Why Martina? And a Look into What Grunge Even Is

 So, this is Martina!

As you can tell, Martina already has a personal brand that fits in with the character type I want to do. She has the grunge/thrift teen aesthetic I want to create with my character. This means that I don't have to spend any money buying clothes or track someone down that's Martina's size.

But what does a grunge aesthetic even consist of?

From the Wikipedia page (yes, I use Wikipedia!):

Grunge fashion is the clothing, accessories and hairstyles of the grunge music genre and subculture which emerged in mid-1980s Seattle, and had reached wide popularity by the early 2000s. Grunge fashion is characterized by durable and timeless thrift-store clothing, often worn in a loose, androgynous manner to de-emphasize the silhouette. The style was popularized by music bands Nirvana, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam.

So, as part of my research, I looked up "grunge" on Pinterest and saved a few pins that I wanted to take inspiration from. (Check out what I found here) Some of what I saved is very much not grunge, but it reflects how that general type of alternative subculture of teens is dressing these days. Sticking to what would be considered strictly grunge would most likely result in an outdated wardrobe, which while not necessarily an issue, doesn't feel too realistic of what a suburban teen would wear.

The main reason I wanted to go with more of an internet girl influence is that it would be realistic for the modern teen; this movie isn't going to be set in the past. It's pretty well known that TikTok is setting trends, especially among teens. 

Elements I would like to include are:

• Band tee shirts
• Graphic tees with generally "aggressive" prints
• Aggressive meaning loud, with lots of primary colors, and intense imagery (such as skulls)
• Ripped, baggy jeans
• Flannel
• Loose layers and clothing in general
• The androgynous style and lack of a silhouette is an important part of grunge fashion, and it definitely has carried on to the modern day. It would be a mistake not to include this aspect.

While I don't necessarily think I have to include all of these aspects, I think it would be interesting to have and it's definitely the vision I have for the costuming.

So, I'm using Martina because she already has these things in her closet and her dyed hair adds another element without me having to explain to an angry parent why their kid came home with different-colored hair.