My Favorite Defunct Brands: d.i.a

 Welcome to the second post in the My Favorite Defunct Brands series. If you haven't read the first post yet, I encourage you to read it to understand why I started writing about defunct brands. Today, I am going to write about d.i.a, also known as d.i.a spec and Songeur d.i.a, a Japanese fashion brand founded in 2002.

At its core, d.i.a was all about embracing a bold and cool aesthetic, evident in every aspect of their designs. This brand’s garments achieved the look and feel of their desired aesthetic through the design of their clothes. The accents that d.i.a used to design their clothes are what makes the brand unique. Typical d.i.a clothes utilize black, white, and gold colors, adding extravagance with flashy gold chains, buttons, and gems. Faux fur and animal prints were also prominent features, adding an edgy and daring flair to their designs. d.i.a’s shorts are extremely short, and their jeans are dark washed and ripped to give the wearer a badass and confident feel.

Flashy gold accessories are very important to d.i.a’s aesthetic. The signature product of d.i.a’s brand, based on what I’ve seen from fans of the brand, are their over the top belts. The typical d.i.a signature belt is black and features the brand name written in gold embellishments, along with other designs embellished in gold gems. When I search secondhand sites for d.i.a items, these belts are usually the first pieces to come up when you search for the brand. The brand’s belts are currently listed on eBay and Depop for, and MINIMUM, $250. Most prices are higher than that! 

d.i.a is known as a brand that was very popular amongst certain sub styles of gyarus. d.i.a is considered a gyaru brand. To learn more about d.i.a in relation to gyaru, check out the gyaru wiki.

As of today, you can find items from d.i.a on second hand sites. However, if you want to invest in this brand, be prepared to break the bank! Tops, jeans, and shorts made by d.i.a can easily cost $100-$250. 

Now it’s time to talk about what I love about this brand. My favorite part about d.i.a is the way they achieve the bold and cool aesthetic. The brand’s cuts, use of faux fur and animal prints, and feminine accents make these clothes unique from other clothes that attempt to make the wearer feel confident and cool. Compared to what comes up when I google “bold cool fashion”, and what I see in the average clothing store, d.i.a makes the “bold” and “cool” clothes that I see on fast fashion sites like Aliexpress feel cold, lame, and soulless. Part of the reason why I think I love this style so much has to do with nostalgia. I used to play a lot of Style Savvy as a kid. The game’s “bold” style was one of my favorite styles. The in game description of this style is "The epitome of flashy fashion complete with daring animal prints and striking designs. get bold, girl!". A lot of d.i.a’s items remind me of this style.

I truly wish that clothes in d.i.a’s style were more accessible and appreciated in today’s soulless fashion world. Unfortunately, clothes in d.i.a’s style are hard to find unless you do some serious digging for something similar on Aliexpress. :(