β¨The Fashionistaβ¨
Rise Ramblings #234
While watching βThe Clothes Donβt Make The Turtle,β I noticed something.
I found it interesting that Raph, Mikey, and Leo were content with Raphβs outfit choice until Donnie stated that he wasnβt βin love with it, yaβ know.β
Suddenly, Raph declares βIβm a disaster!β Albeit ridiculously endearing, it was a little strange to see his sudden shift from moderately content to absolute dissatisfaction. Huhβ¦
Then, the disaster twins decide to help him out.
Take a note of their outfit choices.
Raph tries on all of these fits and more.
Donnieβs first choice is a mild βno.β Leoβs choice is a hard βNO.β (Not surprising, lol.) But then, the overwhelming consensus lands on Raphβs fourth outfit, which ended up being Donatelloβs other pick for his brother.
So, in summary, Raph tried on his personal choice for an outfit, of which they rejected. Then, ultimately, Donatello picked out an outfit for his brother, and that pick ended up being perfect. Hmmβ¦
Then I noticed something else. In this episode, we never get a Donnie βcurtain revealβ moment, to our disdain. I mean, Raph, Leo, and Mikey got to try on several different outfits in order to get their brothers' opinions before landing on that βperfect outfit, you know the one.β All of his brothers got to shine. Why not DonTron?
Then it hit me.
The try-ons were to get their brothers' opinions and approval. And, for his brothers' choices, he was a major contributor in assisting them in pulling their looks together.
What if, bear with me, Donnie didnβt need the "curtain scene" because he was so confident in his fashion sense that he didnβt need to ask his brothers for help to pick out a great look.
β¦or they figured out how to break Hypnoβs spell before he could get a βcurtain reveal.β BUT STILL-
Look at his outfit choices in this episode. Some of his wardrobe changes were off-screen, but all of them were fire.
(I added the baseball cap pic because it makes me happy. I wish we'd seen more of that fit.)
To me, he makes some really smart choices for himself, pushing the envelope of what is expected and taking chances: an open collar with no tie for a βblack tieβ event, a beanie and spiked wristbands for their βgansta look,β no socks with loafers (a viral fashion trend that actually began in Africa) with old man slacks in his reclined pose. *muah* Chefβs kiss!
But Donβs fashion sense doesnβt just shine in this episode.
In βReparinβ the Baronβ the boys go to Draxumβs apartment. Leo and Donnie show up in some extra nice βSunday Dinnerβ twin drip.
The gold is in the details. Everything Leo is wearing, Donnie rocks its compliment: for Leoβs round collar, Donnieβs is angled, for Leoβs blue shirt, Donnieβs is white, For Leoβs light slacks, Donnieβs are dark. Blah blah blah. Itβs so good!
Look at the winter fit in Snow Day.
Again, Donnie is Leoβs perfect compliment. As a pair? Fire.
Donnie has βthe eye.β I can go on and on with examples, but Iβve said all of that to say thisβ¦
In the future, we see that Donatelloβs technology had major pull in the resistance. He had drone ships patrolling the skies. He built and designed Leoβs arm, Caseyβs chainsaw-hockey stick, and Casey's mask. The list goes onβ¦
But, when Donatello from the past seeβs Caseyβs clothing from the future, he says this:
We know about the βGenius Builtβ brand. Weβve seen that logo on all of his tech up to this point. But, here he didnβt just say βGenius Built.β He said, βGenius Built Apparel.β
βApparelβ is not a tech brand. βApparelβ is a fashion brand. Of course, tech is incorporated into the clothing, but still.
This means that past Donatello secured this trademark with plans of creating a fashion brand, comparable to the likes of Gucci, Ralph Lauren, or any other modern clothing brand, as a subsidiary of βGenius Built,β the tech company.
And why not? The evidence has been in front of us this entire time. He has a sharp eye for style, fashion, and trends. It is easily canon that he can sew. Splinter sewed their ninja garbs in βInsane in the Mama Train,β and there is a sewing machine in the house.
They already learned Ninjutsu through basically osmosis, so learning to sew is not too far-fetched.
And here it is, right in front of us, Caseyβs entire ensemble, from mask, to weapons, to clothing, was made by Donatello in the middle of the apocalypse under the brand name βGenius Built Apparel.β
And that was just in the bad future. Resources were limited, they didnβt have access to much of anything in that broken world as they were survivors of a devastating Krang invasion. Yet, he created all of this.
However, now that theyβve changed the future, his future as a fashion designer is limitless. Think of what Donatello could produce with unlimited resources, unlimited technology, and unlimited creative freedom.
Tech genius. Clothing designer. Fashionista. Future Genius Built Apparel Owner and CEO. Iβm sorry, but I have to call it...
Donatello Hamato of the present, of the bad future, and of the good future is a fashion icon, the likes of which the world has never seen. ββββ
Update: I've decided to make this concept into a mini-comic series!
2025 Update:
I've also made this post into a YOUTUBE VIDEO!
Video Preview:
You can check that out βββ HERE βββ
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