Being a 14 year old up late on Tumblr effected every aspect of my future. For anyone that was actually sleeping well during the mid 2010s and not on Tumblr, the platform was basically the original pinterest except more edgy. For many in my generation it was the first introduction to "Aesthetics".
Earlier today Dyl and I went to Coburg for lunch, we went to a kebab store and got halal meat with mixed salads. We spoke about how easy it is to lean on basic aesthetics when challenged on shoots where we are trying to push for something difficult. For me the battle is always between a clean and messy aesthetic.
To me Milkbar has always been an effortless style (which isn't always effortless to execute on). This excludes itself from the classic clean aesthetic of a typical tumblr or pinterest feed. There is an underlying grit in the brand. Growing up on so many images of the base aesthetic of the time I can quite naturally pump out an image of a clean aesthetic, concrete wall or clean white backdrop. The challenge I face is wanting to do the opposite, show the grit and mundanity of reality while also keeping it aspirational and looking deliberate. Never looking like the shoot looks messy or grounded accidentally.
As I take on each new piece of content for the brand I slowly build out this new design language. It's hard but nothing is more satisfying when I'm able to execute on it.
Cheers, Simo
