Tommy Cash’s Crocs-Inspired Outfit Spotlights an Emerging Spanish Designer
Estonian rapper Tommy Cash’s sense of style is a riot: a constant stream of warped ensembles; perverse mix-and-match outfits like triple-tiered, thigh-engulfing Uggs or a cheap suit printed with euro banknotes, all underscored by Cash’s pencil-thin mustache and knowing grin. And Cash’s latest Instagram might have topped even his most skewed fashion ensembles: it’s a full look in hot pink riffing on the world’s most divisive shoe, the Croc. In the mix is a halter minidress reminiscent of a bulbous body shield, a pair of gloves, a perforated bucket bag in the silhouette of the ugly-pretty shoe, a shiny visor, and clunky boots that go up to the shins. Cash had some choice words about the extreme, rubber-centric look. “No one ever said, ‘Wow, that’s a nice pair of Crocs,’ but I’m sure they will say that this fit is ‘crocalicious,’” wrote Cash to Vogue via text message.
The freakishly fun look was created by 25-year-old Spanish designer Sergio Castaño Peña of the label Sucksexfully. While the shoes—which include three models of Crocs fused together—and the bag are indeed real, the dress and visor were created using animation and photo-editing programs. According to Peña, who worked remotely in London on the project, it took two weeks of research to complete the look, which was then shot in Estonia. Peña and Cash’s partnership goes back to earlier this year, when they connected via Instagram DM. Back in March, Peña was commissioned by Cash to make him a full nude suit that was adorned with scraggly black body hair; in typically provocative style, Cash wore the suit to attend an opera with his darling, babushka-donning mother.
It’s clear that Peña and Cash are a match made in fantastically wicked fashion heaven, with the duo sharing an outlook on style that is as humorous as it is perverse. Peña certainly has the résumé to back up his vision, too, having worked with the similarly iconoclastic Vetements for a year, and for Desigual for two years. (Peña and his chiseled jaw have also done some modeling work for Gucci.) As for Peña’s solo work, he bills his design philosophy as “low rent, high fashun [sic].” His most recent collection certainly honors this description: Peña created 35 looks and accessories out of upcycled vintage clothes and fabrics, made entirely with a budget of only €50 euros.
The lookbook is otherworldly and uses a hefty amount of trippy Photoshop, an aesthetic that Cash is equally fond of. In it, masked models are placed in topsy-turvy situations, whether posing in a denim tuxedo while suspended by chains in a laundromat, or in an abandoned building wearing a fringe skirt made from curtains. For Peña, this sort of warped vision is why he gets along so well with Cash. “Every concept [Cash] thinks of, he can make it fun. That is why I enjoy being able to give shape to thinking of our next paranoia, or rather, ‘concept,’” writes Peña. “Society only wants to show happiness and beauty, and they worry about whether they are showing it or not. Happiness can also be for the ones who embrace ugliness and sadness, without taboo.” And Cash and Peña’s ongoing collaboration is making for a very happy partnership indeed.
Tommy Cash’s Crocs-Inspired Outfit Spotlights an Emerging Spanish Label Sucksexfully
Originally Appeared on Vogue
