In a garish display of just how far removed Bitcoin seems from its original cypher punk roots, the world’s most popular cryptocurrency has found unlikely attention at New York Fashion Week today.
During the Ovadia & Sons men’s show, one of the 35 pseudo anarchistic-inspired outfits by Ariel and Shimon Ovadia comprised of a teal shirt that with the words: “Bitcoin accepted. No cash.”
It seems a bizarre touch, particularly when the inspiration behind the show becomes known. The designers told Vogue that they had a definite punk and country look in mind. They went on to list a set of puzzling musical influences behind the outfits. Amongst them are Elvis, and the Clash – hardly names you associate with the cryptocurrency space. The two didn’t touch on the decision to include the curious nod to Bitcoin, however.
The outfits themselves for the show mostly comprised of ill-fitting, patch work plaid trousers, lots of denim, and half-arsed nods to punk rock culture such as a steel chain belt you wouldn’t trust to restrain a kitten with. More curiously still, there were no further mentions of Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies throughout the show.
So much of why the decision was made to include a reference to Bitcoin in such a minor way during a fashion show remains a mystery. Are the designers trying to say that just like the cringeworthy fashions of the 70s, Bitcoin is now old news? Are they just trying to be modern and a bit edgy? Or, are they making a swipe at that those recently invested in Bitcoin; saying they must be so destitute after the recent price corrections that they can no longer afford a set of trousers sans tartan patchwork – literally, “no cash”. The mind truly boggles.
It’s a somewhat hilarious coincidence that just as New York Senators are preparing to discuss the potential implications that Bitcoin’s underlying technology could have for the efficacy of government on one side of the city, that the original cryptocurrency has been paraded around in such a bizarre way on the other. Satoshi would be rolling in his grave, perhaps…
