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Trendspotting #9
Ink.
The statement that sticks.
With Inked, Miami Inc, L.A. Inc and probably some other American city Inc, running on TV, tattoos, and the eternal discussion about it is heated once again.
Getting a tattoo was long considered an anti-social activity. The Nazis used tattoos to mark their prisoners in the concentrations camps. Gulag prisoners in Soviet used them to express their life experiences, and for protection. If they tattooed the picture of Stalin or Lenin, they believed the prison guards wouldn’t shoot at them. Still today, the soldiers in Iraq tattoo a phone number so it will be easier to contact their families in case of emergency. Anthropologists have even gone so far as to suggest that the origin of tattoos may be directly linked to war. But from being a phenomenon reserved to gangs in Latin - America, prisoners, sailors or Hells angels, tattoos is now to be seen on individuals from all walks of life. However, for many critics of the art form, tattoos represent what it was originally meant to represent, a way of expressing being an outcast of mainstream society. The trend has changed; it’s now used to express individuality, or used as a statement.
During a summer program at a London based fashion school, I had an Italian teacher named Filippo. Filippo was the upper dog of fashion, with his impeccable style and hardcore hipster lifestyle. For our class, he was the God of cool. Until one day. Even though he had a lot of tattoos, there was one he had taken in the nineties that he admit regret doing. He turned around and showed the bottom of his back decorated with a tribal tattoo with a dolphin jumping into a sunset. It was horrible, and Filippo was never again what we had picture him to be.
Can you put something on your body that you are absolutely sure you will never regret? Is there something as a “good tattoo”?
First of all, getting a tattoo these days is as easy as getting a haircut. And tattoo parlors don’t only have names as “House of pain” or “Eternal blood” anymore, or are located in sketchy alleys where you have to knock five times. Tattoos are more available, not to mention cheaper. And with commodity comes trends. We have been witnessing Chinese signs, big coloured ones, and not to mention tribal’s.
These days, tattoos are more about expressing who you are. I believe the main reason to get a tattoo today is too literally wear your heart on your sleeve. And if that is the reason you are getting a tattoo the myth about regretting when you are fifty remains just that. The problem lies in being forever stuck with an identity that doesn’t represent who you are after a few years. Like Jimmy Buffett sings about, your tattoo becomes a permanent reminder of a temporary feeling.
Sometimes, one can only talk of his or hers own experiences. I have a tattoo. My tattoo is a reminder of where I am from, a fact that will never change, and I believe I will never regret getting it. I don’t think Filippo thinks, or have ever thought, he is like a dolphin jumping into a sunset. The conclusion being that when it comes to ink, never follow trend, follow you own personality.
And that is a strong statement coming from this column.















