For Jason Cai ’28, fashion does not follow a linear path, and he aims for his fashion to be untethered to a certain style. Among his preferred styles include wearing white, chunky socks under cowboy boots, and pairing patterned tops with his unique collection of jewelry.
Cai’s style is influenced by the term hybridization, where he combines different aesthetics, time periods, and moods. Instead of dressing to match a certain label, he creates something completely of his own.
“A lot of my outfits don’t just take from one place and call it a day, but rather they combine elements from many different styles and many different themes… I think that one of the core ideas or core messages behind fashion is that you shouldn’t constrain yourself into neat organized little categories in boxes… This kind of Meta style of hybridization and combining different clothing from different places into singular outfits is the most consistent theme I can identify,” said Cai.
When creating individual outfits, the idea of hybridization becomes clearer because rather than pulling from one certain aesthetic, he finds subtle connections between two completely different pieces.
“I might wear an outfit with a deeper V neckline, and then combine that with other V style triangular elements inside of my outfit, and have all of the individual pieces come from extremely distinct style backgrounds. I use consistent and shared components that don’t necessarily define a style, but contribute to portions of it,” said Cai.
Cai’s stylistic foundation emerged when he realized that through experimentation with different combinations and ideas, fashion began to take a further role in his life.
“I found that days and weeks would very easily merge together, but wearing different things… allows me to better grasp the progression of time as I phase things in and out of my wardrobe… Fashion is something that is really impactful to me as a form of the art of the everyday, and also a key component in allowing me to always have something to look forward to the next day and to maintain a solid sense of time progression,” said Cai.
Cai’s day to day routine is to pick an outfit that centers a particular piece, one which sets the theme. Then comes all the other accessories.
“The way that I construct outfits is I find something to center or orient it around… So, for example, I might choose a color. I might go, ‘Oh, I like this tie. Let me go ahead and see what colors can pair and match with this tie. Or I might say, ‘Hmm, let’s go a little bit more abstract rather than a specific piece of clothing,’” said Cai.
Cai sees fashion as more than just one part of life. For him, it is a way to explore and better understand his own identity. In the future, he hopes to stay involved in fashion, even though he is unsure whether he will pursue a career related to it.
“I’m unsure of what I want my life to take on yet, but I suppose that in a sense, fashion is a form of identity exploration for myself… I’ve had some ideas for larger scale fashion projects. I’ve been getting more into textiles, knitting, selling, and I have ideas for fashion projects and things that I want to make. A few small things are embroidery here and there, but I also want to make some larger garments,” said Cai.
