two items, but it’s shorts that I wear over pants [pinned together], and then I’ve got two belts on there so it’s double waisted.
And you just came up with that look by yourself or is it based on something?
It’s a funny story a little bit. I came up with it because the pants on the bottom, I didn’t like their fit. I was like, I wonder if I can just put these shorts on top of it. I didn’t like it for a while but then going back to my friend Jeffy, I saw he did it, and I was like man, I could totally do that. It does work. And so I started doing it and there we go.
Where do you shop for your clothes?
A lot of my stuff is kind of repurposing what I already have. But when I do shop it’s usually at Zumiez.
What is your favorite accessory?
Either my wallet chain here [pictured below], cause I did so much stuff here, a lot of stuff that I made myself, or this chain right here because it’s super unique and I get a lot of compliments on it.
The one with the wing right? Does it mean anything to you or just cause it looks cool?
Honestly just cause it looks cool. I mean I could come up with a meaning if you want.
No, I feel like that’s plenty of meaning! What is something you would like to try fashion-wise?
I want to try to hem pants together to make them baggier cause right now just being tall and all it’s hard to find some that actually fit right. So I already have a bunch of pants and denim that I’m planning to Frankenstein together. I just need to get to it already.
What’s a fashion trend you love?
Baggy pants. Baggy pants. That has saved my life.
What’s a fashion trend you hate?
The spider sweatshirts or hoodies. I don’t like them at all.
The brand?
Yeah.
Final question for you: Why is fashion important?
It’s really important because I’m personally a big believer in the individuality of people, that’s what makes life and society super interesting. So I think it’s really important because everyone can sort of base their style around a certain point that is very popular, but then everyone has unique perspectives on that look, so everyone’s going to have their own individual look and style and form and I think that’s really cool.
