Bandung Street Style: Rudi, Bandung Indah Plaza

I've always been fascinated by the influence of East L.A. on Bandung style. There's a generation of punks here, now in their thirties, that seem to have to borrowed their look wholesale from Chicano hardcore bands like Suicidal Tendencies sometime in the early 1990s and have stuck steadfastly to it. I like the look. It feels familiar, and as a displaced Californian, rather homey. It reads much better to me than the crusty gutter punks that line the roadways here, hurling insults at passing motorists and calling out "Hello, Misterrrrrrr!" with the "r"s rolled all the way to Jakarta at bule (that is, white people) like me. Plus, I think Rudi, a representative of Hope Fast Hope, a local tattoo and apparel company, pulls it off well, injecting a bit of "American heritage" into it. I met him at "Clothing Wear - Lifestyle Independent Clothing 2013" a showcase of local indie brands set up in front of Bandung Indah Plaza, one of Bandung's oldest malls. Among the other local brands on display were Smith, Began, Flo, gee eight, Origin, and Reclays Afterlife. Rudi's sleeveless shirt is by long-time Indonesian brand Black ID. Rudi asked me to include a photo that showed the sign for the event above him. So I have. Too band the "IN" in "independent" got cut off. I wonder if that was something of a Freudian slip on my part. Lord knows I've written enough on the ambiguity and contradictoriness of the independence of "indie."