What brand were Freddie Mercury's jeans at Live Aid?

BarcelonaWhat is urban fashion? Also known as street wear or street fashion? It is that aesthetic of clothing that came from the United States in the eighties, from the urban tribes of that time, from the fashion of breakdance. It consists of wearing jeans combined with a tracksuit jacket, a baseball cap, a sweatshirt with the logo of baseball or basketball teams, Puma sneakers, and clothing brands like Lois. Greatly influenced by cinema, by films like Porky's and Teen Wolf –the jacket worn by Michael J. Fox is pure street wear–, by Boy George, by George Michael. The Wrangler jeans that Freddy Mercury wore at Queen's legendary performance at the Live Aid concert in 1985 at Wembley Stadium. Or the yellow Champion t-shirt that he himself made very fashionable. Or when he wore Puma sneakers and Adidas signed him. Who wore Lois and put the brand at the top? Well, Abba, Rod Stewart, John Lennon, and Johan Cruyff.

It is impressive to visit El caiman alegre, on Travessera de Gràcia in Barcelona, next to Torrent de l’Olla, and listen to the endless erudition of David Rodríguez, its founder, owner, and soul. He is a living encyclopedia of this very specific and seductive field of fashion, of the way of dressing, of the way of experiencing clothing as an extension of yourself, of your way of being and relating to your environment.

David was born in Switzerland, where his parents had emigrated. He lived there until he was 24 years old, became a football player, and learned music. A fundamental part of his training also involved noticing that there were specialized shops with this type of fashion. An interesting symbiosis between brands, sports clubs, and stores. An experience of fashion related to retro, with the personality of a garment, with the surprise of being able to combine jeans with a tracksuit jacket.

So, when he wanted to settle in Barcelona, he was clear that he wanted to try to set up a business similar to those that had captivated him so much in Switzerland. First, in 1994, in a premises on Carrer de Sant Pere Màrtir. And what name did he give it? A friend designed him the drawing of a caiman with a graffiti aesthetic, with a baseball cap and sunglasses. El caiman alegre suited him perfectly, that's clear. Two years later, he moved to the shop on Travessera de Gràcia, where he is still an irreducible today, a landmark in the neighborhood, a tireless fighter for the pacification of the street.

Fondly recalls some essential moments of his business. For example, the moment when a brand as street wear as Puma agreed to have a very relevant presence in El Caiman. It was in crisis and it was a public appearance by Leonardo DiCaprio with a cap and t-shirt of the brand that suddenly made it recover. Incredible, right? He also remembers the boom of such an iconic and remembered brand as Fruit of the Loom, also Lonsdale and Hanes, the American ones, sweatshirts and trousers so linked with Michael Jordan.

The concept of El Caiman alegre is retro, but not vintage, as they do not sell second-hand clothes. Everything is new manufacturing with depth and classic reminiscence. By the way, David does not hesitate to give a warning: the vast majority of vintage clothes circulating in the world are not authentic vintage, but modern reissues.

And what kind of clientele do they have? Well, all sorts. Especially clients who refuse to dress like everyone else. Who value retro, who feel nostalgic, who have always dressed with the same brands and want to continue doing so. Young boys whose parents have instilled in them a love for a certain way of dressing. “I don’t have the brands that are in fashion, but rather those that allow people to dress as they please,” recounts David.

A neighborhood store

Many of its clients are from Gràcia, of course. “The shop fits perfectly with the DNA of the neighbourhood it’s in,” he points out. In El Born, for example, people dress quite differently, they prefer more current fashion. Gràcia is more like Camden in London, he adds, workers with a taste for street wear. Now there are also many foreigners who have a highly developed taste for retro fashion.

At El caiman alegre we find a good variety. Mainly t-shirts and trousers. But also trainers, sweatshirts, jackets, caps, socks, belts and backpacks. Of this last item, the Dakine brand stands out, much more street wear than Eastpak, which so many people wear.

David is the president of the union of shopkeepers on Travessera de Gràcia. They have been fighting together for many years to pacify the street and, by extension, the neighbourhood. That fewer cars pass and that people can walk around better. An important milestone was that on Saturdays, traffic is closed on their street.