Kiersey Clemons Talks Spoofing Sneakerhead Hype Culture in ‘Fairfax,’ Streetwear and More
Amazon’s latest television series plays a satirical spin on streetwear culture.
“Fairfax,” an animated series dropping Friday, from creators Matt Hausfater, Aaron Buchsbaum and Teddy Riley, is about a group of middle schoolers living in California.
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The comedy stars Skyler Gisondo, Kiersey Clemons, Peter S. Kim and Jaboukie Young-White as four seventh-graders living in LA. Dale, voiced by Gisondo, is an Oregon transplant new to the area who knows nothing about sneakerheads or streetwear, but he quickly befriends Derica (Clemons), Truman (Young-White) and Benny (Kim), who teach him about the culture.
Courtesy of Amazon Studios
The fictional brand that everyone in the series fixates on is called Latrine, a spin on Supreme. Customers line up and down the block to nab the latest products like the Dr. Phil box T-shirt or the Latrine pencil sharpener. The location is also based on the real world: Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles, the unofficial capital of hype fashion. The show offers a satirical spin on the iconic street.
“Honestly, it’s the same,” Clemons said about how the street is depicted in the show. “I think in this show there is a brighter, more welcoming depiction of it. But I think my favorite part that they get is how intimidating it is.”
Courtesy of Amazon Studios
Clemons described her personal style as “very similar” to Derica’s. If the show wasn’t animated and she could take something from the costume closet, she said it would be the “Almost Famous” jacket that her character wears.
Clemons and Derica differ in their styles, however, when it comes to streetwear.
“I think [streetwear is] super-bad for the planet and it’s wasteful,” Clemons said. “I think that’s a really interesting perspective, the fact that Derica does take part in wanting to be an influencer, right? And like she says, ‘F’ corporate America and consumerism, but at the same time is in line waiting for Latrine. I love that aspect of it because we’re all that way. I say that that’s wasteful, but I’m going to Sephora.”
Not only does the show spin a satirical take on hype culture, which highlights the impact among younger generations, but it also plays on Gen-Z hot topics such as social media etiquette and activists, clout chasing, cancel culture and sneaker obsessions to name a few.
“There’s nothing that I feel like this group of kids in this show can’t do together or accomplish together,” Clemons said. “And I hope people walk away with that and they laugh.”
All eight episodes of the first season of “Fairfax” will be available on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, Oct. 29.
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