“Messenger chic”

New York Magazine asks Dave Ortiz of DQM, “what’s new in the skater world?” He says:

The track bike—fixed gears, no brakes—is the new skateboard. We’re making six, basing them on the eighties; they’ll be out for February. The Williamsburg kids rock these with rolled-up pants, Vans. Messenger chic. You can do wheelies and skids and be in another borough in twenty minutes, and that’s whassup.

Strictly speaking, I’m not sure I would say it’s new, but I do think that what he’s calling “messenger chic” could be pounced on by the trend industry in a much more aggressive way than it has been to date. As an interesting bit of background, this Village Voice article on “mutant bike culture” was quite memorable — and not just because it includes a Brooklyn Industries guy bumming out about “malicious” graffiti on his shop window. Also possibly interesting (I keep meaning to get this book), is Pedal: “a wild ride alongside a band of New York City’s most feared and respected inhabitants: bike messengers.”