Stylish Bostonians: Rizzla

Name: Brian Friedberg

Age: 28

Occupation: DJ (soundcloud.com/rizzla_dj), curatorial assistant at the Rose Art Museum in Waltham

From: Garden City South, Long Island

Lives in: Somerville, MA

His inspirations: “Post-raver urban streetwear with banjee twist.”

Favorite stores: Bobby from Boston, African Apparel, Buffalo Exchange, American Apparel

“My approach is utilitarian. I still have things from years ago. Whenever I go outside Boston, like to find something really strange and cheap.  I like to work in tiny tank tops layered with printed or double-layered tank tops. Simple stuff, really simple colors.”

His favorite accessories: A huge Trinidad flag he brings to parties, oversized black hoodies

Favorite designers: Hood by Air

“Hood by Air is really defining the big top, skinny bottom, hooded sweatshirt, streetwear slant. It has this gothic darkness; it mixes the bagginess of old rave wear with a more refined, alt-gay, alt-queer look. It’s a throwback to goth ravers that would also wear do-rags with all kinds of crazy urban elements. I like a look that’s being masculine without being in your face about it. Being able to blend in but still having an edge, a hidden attitude you can throw out at any point.”

How he describes Boston style: “There’s an intellectual undercurrent to the city that doesn’t necessarily manifest itself immediately. The look is very workingman intellectual. There’s a common look of the straight-jeaned, booted, well-sweatered, bearded sort of guy that I’ve grown to have an almost fetishistic attraction to that I wouldn’t have given a second glance to before.”

How his style has evolved through the years: “I’ve spent a lot of time in the cesspools of candy ravers and people in the jungle scene. I think I’ve grown up and learned that there are certain things less age-appropriate now than they used to be. My look has an every girl/guy kind of vibe, but with an edge you might not notice right away. I can wear a normy outfit, but I’ll do something like shave a little patch on my head, and that will completely offset the look. Because of DJing, I like to wear things that flow, so I can feel as comfortable as I feel in my living room practicing; it makes me feel at home. I play riskier music and have better transitions when I’m comfortable.”