Neil Boorman burns his branded possessions at a public event in London.
Former style mag editor Neil Boorman held a public bonfire in London yesterday, burning his treasured collection of branded possessions to mark his rebirth as an anti-label warrior.
After realising he could no longer see people beyond the brands they wore, Boorman decided to cure himself of his label addiction. Establishing a blog in March, he pledged to show redemption for the part he played in fuelling the fire of capitalism whilst working at Sleaze magazine. With a nod to artist Michael Landy's possession-crushing installation, Boorman opted to start afresh. After watching his greed go up in flames, he would embark on a year without brands.
A small crowd of friends and followers - a tribe suitably clad as a reminder of his label conscious life - gathered to witness Boorman's very public, not to mention controversial, disposal of his belongings. Proceedings commenced with a speech from a plainly dressed Boorman, brandishing a newly purchased Adastra 952 megaphone - the last branded good he would buy for a while.
"We are all members of a generation who have been sold things since the day we were born," he cried. "And what you see here today is a result of that: a person who is completely addicted to brands."
As he threw designer T-shirts, trainers and bags on to the fire, the crowd roared, egging him on in a sinister way not often publicly witnessed in these civilised times. Boorman, quite the showman, seemed smugly satisfied with the reactions. Perhaps, deep down, with the book that this is all geared towards, he wants nothing more than to become a household name himself.
