I Hate Midnight Studios

Amongst many of the brands I claim to hate, I have a certain base-level respect for what they do. Upon first encounter with brands such as Chrome Hearts, ErD, Online Ceramics, I am at the very least intrigued. They are brands that understand their customer, have a specific aesthetic that is consistent and decently executed. For Midnight Studios, I have never had any such respect or even a passing interest.

Here’s the thing- Midnight has capitalized upon musical groups I adore: Sex Pistols and Public Image Ltd. being the ones that come to mind (I can’t be a poser, my parents named me after John Lydon). And that would be cool if that capitalization wasn’t so dull. It’s like Shane Gonzalez took the classic punk aesthetic (or at least what he thinks is punk) and tried to make it clean. Think of the punk aesthetic- ragged, grimy, leather jackets, mohair, chains & buckles, DIY. Now look at Midnight- it’s just a bunch of fucking t-shirts and trucker hats with pseudo-esoteric phrases on them. 

It’s as if Shane’s idea of punk has been previously filtered through brands like Chrome Hearts, Undercover, and Number (N)ine. And given the picture of him pretending to be Jun Takahashi, I wouldn’t be surprised. Now is the part where defenders of the brand say “b-but look at the brands Shane has referenced!” Okay, Sex Pistols, PiL, Bauhaus, Germs. For a brand trying to create a party-animal punk image, Midnight’s graphics seem awfully reminiscent to the selection of punk you’d find in an Urban Outfitters. Gonzalez once said that he collages a lot of graphics using clippings of old MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL magazines but seemingly he has never actually bothered to read anything written in them. 

I’d be somewhat forgiving if the shirts struck me as a gateway to the brand and perhaps there were more interesting cut and sew items but there aren’t. The brand is almost entirely built upon boring graphics. At the end of the day, it comes off as corny and shallow. Credit where due, most of the garments are made in the US and of course I’m not out here running a reasonably successful clothing brand. But, the issue is that it adds next to nothing to the industry, the vast majority of items that aren’t just tees feel derivative. There’s a reason someone started a Tumblr pretty early on to call out the brand for ripping other designers off.