Want to make comfortable, highly functional clothing pop? Gage Crismond has answers

A bag becomes a different thing entirely when worn by different personalities — similar to how no one perfume smells the same on two different people. To test out this idea, we invited four different artists to style the same bag into their personal look and lifestyle for one day, dreaming up places across L.A. where they would wear it. The bag? The Acne Studios rivet wine box bag from the brand’s spring/summer ’24 collection. It felt like a bag tough enough to withstand a long day in L.A. and lightweight enough to not drag you down.

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In the fourth installment of the series, multidisciplinary artist Gage Crismond recognizes something in the bag that’s always been present in his personal style: utility. For Crismond, picking out an outfit everyday is driven by the goal of being "highly functional and comfortable," especially when he's switching from his various creative practices that include choreography, creative direction, tattooing, designing, making music and acting. He takes us on a walk around his neighborhood with his dog Rae and the Acne Studios bag in tow.

Who are you and what do you do?

What I do is everything. I'm a multidisciplinary artist who focuses on choreography and movement. That's what I came to L.A. for. But man, I photograph, I model a bit. I lightly dabble in some acting, making music. I really have been focused on creative direction and tattooing, that’s my main thing [lately]. I always list these things because I don't want to sell myself short.

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Describe your personal style. 

Highly functional and comfortable. I really like durable materials. I really like thick materials and layering. I'm very plain. Straight to the point. I don't really like brand logos and things like that. I would say comfort and utility is the easiest breakdown.

Multidisciplinary artist Gage Crismond

Talk to me about dreaming up an outfit around this Acne Studios bag. 

The bag was so strong itself that I was just more so like, “How can I look good with the bag?” rather than “How can I make the bag look good?” I just felt like it was the perfect amount of loud. It's silver and shiny to the point where I knew I could put together something that was unique, just like the bag, but not over the top. I was like, “OK, let me get some layering and maybe some different patterns." And then keep a really clean shirt. Then when it comes to the durag, you know, it’s for the culture. When I saw the bag, I was like, “Oh, it reminds me of those big metal Craftsman [toolboxes] but it just has the silver studs on it.” That's what I got from it — this is a utility bag. That's definitely not a usual purse.

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How does sense of place inform sense of style? How do you travel through L.A. with style in mind? 

I don't mean to be rebellious, but I don't think about it. I think that's the reason why my style stands out. Ever since I came from Michigan, I was always like, “I'm not going to dress any different or alter anything.” Maybe I'll get influenced by other brands, influenced by L.A. culture — obviously, it's warmer here. But other than that, I'm always gonna stick to my snowboard-skate kind of style. Just staying true to my Michigan roots. That's the reason for the camo, the Ugg boots. I'm just gonna wear my shoes until they literally have holes in them. That's the point of utility.

Producer: Mere Studios

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.