Skip to main contentHot on the heels of our Health Goth Issue, you may find yourself interested in black lycra and futuristic sneakers for the first time in a long time. Us too. But where in Portland can you acquire garb appropriate to the dystopian present?
Hop in the murdered-out FJ Cruiser and head East Burnside to Machus (542 E Burnside St., 206-8626). With brands like Hood By Air, Chapter, Adyn, and even the most recent line of Adidas Y-3 that is incredibly Health-Goth-inspired, Machus is by far the best place to pick up your new cyberpunk wardrobe. However, thatâs not to say Machus is âtheâ Health Goth storeâitâs just generally the most fashion-forward men's sportswear retailer in Portland. And owner Justin Machus has a few things to say about the trend itself.
Machus is familiar with Health Goth, of course, and is generally as passionate about a sports-driven lifestyle as he is about goth-inspired menâs streetwear. However, he says he isnât trying to cash in on trend-following sheeple, so much as educating Portlanders about whatâs really going on in this small, dark subdivision of the fashion world.
WW: Iâm sure you saw our Health Goth issue, what did you think of it?
Justin Machus: The "Health Goth" thing is funny, but I think the second you start labeling trends so inclusively, it becomes something thatâs already potentially dated. Iâm really hesitant to be affiliated directly with that. I come from a sports background; athletic gear and technical fabrics are incredibly important to me and an active lifestyle is something I want to see come through in the store. That being said, I donât want to be the Health Goth store in Portland.
You guys are known for high-end streetwearâthat's pretty much what Health Goth Is.
Itâs just a subdivision of [streetwear]. Rick Owens has been doing it since 1995 or something, If you were going to mention something about Health Goth you canât do it without mentioning him. Heâs like a physical fitness psychopath. He makes things that he can wear to the gym, but that you can also wear to the Met.
These kinds of trends end so quickly. What do you think about the longevity of Health Goth?
I'm not discrediting it totally, but also I'm not trying to capitalize on some momentary trend.
I think it's really cool, Nike ACG, NSW or any other energy projects even Adidas's Yohji Yamamoto collection. Those have been staples to those brands for a really long time. It [potentially] has a really long lifespan to it, as those brands take bigger and bigger risks.
What about the smaller brands like Hood By Air and Adyn?
The store tends to move as I grow personally. As I get older, things kind of adapt. I think brands like Adyn have longevity. Hood By Air, on the other hand, it's harder to say. The prototypical Hypebeast kids getting into brands like Hood By Air can have a big impact from day to day with things like social media. It's a huge bummer, because Shayne Oliver of Hood By Air is a mad scientist and I fucking love him.
You Just started carrying Adidas Y-3, which is possibly the biggest brand pushing Health Goth.
I've been a huge fan of Y-3 for 8 years or something. Yohji was way ahead of his time. I think with the sport luxe hitting the market recently, he's had a revival in the brand. We kicked it off with the Qasas and a few other pieces of clothing, and we have some more coming in the spring.
I had to pick carefully if it was going to be Adidas or Nike. We can't do both in the store because it's so small. I don't want to write off Nike, but I think there is a lot of energy in the collaboration efforts they are doing. Everything from Rick Owens, Raf Simons, and the Kanye thing that is yet to be determined, It's kind of an exciting thing to be involved with. It's cool to be getting involved with a bigger company to hopefully be their outlet for their high-end boutique audience—which in Portland they don't have, even though they are based here.
WWeek 2015