From upcycled billboards to the return of a punk classic: The best in alternative style this month

Happy 2025, K! style gang. I hope you're ready for a new year full of rad alt. fashion releases because I've got some exciting new drops to share with you!

If you're new here, my name's Kitty and I'm a lifelong greebo, emo, and hardcore kid who became a fashion stylist. Over the years, I've styled music videos and photoshoots for a bunch of your favourite artists – you've probably seen my work on the cover of Kerrang! with acts like Enter Shikari, NOAHFINNCE, Scene Queen and Fall Out Boy.

So, with that in mind, I’m going to help you look just as cool as the cover stars and find your favourite new fashion pieces.

Let's dive in to what's new this month, shall we?

If you’re a bit emosh but also have an edge to you, like a cute chihuahua with a mean bark, then this Chinese brand might be your new obsession. From mesh tops made that look like you've had cupping done, to face-print bikinis with devil horns, to spiked heart-shaped bags, Hu Die Gong Zhu is bringing a fresh dimension to alt. fashion – while also being kind of adorable.

Founded by designer Butterfly Princess in 2020, this year Hu Die Gong Zhu launched their Please Treat Me Better collection. It's full of innovative juxtapositions with black leather, silver spikes, fluffy pink hats, tattooed body suits, pink satin eye masks, laced-up dresses, bow adornments and horns. It’s the perfect combination of emo-meets-grunge if you ask me.

The brown and pink leopard print tracksuit with faux fur hood trim and devil horns really screams Myspace, Millionaires and Audrey Kitching – and as we're now in the time where that throwback is being fully romanticised, I’d say this is a perfect way to honour it. The two stripes even give it a little nu-metal moment. I know you will all also love the Black Rivet Broken Heart Bag, it’s soo emo.

UK skate culture-inspired streetwear brand Nancy are bringing us their Hardcore collection this month, which sounds like a bit of you right? I knew it. This is their first cut and sew collection, meaning all the designs are bespoke to the brand, but they're still maintaining their DIY roots – just with a little more attention to detail. The new capsule includes cropped and boxy tees, longsleeves, sweatsuits and five-panel caps.

Featuring slogans like 'All bark, no bite' and 'Help Nancy end the human race', the melancholic, moody personality really does feel like band merch from a dirty basement gig. The denim suits, however, take it up a notch with a bold house print across the chest and on the behind of the jeans. Butt prints remind me of the 2000s in a great way – it’s like the Evisu of London’s punk scene.

I really do love the house print logo in particular. Why is it smiling at me? What does it want from me? Will people smile at me if I wear it, or will they think I’m weird? But I am, so… Maybe this is the perfect way to make friends as a shy hardcore kid.

It’s damn freezing out there right now, making it hard to stay warm while also looking cool. Knitwear is exactly what we need, but how do we stop ourselves looking like a librarian or your gran? No offence to either.

I’ve featured HADES before with their Blondie collection, but in case you missed it, HADES are a British fashion brand focused on knitwear with a huge love of alternative music and have collaborated with everyone from Iggy Pop to X-Ray Spex to David Bowie.

Everything is limited edition and sells out really quickly on the HADES website, but you can still find a few sizes left of the Blondie dress. Other items with some stock left include the Iggy Pop Blah Blah Blah scarf, the Sélavy Knit (a holey jumper with large deconstructed cut-outs inspired by the Dada Art movement), The Man Who Sold The World David Bowie knit jumper and the X-Ray Spex day-glo skirt.

The silhouettes are classy, classic, demure and chic. The designs are adorned by cigarette buttons and rock'n'roll motifs – a wonderful juxtaposition in my opinion.

Have you ever looked at a billboard and thought, 'That would look cool as bag'?
Well, Melbourne brand Bugskin did, and it’s actually really cool. They upcycle discarded billboard materials and turn them into new lifestyle pieces.

Designer/founder Nick Chin has described the aesthetic as “a snapshot of the environment,” which is easy to see as each bag's pattern and texture is totally unique and determined entirely by each billboard that's saved from landfill. The way the designs and patterns are put together remind me of album covers!

Bugskin currently have cross-body bags, tote-style shoulder bags, pouches and caps. The Locust tote bags actually have pockets on both sides, seatbelt straps and D rings to easily attach bottles/keychains etc. If there’s one thing I really can’t stand any more it’s impractical bags, especially when they look great, so the fact they've thought about the practicality as well as the aesthetics is spot on. The billboard materials are a type of vinyl that makes the bags super robust too!

If you've got an interest in punk, then you've probably heard of the brand BOY London, emerging around the same time as the UK punk movement in 1976 on the notorious King's Road in London. Sid Vicious and Johnny Rotten are said to have hung out in the store regularly and Billy Idol even worked there for a time.

The brand has continued alongside other musical movements over the years, embracing new romantic, goth, new wave, acid house and more recently into the streetwear world for hip-hop and alt. fans. But for 2025 BOY are delving into their archives, looking back at standout pieces from their collections in the '70s, '80s and '90s, creating a reimagined subculture aesthetic for today’s punk scene that also features the return of their iconic BOY T-shirt – one of the most recognised graphic tees of all time.

A strong focus of the collection is their denim range, which incorporates elements from their punk roots and mixes them with today’s streetwear aesthetic – be sure to check out the two-piece denim shorts and jacket set with an embossed logo print. There's also a striped shirt with contrasting stripes on half the silhouette and a tonal logo, which is perfect for going to gigs or as an office piece depending on how it's styled. Couple this with their classic bomber jackets and workwear pants (and a fluffy sweater vest with a simple but iconic 'I <3 Boy' graphic on the front), this capsule is a strong contender for the best punk-influenced collection of the summer. Yes, I know it's only January.

Don't forget to check out the Kerrang! Store for collabs with the likes of Hanabie., Pierce The Veil, Sum 41, Jazmin Bean and more.

Read this next:

• L.S. Dunes: “Making music together is an intimate relationship. We’re not f*cking, but we are giving each other all of our selves”
• The 25 most anticipated rock and alternative albums for 2025
• The Sound Of 2025: The new artists breaking the boundaries of alternative music