Chris Maradiaga is Cut From a Different Cloth
B.C.'s best-dressed TikToker on big pants, body positivity, and embracing linen
VANCOUVER – When it comes to life in late stage capitalism, few things spark more joy than when the internet algorithm delivers a piece of genuinely good content. Maybe it’s Mark Zuckerburg riding an electric hoverboard into the sunset, or the hyper-niche stylings of an Edmonton-based meme account. Or, maybe, it’s the understated sartorial excellence of Chris Maradiaga.
Known around TikTok as the one and only Jerkslim, Chris has built a passionate following, centred on what can only be described as immaculate vibes. Think: billowy trousers and back issues of Apartamento, BODE jackets and freshly brewed coffee. It’s an aspirational aesthetic one rarely encounters outside an SSENSE editorial, and almost certainly never in the sleepy capital of Victoria, B.C. I respected the drip so much, I slid into Chris’s DM’s to request an interview, to which he graciously agreed.
Our conversation, which has been edited and condensed for clarity, touched on his early days in downtown Vancouver, embracing bold prints, and why it might be time to ditch your Blundstones.
ES: Let’s talk a little bit about your TikTok. From what I’ve seen it’s very vibe-y, even by TikTok standards. Can you describe your personal style for someone who hasn’t encountered you online?
CM: I want to say, like, minimalist but also not? It’s kind of confusing… At one point I’ll be going for this more minimal lifestyle where I don’t want clutter. I’ll just get, like, one thing and be happy with it, and then the next day I’m wearing pattern based things and I’m getting like all these random knickknacks. It’s evolving on a daily basis between Japanese minimalism, but also just like your classic 70’s, 80’s no wave New York lifestyle.
ES: I mean, those are great things to pull from.
CM: It’s great but it’s also like, what the hell am I doing? Sometimes it’s just all over the place.
ES: Clearly you have taste. It just happens to be a little bit eclectic relative to these standards we have in our heads of Japanese minimalism or whatever.
CM: I was one of those Tumblr kids that needed everything perfectly curated. Then, that switched over to Instagram as it became more popular. I think the curation aspect definitely led to me just wanting to live a specific lifestyle, a specific brand or image. I think the pandemic got me to reassess and analyze things and be like, “I don’t want to be so carefully curated – I want to start actually letting loose.” I've talked about this with my therapist. They notice that this is also common for folks that are coming from Latin American households. My mom is from Latin America and cleaning, keeping everything nicely tidied up and curated is a very common thing… I just kind of adopted that but in a more modern, Westernized way.
ES: Wow, I had never even considered that.
CM: Neither had I. My therapist said it and I was like, “OK, that explains a lot.”
ES: I was going to ask you a little bit about your personal style journey. It sounds like you discovered Japanese minimalism and then have kind of recently been experimenting outside that?
CM: It definitely started with Tumblr for me because that’s when I first started seeing curated accounts and looking into what’s going on outside of my suburban neighbourhood of Maple Ridge, B.C. I had a partner at the time that really limited me to only wanting to live a Western, outdoorsy lifestyle. I dabbled with that at first – I had the Blundstones and everything. It just wasn’t for me. Also Blundstones for my feet... just incredibly uncomfortable.
But yeah, I would say that my breakup in 2016 opened the door for everything. It allowed me to no longer feel like I’m being pretentious for liking a certain form of art. I would bring up, like, Cy Twombly’s art, and she’d say “That’s stupid.” Everything that I’m doing today [stems] from a toxic partner keeping me on one track. From there it just kind of evolved from being more in the city, checking up spots like Neighbour and Roden Gray and befriending staff members there and then learning from them. The Japanese minimalism stems from a couple of friends that were close with the Neighbor staff and also a spot that I miss so much called NiftyDo.
ES: I’ve never even heard of that.
CM: It was a highly under-appreciated store that was ahead of its time. They started off with Japanese denim and then evolved into bringing in more Japanese workwear, brands like OrSlow and Anachronorm, stuff like that. Next thing you know, I’m buying workwear, all these like South Korean, Japanese brands.
ES: I think part of what’s implicit in your style is this idea that it’s very self actualized, like everything you’re wearing feels very natural for you, which is just very cool. I have no question associated with that. I just think it’s great.
CM: At one point I needed to fit an image for the sake of making somebody else happier. But I think as of 2019-2020, I just started wanting to, you know, just make myself happy and dress the way that I want to. Now I’m just trying out patterns to see how that works and I’m having fun with it. It’s been a journey.
ES: Are there any lessons or anything from that [Tumblr] time period that stick out to you or that fundamentally altered the way that you were thinking about clothes and style?
CM: I think before I wanted to dress for, like Fashion Week or to get photographed for a Needles lookbook or something like that. When I was in high school I had to dress up in a way that was appealing for the white gaze because it was more of a white community.
But I would say NiftyDo helped. They taught me to just have fun, with looser silhouettes, with patterns and trying out like brands that are outside of North America and aren’t hyped. Neighbour taught me minimalism, how to create a lovely outfit just with solid colours. I took my experiences from visiting these folks and developing friendships and all that and creating my own palette from that.
ES: You mentioned drape and fit. Without going full r/Malefashionadvice, can you talk a little bit about how fit factors into your choices, specifically with wide leg pants? As someone who finds wide-leg pants intimidating, I’m always fascinated by people who are able to navigate that space.
CM: I mean at first I really only wore, like, painted-on skinny jeans. I remember seeing Needles for the first time, I remember seeing H.D. pants and I was so confused. I was like, “Those pants are so big, they cannot be comfortable, you’re going to be swooshing left and right.”
For me, the reason why I started going with looser silhouettes was body confidence issues and then just trying to hide my appearance and the structure of my body. But one individual that stood out that had looser silhouettes was... I think his name was like Louis Rubi. He would wear more cropped pieces up top and then just large trousers. He would just have fun with it, and was like twirling around. And because of him I gave the looser trousers a shot. I just kind of learned to structure those pants.
I think you just kind of take a look and see like, what’s the vibe you’re going for? Do you want to look like the final boss on a show? Or do you want to just have a statement piece and wear some looser trousers with a smaller crop top?
ES: In terms of body positivity, I’ve found there’s this interesting correlation where clothes that make you feel good can have a positive influence on how you perceive your body. Was that kind of your experience?
CM: I think so, yeah. Originally I would only wear larger trousers and looser shirts. But at times it’s not the most practical decision and you’re kind of just limiting yourself to a specific lane. You aren’t having to try out different styles and fits. You're going to get bored and then next thing you know you’re gonna go back to wearing Blundstones. I don’t want that.
ES: Nobody wants that.
CM: Honestly, I didn’t think oversized silhouettes would end up helping me feel better and wanting to wear slimmer fits. I felt like I would wear oversized fits for the rest of my life. But here we are.
One thing I do want to see more of on platforms like [TikTok] is representation for folks that are, for lack of a better term, “skinny fat” like myself. One fellow that started following me was like “We have similar body types.” But you look at this fellow and they have a not-so-great following, or they’ll have folks reaching out to them saying “You shouldn’t wear that, you should wear this” or “That fit looks bad.” And then you just see the slimmer folks and they’re getting all the attention everyone’s raging for them. I figured we would be past that.
ES: I actually find men’s fashion pretty boring and pretty underwhelming at the moment. It seems like all anybody wants to talk about is thrifted clothes, Championship reverse-weave crew necks, or Levis. And then in Vancouver it’s worse because you’re dealing with so much of the same outwear focused stuff… it feels very limited in what it has to offer you.
CM: I think you kind of hit it there. One trend that I’ve noticed is everybody wants to dress like. Tyler the Creator, which is great, but now I’m just seeing this left and right. I don’t really see any form of originality and that man is incredibly original.
ES: Everybody thinks they can dress like Tyler, but literally only Tyler is able to do that… His style, his drape, and his colours in particular. It is something that most men cannot wrap their heads around.
CM: Colour is one avenue that I’m struggling with. But yeah… Vancouver just seems to be at a standstill. Spots like NiftyDo get axed out quickly. And it’s a shame because now I know folks that are saying, “Where can I find this and this?” And I’m like, that was available two years ago in Gastown and no one wanted to support them. That’s why I went [on TikTok] to see, is there anyone else out there that kind of has a like-minded vision or interest?
ES: It feels like you’re very community focused and that you have often found people through fashion.
CM: You visit a place like Gastown, and you have terrific stores there, but everyone’s just into like Carhartt hoodies and Levi’s. It’s a little ridiculous. Like if that makes you happy, that’s totally cool. But what’s interesting is they’ll post a TikTok saying “These are my fits” and everyone’s just like, “You’re incredibly stylish!” And I’m like, I know ten people right off the bat that look just like this.
ES: Let me pick your brain on this, though, because I think about it a lot, which is this idea of white people coming in and starting to dress with more Japanese or Asian influence. Like I worry what it would look like if I started investing in OrSlow or Vivism.
CM: I feel like at the end of the day, you have to acknowledge the root of the piece that you’re getting. So, for instance, Tabi boots or the Tabi silhouette. If you’re going to be purchasing this, please, for the love of God, don’t go and say Margiela made this. You need to know the root of what you’re buying and the story behind it. If you’re going to venture out of the more Western market and you’re purchasing stuff that isn’t Gap or whatever, just know that this may be tied to someone’s culture. It may be tied to someone’s history. Just do your research.
Before, I would be getting things without realizing “Hey, this actually might offend someone.” Now I see more and more people starting side brands and [creating clothes] with Japanese text over them. And they’re being run by white individuals. And it’s like, first off it’s 2021, we’ve kinda covered this before.
ES: That’s very 2017.
CM: Exactly. I’m just still surprised to be seeing that. And for instance like Chinatown market, you know, like why haven’t you changed your name yet? Maybe you have stood against recent attacks on Asian individuals, Asian-Americans, et cetera. But still why would you name your company that? There’s already so much shit going on in the world, the last thing that you should be doing is adding on to that and offending an entire race or culture or whatever.
ES: Totally. Before I let you go, let’s do a quick lightning round. I’ll give you a category and you give me a bespoke Jerkslim recommendation. Starting with music.
CM: Visible Cloaks – Lex. It’s just exceptional.
ES: Movie.
CM: I really, really, really love Contempt by Jean-Luc Godard. It’s just beautifully shot, incredibly colourful. It was one of the inspirations for one of my shoots.
ES: Magazine.
CM: Apartmento, without a doubt one of the biggest influences in my life.
ES: Place to visit.
CM: Paris changed my life. The museums, the culture, everyone is so effortlessly cool. As cliche as that answer is, it’s just incredibly eye-opening. I’ve been twice now and I’d like to go back a third time.
ES: Victoria hotspot.
CM: Can I give you two?
ES: Of course.
CM: When it comes to coffee, Hey Happy Coffee is a great spot. You’ll meet a ton of creative people there, whether it fits full blown artists, fashion designers, blah, blah, blah. Great place. If you’re wanting clothing, Calculus is a great spot. It’s owned by a super lovely dude.
ES: Canadian clothing brand.
CM: I can’t really think of anything that really stands out. One brand I’m kind of impressed by is Adapture. I’ve heard about them for almost a year now and then the owner reached out to me and sent me some shirts. I couldn’t believe how comfy they are. I went out on a run, was incredibly sweaty and put the green relaxed fit on. I was fine. I didn't feel sweaty whatsoever... just a ton of breathability. And also, like, it’s just cool that like when you purchase, I think like a percentage goes to the Amazon rainforest. This sounds like an ad, I swear it’s not intentional.
ES: Last one. What is one article of clothing you think every man should own in 2021?
CM: In all honesty, I would love to start seeing some more linen pieces. I think the guys that I’m chatting with very rarely go for linen pieces, that more flowy look. Get yourself a nice linen buttoned-up short sleeve camp shirt, whatever the hell it is. It doesn’t have to be BODE. Just some nice patterned pieces.
Chris Maradiaga is a TikToker and tech employee living in Victoria, B.C., Canada. You can find him on Instagram @marcelduchump and on TikTok @jerkslim.
Comments, criticisms, collaborations? Email me at ethan@humanpursuits.org, or DM me on Twitter or Instagram. And please, consider forwarding this article to someone who might like it.