Amsterdam brand Roy Is A Mess is pushing scene to the extreme

Roy Adriaens has pushed the scenester to its post-ironic endpoint. Imagine the endless paraphernalia of cybergoths, glam rockers, 00s emos and indie sleazers mashed together in an eruption of neon lunacy, and you’ll get Roy Is A Mess, the Amsterdam designer’s eponymous fashion brand.

At Roy Is A Mess, more is most definitely more, with stacks of 3D-printed bangles piled on wrists, 8-inch Pleasers fitted with metal studs, snapbacks covered in sterling silver spikes and cowboy boots smothered in highlighter yellow paint. Though the label is clearly an homage to an era before Adriaens’ time – of Hot Topic goths and pop punk supremacy – the designer reconfigures and reanimates that aesthetic for today‘s hyper-charged algorithms.

A self-described dropout of Amsterdam’s ArtEZ University of the Arts, Adriaens started in 2024 with accessories before branching out into clothing that included block capital slogan tees reminiscent of Henry Holland’s early 2010s t-shirts. Before then, Adriaens’ love of alternative fashion was realised from afar. “I’m from a relatively small town, so when I was younger there was nothing really,” he says. “I never really cared what people thought of me, but I did get more freedom when I moved to Amsterdam.”

Below, we talk to Adriaens about his manic aesthetic, turning iPods into accessories, and the fashion holy grail he’s yet to get his hands on.

Hi Roy – was your relationship with fashion like as a child?

Roy Adriaens: I was obsessed with punkers. I always wanted liberty spikes and spike bracelets so my mom used to buy me coloured hair gel and give me little spikes. There’s also a picture of a five-year-old me in a full princess outfit that I wanted from a theme park gift shop. My parents let me be very free – I had Barbies but also Action Men.

Your brand feels very nostalgic for a different era, but then you push that to the total extreme. Why does this aesthetic interest you?

Roy Adriaens: My work is a mix of all my fascinations from indie sleaze to glam rock to old ranchwear and many more. I couldn’t tell you why it’s specifically those things. I do know I’m a very nostalgic person and I romanticise those things a lot. It all comes very organically. Also, ten to 15 years ago you could go to main street stores and find the coolest stuff! Everything is a lot more uniform and boring now, so unconsciously I think I resist that.

How would you describe your style?

Roy Adriaens: A mix of a scene, punk, glam, indie sleaze and a lot more, but always very nonchalant and rockstar. The moment I try too hard I mostly hate my outfits. I’m always looking for a kind of balance – it needs to feel natural.

“Everything is a lot more uniform and boring now, so unconsciously I think I resist that” – Roy Adriaens

When did you start making clothes like these?

Roy Adriaens: I started almost 2 years ago just with caps. That got a bit out of hand and now we’re here!

How did you come up with the idea for making an iPod shuffle into a big bangle? 

Roy Adriaens: I was trying to figure out how to make a wrap-around version and then I realised it just needed to be really big and have a hole in the middle.

What was the process of making the Bluetooth speaker wedges?

Roy Adriaens: I first made the Pleasers with the speaker. Those were purely aesthetic but then I felt like the speaker actually needed to work. It was a lot of puzzling at first to fit everything inside. It became a wedge to have space for the battery and controls, but now I’m trying to make them more wearable.

How does it feel to have people like Ashnikko and Theodora wear your pieces?

Roy Adriaens: Very surreal, especially the first time. I hope it’s something that will never get normal.

Now some quickfire questions… what’s your ghost outfit?

Roy Adriaens: Oversized black hoodie, a cap and some huge Gucci sunglasses.

You encounter a hostile alien race and fashion is their only mechanism for communication. What would you make to inspire them to spare you and the rest of the human race?

Roy Adriaens: I would present them the biggest stack of my neon-coloured bangles ever.

What’s the most ran-through item in your wardrobe? 

Roy Adriaens: A white sleeveless Minnie Mouse shirt that I bought 10 years ago that’s almost see-through now. Or a 90s Marsupilami bomber that I keep repairing.

What’s a fashion holy grail you’re yet to get your hands on?

Roy Adriaens: A Nudie Cohn suit. Or there are these silver lace-up boots with blue stars from Saint Laurent.

Any secret styling hacks?

Roy Adriaens: Don’t try to hard and find pieces you truly love.

What do you reckon you’re most likely to get cancelled for?

Roy Adriaens: I’m such an outfit repeater.

The wildest thing you’ve seen at a fashion party?

Roy Adriaens: I wish I could tell you.

You wake up tomorrow and the fashion industry has disappeared. What are you retraining as?

Roy Adriaens: I used to be a chef, so maybe I‘d go back to that.

The last song you listened to?

Roy Adriaens: “Delete” by Ninajirachi.