Meshing Music & Fashion Seamlessly: Twin Tribes at Fremont Country Club

Emerging from 1970s new wave and post-punk, genres such as darkwave or dark synth, are not only recognized for their bright, haunting, synth sounds, but listeners heavily associate the music with a particular style. With Twin Tribes making a stop in Vegas at Fremont Country Club on May 19th, we were very interested in not just highlighting the show, but placing a focus on the attendees and more specifically: their sick outfits for the night.

With our voices drowning in an atmospheric, dance-inducing playlist between sets, we spoke to some of the best dressed at the show and asked them to speak on the correlation between the music we listen to and how we express ourselves. Briana Marie believes in such a connection and eloquently states: 

“I listen to all different kinds of music, and I feel like there’s different facets to myself… I feel like different genres of music help me connect to different parts of myself.” 

Other attendees, like Rubi Rodriguez, looked at the broader picture of self-expression in terms of community. She explained that music is not only what brings people together, but it’s a place where you can be free. When you listen to music and go to live shows, that’s where you can express yourself without worrying about absolutely anything. 

“I’ve gone to shows of other genres/scenes and appreciation for fashion isn’t as apparent. When I go to shows in this scene, I give and receive compliments multiple times… I love how uplifting we are about how we express ourselves.”

We photographed and talked to various people throughout the night, highlighting the broad spectrum of style you can find at a show where the visuals might be just as important as the music. Æther from Past Self (previously Luxury Furniture Store) designs their band’s costumes and spoke about what influences the aesthetics of Past Self and their costume design: 

“My costume design is heavily influenced by Harujuku fashion and Visual Kei, which is like a Japanese rock style where the visuals are just as important as the sound and the performance.” 

Reaching past any barriers of conformity, goth culture opens the gates of self-expression and individuality with the comfort of belonging in a community that meshes music and fashion together seamlessly. This style isn’t limited to a single aesthetic, but includes subgenres such as cyber goth, mall goth, victorian, and nu-goth to name a few. Concert attendee, Denise Peña, explained their outfit inspiration for the night:

“Trad Goth from the 80’s was my inspiration for this outfit. We have the corset with the longer flowy skirt, which I like. Basically that, especially with the makeup, the brows, and the eyes.”

From the clothing to the shoes, the makeup, hair, and accessories, goth fashion is an all encompassing effort in its execution. Peña emphasized the hard jewelry, chain, and shoes as their favorite outfit pieces. 

Attendee, Circe Sherman, talked about how music inspires their self-expression and style choices for the evening:

 “I definitely look up to the bands for my style inspiration and the lyrics reflect the style as well. It’s dark, it’s embracing the darkness… I got some classics. I got the leather harness, the fishnets, the mini skirt. I wanted to add some sparkle, so I added a little sparkly top.”

Sporting a more western fit, cowboy boots, belt buckle and all, John Shaw stood out from the crowd. Regarding his outfit for the night and thoughts on the connection between music and self-expression, here’s what he had to say: 

“I came of age in the 80’s. So, I’m a new wave kid. And yes, music and fashion go hand in hand… It’s a Twin Tribes concert, so I’m obviously in all black. The bolo tie is from 1982…”

The night waned. Blue fluorescent lights flooded the stage and Twin Tribes ascended with an air of mystery. The duo formed by Luis Navarro and Joel Niño Jr. based in Brownsville, Texas, paid tribute to the lone star state by rocking all black attire, leather jackets, and bolo ties, an accessory that made an appearance with fans as well. Songs such as “Fantasmas” and “Perdidos” from their 2019 album, Ceremony, were crowd favorites to dance the night away to.

Article By Erika Nunez and Karla Mendoza

Photos By: Astro