1/ Who Owns the Dark?

We have worked in fashion for 20 years,  producing footwear and apparel to some of the most forward thinking brands in the world. While doing so we have experienced, first hand, what it is to live in a near constant state of cognitive dissonance, in a ruthless culture of non stop consumerism, where needless new products are churned in with every (doom) scroll of a screen, where distinguishing the good from the bad and the ugly is becoming an alarmingly difficult task.

We’ve been observing how brands have evolved from pre-social creative heroics and ingenuity to influencer led vulgarity and algorithm tactics in an effort to suck you in at any cost, and all along we’ve seen commendable independent brands and gifted designers disappear while the major players jump on every subculture bandwagon that they can exploit and illegitimately appropriate from neofolk to dark ambient to black metal.

We have started this project because we're living through challenging times and we can't sit quiet anymore. We have a hand in the engine and its boiling hot. We are making sense of consumerism by trying to change it. First we must inform and educate on the concept of what we’re doing, and how it makes sense to our target audience and second, we have to genuinely showcase the best and most durable products we can make to make a real difference, not add more fuel to the fire.

We have chosen our name with purpose and intent. Being on the Verge applies for both the music we listen to and the products we want to create. We can’t lie about the music, we wear our influences on our sleeves, we don’t go throw a box of goodies in the mail to some glorified influencer in exchange for a spotify playlist. Just listen to a few of our mixes and it becomes clear where we stand on the pop-to-underground scale and who we will be collaborating with.

We understand the importance of belonging to a scene, a subculture. To really have an invested interest in the scene, the relationships built on common values, the effortless, never ending gab that triggers ideas, the experiences, the complicity in the lyrics and riffs. This is the reason why we have started the Verge. We are not targeting a scene, we are the scene. We have the know-how and understand the urgency to be adding positives to the good side, to make a thriving brand that reflects our values and truly respects the scene.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, dark music and metal specially is in such a new realm of elevated art that it really deserves better than what is on offer in the available channels. We are metal heads but we are not targeting the traditional metal fan, we are not interested in providing expensive alternatives to Doc Martens or New Rock boots. We're talking to a more contemporary and versatile listener out there, who is curious and wants to wear something else, having grown tired of the uniform of logo tshirts, battle vests, black vans and battered boots (and all around bad quality).

Truth is, there’s nothing worth mentioning out there. No brands are doing a good job in elevating the metal scene, exploring the grey area that continues to sit in waiting, the shadow from the light that radiates between the mainstream fashion proposed by lame merch websites, and the very directional and avant-garde designers exploring the rich diversity of the genre’s elements and motifs (from famous bands iconography to skulls, studs and spikes…, the complexity of the logos etc) such as the so called prince of darkness Rick Owens or Boris Bidjan Saberi to name a few.

Leading brands and high-end designers are not targeting dark music fans, simply because it is not in the nature of a young and contemporary underground music head to buy these designers which are mostly Made in Italy and cost many hundreds of even thousands of Euros, and they’re fundamentally against displaying the ostentation on a foundation of shock value and blatant branding that is associated with the rich pop and rap celebrities.

These designers don’t give a damn about Metal, they cater to the pop crowd or in a parallel world to the likes of Marilyn Manson or a weirder Ethel Cain type of fanbase – reason why they sometimes drop the skull, stud and death metal type font on t-shirts or accessories. Basically, they sing to Lady Gaga in the shower.

So, where are the brands that service the inner circles of dark and extreme music?