“I think people still struggle to understand that women can be like these multifaceted people that like, contain multitudes.”
There are many ways to make a successful brand. One of them is trusting something you came up with while posting a create-mode story and hoping for the best. Lauren Schiller, the woman behind OGBFF and its increasingly elaborate universe of ‘Absolut Idiots’, ‘Hot People at Work ‘, ‘Angles’ and her recently viral no-facial-expression self-tapes, makes clothes that are meme-friendly, it-girl-appropriate, and sometimes designed specifically to make a good Instagram story. Schiller lives in a post-cringe utopia, which is a useful philosophy for running a fashion brand in 2026, but also, perhaps, a useful philosophy for being a person on the internet at all. Being unserious doesn’t mean being unintelligent. In fact, sometimes it requires the opposite. Making something dumb is hard. Making something dumb that people actually want to wear is harder. We spoke to Schiller about instinctively posting your profound thoughts, realising we’re not all that different, taking Paris Hilton seriously, internet friendships, going viral, and why the best thing you can do is simply post it before you have time to change your mind.
We spoke just before your pop-up in NYC, and the next stop is Tokyo! Are Tokyo’s OGBFF’s different types than those native to LA, or those in NYC, or those online?
Such a great question. I mean, some of the people who came to the pop-up in NYC have been OGBFF customers for years. They’re people I recognise and know—I see their names in the orders constantly—so I feel like I’ve really gotten to know the OGBFF crowd over the last few years. I really do pay attention and it kind of feels like hanging out. Someone came in who was really interesting. She went to Harvard and did her senior thesis project about memes, and memes in clothing. She was telling me all about her paper, and was like, “I cited OGBFF multiple times,” which was really cool to hear.
And you’ve just released this Angel Frost skirt.
Oh my god, yes. Wait, how do you know about that?
You emailed me girl.
Omg, lol. Yeah, so a huge part of OGBFF is loving music. I’ve had so much fun collaborating with musicians this year, like Addison and Kim Petras. I feel like musicians reach out to OGBFF a lot wanting to collaborate on merch, but Angel approached me in a different way and was like, “What if we actually made a piece together?” And I absolutely love Frost Children. Angel is a friend of mine, and I think she’s so incredible. She also uses the internet in a really fun way—she’s so funny. So it felt like a very natural collaboration. Angel is someone who kind of has a uniform on stage—she’s always wearing a pleated plaid skirt and a polo or something, and a scarf. She has this mystique on stage. And you’re like, oh my god, if I could only like, wear what she’s wearing.
So often, cool artists’ merch is completely antithetical to what the artist would ever wear. This is so fun. OGBFF, even before the Angel Frost collab, has all these ‘characters’—Absolut Idiot, Angel/Angle, Hot Person at Work. They’re funny, but they also remind me of early Paris Hilton, reality TV, and bimbo culture, where playing dumb was actually a really intelligent performance that got people a lot of clout, and a lot of money, too. Is there something about that era of femininity that you’re interested in revisiting?
That’s a really interesting understanding of how things are done here, and it’s pretty accurate. I would say it’s not that intentional—but I guess it is. I like to think that it’s not. I make so many mistakes. I’m running this operation on my own, and I’m not a business person, so I’m really just figuring things out as I go. I choose to embrace and laugh at all the mistakes. There are spelling mistakes on almost every Instagram post. When I see spelling mistakes on a design, sometimes I just leave them. I think that’s more the point—the goal at OGBFF isn’t perfection. It’s much more about being honest.
Is it also a rejection of the pressure to always appear intelligent, tasteful, and composed? Or is that reading too much into it?
If it is that, it’s not intentional. But maybe it does do that. Yeah, it probably does—or it could even be doing the opposite. People could be looking at it and thinking, “Wow, this girl’s a fucking idiot.” Maybe they are. But I’m way more concerned with just releasing things into the world than creating some sort of perfect image. Perfection is just so opposite to OGBFF.
It’s very immediate, urgent. There’s maybe a romanticisation of a lack of self-consciousness, or a lack of embarrassment, in OGBFF?
Yeah, I feel very attached to that sentiment. I’ve always described myself and my approach to things as being kind of “post-cringe.” I feel like I’ve transcended it, and that’s the only way I’m able to do the things that I do, because there really isn’t much concern for, like, “What are people going to think of it?” I probably wouldn’t do any of this if I asked myself that question before releasing things into the world. It really has to be more real-time than that. If I think something’s funny right now, then I’ve gotta fucking post it. I’ve gotta release it, because in two days, maybe I’ll feel differently. And sometimes I do look back at things I posted two days ago and I’m like, “Oh my god, if I had thought about that…” but when I posted it, everybody loved it, people ate it up. Those are the Instagram stories that get like tens of thousands of views, and then when you like curate something, or spend time on it, it’s like, oh, 400 people see it, and like no one likes it.
If you spend too much time thinking and overthinking it, it becomes almost like corporate marketing, where there are 60 levels of people overthinking it, and then the timing is just completely lost.
Yeah, I like that, and I try to encourage that—not even necessarily verbally, but just by example. Just kind of doing things, knowing that there are going to be people who think it’s dumb and make fun of you. But you’re never going to avoid that. People are going to mock you and laugh at you no matter how hard you try. Whatever you do, it’s never going to be for everyone, so what does it matter? You can think about something really long and hard and then never do it, or you can just put it out there. I read a quote recently that I absolutely don’t remember exactly, but it was basically like: you don’t have to make something perfect, you just have to make it exist.
You said you live in this post-cringe utopia—what does that world look like for you? And most importantly, HOW DO WE GET THERE?
I mean, you don’t judge yourself, but more importantly, you don’t judge other people. You kind of just shift knowing that everything isn’t for you. When you don’t like something, you don’t have to stop and pause and think about how much you don’t like it, or talk about how much you don’t like it. It’s just like, “Oh, I don’t like that.” Look a few inches to the left and find something that you do like. You kind of just shift your focus. Things don’t have to be so negative. You focus more on positivity than negativity, and that micro decision starts to inform everything: the way that you see things, and the way that you release things as well.
Is there still, in your life, like in most people’s lives, that fine line between being cringe and being ahead of the curve? Or are you just completely looking away from that distinction now?
I think it’s not that I’m looking the other way. I do have some sort of standard for myself and my output. But at the end of the day, this is a brand. Some of the stuff I have to do has to be promotional. And if I don’t have time to come up with the most creative, amazing promotional idea, I’m going to grab the low-hanging fruit on TikTok and use the trending sound. And I would say I’m a person who enjoys kind of niche, fringe art sometimes. I love performance art, I love contemporary art, and things that are a bit more niche. But when I’m on TikTok consuming stuff, I’ll stop and watch an Alex Earle packing video. And, you know, no one is really above that.
I think I sometimes do benefit from posting the stuff that I don’t think is as good. Let’s say I post 20 videos, and I only think three of them are cool or worth posting in my own ideal world. Those are almost never going to be the ones that perform well, reach the most people, or have the potential for virality. It’s like you end up accidentally exposing yourself to a lot more people by almost lowering your standard.
Also, we maybe should stop trying to be the most intellectual and interesting version of ourselves all the time – the moment we’re consuming this content is literally when we’re doomscrolling tiktok. We’re not in an academic convention being interesting.
Like, can I relax? It’s fine.
What I really like are your really diaristic posts. [I’m thinking of the one that goes “when a rare story liker likes my story and in that moment I realize I’ve dont something truly groundbreaking that will be remembered for generations” I really love that. Because most people would have that exact same feeling, but they would probably feel cringe for even admitting it. it’s quite profound. Could the cringe be rooted in women underestimating their own thoughts as being profound, meaningful, and relatable? Or do you think it’s not that deep, and people just need to stop taking themselves so seriously—or maybe take themselves more seriously?
I think it’s probably a little bit of both. Because, yeah, it is so validating to experience what you just described, where someone explains something that you thought. It’s like when people comment, “Wow, I’ve never had an original experience.” We’re more similar than we think. We’re all on the same internet, and we probably have a lot of shared common experiences as they relate to our online lives. The more we talk about those things, the more we realise that we’re all really just seeing the same things and almost thinking the same things. But also, yeah, I think maybe it does have something to do with women underestimating their profound thoughts. I’m not sure, but I’m definitely someone who has always been aware of that. Like when you show a male contemporary, or even just the guy you’re dating, something that you’re working on and he says, “Wow, that’s actually really cool,” or, “Wow, that’s actually really funny.” I’ve always noticed that. I’m constantly being underestimated. I’ve always picked up on that “actually” in the compliment, and I’m like, “Okay, then I guess I’ll actually just keep doing this.”
“Oh, surprise, I’m actually really as talented as I said I was.” This is sociological research.
These are studies, kind of.
Actually not ‘kind of’, just actually.
Lol, yeah.
A lot of people, when they make something, are really focused on it being ‘timeless’. I feel like your brand is the opposite – it’s completely urgent. What do you think about that?
I don’t think that’s the function of a brand like OGBFF. Because some pieces, I do like them to function as, “This is going to make an incredible Instagram story.” So much of the brand is tied to our participation in online culture. Our avenue isn’t really about creating heritage pieces or anything like that. You almost can’t separate the products from the content. And it’s not that that’s intentional, but it’s just the way it naturally happens. I almost don’t see the point in trying to change that. And that’s the function of that piece, and that’s what will make people want to buy it. Is that just as valid as buying something because you actually want to wear it to work? I think so. It’s like your online persona versus your IRL one. Which version of you is that product feeding? Because a lot of brands make things for that function in real life. But like, why can’t a brand make stuff that’s like, meant mostly for your internet life?
Love that. That side of us is just as valuable!! And I was actually wondering—some of the T-shirts, I think the one with the random words on it, remind me of my favourite collection by Junya Watanabe, where he uses these seemingly random words, like “peanut butter” and things like that. It’s so fun. But I was wondering if that was a conscious reference?
I’m not familiar with that collection, so it definitely wasn’t a reference. But I’m very aware of how graphics have appeared in fashion, often with this irreverent, “look how much we don’t care” attitude, which I love. Moschino and Jeremy Scott were especially inspiring for OGBFF early on. When I question whether a shirt idea is worth making because the phrase doesn’t make perfect sense, seeing a nonsensical graphic from the early 2000s reminds me that it doesn’t have to. It’s, in my opinion, just as difficult to come up with a nonsensical phrase that’s going to be good on an article of clothing as it is one that, like, does make sense. It takes skill and an understanding to come up with something that, like, is dumb.
So true. Missing the mark is so much easier! Do you feel like women are allowed to be sillier now than they were 10 years ago, or during maybe Paris Hilton’s era of bimbo culture?
I want to say yes, but I think there are still consequences to being funny, goofy, or a little dumb. People still see someone like Paris Hilton behind DJ decks and assume she isn’t actually playing. I think people still struggle to understand that women can be funny, smart, multifaceted people that can perform different versions of themselves and, like, contain multitudes.
Specifically with Paris Hilton, she’s literally made a documentary and a book about playing dumb while being smart, and we still don’t accept it. Like, oh my God.
Like, oh my God.
Has the internet changed what friendship means for you in general?
I’m a very intense friend. I take my friendships very seriously. The easiest way to think of it is probably the way people participate in romantic relationships. That’s kind of how I participate in all of my friendships. They’re that serious, and the goal is to be friends forever. I do have those friendships in my life that have nothing to do with the internet, but I also have deep and profound and moving and inspiring friendships that exist mostly online. I think it’s almost more like community than friendship, maybe, as far as my internet friends go. Sometimes I’ve met up with people too that I was internet friends with too and like, it was definitely giving like, we’re only hanging out one time. And like, that’s fine too.
It’s kind of the classic idea that the price you pay for community is inconvenience. The beginning of a friendship is not that bad of an inconvenience.
When you really just love your friend, nothing is really an inconvenience.
So recently, you’ve been practising your facial expressions. What’s been the hardest one? And why do you think you need them?
I can’t reveal too much. I really love making that series, and it is based in reality. I have a really, really chill disposition. I’m a chronic underreactor. I’m the person you want standing next to you in a stressful situation because I’ll literally take your hand, and guide you. I’m not going to scream. I don’t even know how to answer it because I’m not aware of the facial expressions that I am or am not making. I feel like I’m making them. And apparently I’m not. I knew that I had a chill-ass vibe, but honestly, at some point watching back my self-tape unlocked a bit of an insecurity. I was like, “What is it like hanging out with me? Do I do or say anything? Or am I just this entity that’s sitting next to you?”
I can imagine that any self-tape would kind of bring that.
Yeah, a lot of it is really interesting for me to see people’s interpretations of why they think I’m not making facial expressions. A lot of people are like, “Wow, this is so sad that women feel like they have to get this much Botox and can’t even make facial expressions anymore,” or, “This is why it’s important not to get too much Botox.” And I’m like, I’ve never had Botox. I’m just keeping my face still?
I think people might see you as the embodiment of LA culture, so then I guess the conclusion is very easy to make.
Yeah. For the most part, you’re right. I feel like I am a caricature of an LA girl sometimes. People have been coming up to me when I’m out. I was at a party in New York this weekend, and this guy was like, “You’re from those facial expression videos. I sent them to my girlfriend because she always tells me that people at her office think she’s not super expressive with her face. I sent your vids to her and I was like, ‘Babe, but at least it’s not this bad.'” And I’m like, “Thank you?” And then he asked me to take a picture with him. I was like, sure. Yeah.
What’s your personal “I need to log off” moment? For me, it’s when my feed turns into anxiety porn where they tell things in a way that’s going to make you feel as bad as you possibly can—one disturbing story after another—and I’m like, “Why am I on my phone right now?”
Yeah, I have it with those spelunking videos, where people get stuck in caves and/or drown. Where was my mind that my algorithm is feeding me this? Are you someone that’s trying to, like, that goes through phases of like, I need to be offline?
I’m naturally not super online. I work on my phone, but when I’m around people, I’m not on it. I go to the library, take walks, and spend time with my dog without even listening to music. I spend a lot of time offline, and I’m most inspired during those moments, so I don’t really have to force it.
Do you miss any old internet culture? Or are you just really happy with how the internet is right now?
Definitely not the latter. I’m not particularly nostalgic for old internet culture because my mom monitored my internet use, so I was not on things like Myspace and Tumblr. But I do miss early Instagram, when it felt much more casual, when it was like: we posted a Man Crush Monday, we posted a Selfie Sunday. I think people are starting to crave that again through Finstas and shitposting, especially in LA. I don’t have a Finsta or Close Friends, though—if I want to share something, I just share it with everyone.
Yeah, I think people miss when Instagram was actually social media—just sharing with friends. Finsta’s are like a small group-chat-like space with the people you care about.
It’s less about performance and more about sharing and keeping up with each other, even when it’s ugly.
What’s something that’s been exciting you lately?
I’ve recently had my phone cases go viral. For it to be this product is really funny to me.
What do you think is the best way to style the case?
The best way in a mirror selfie, like wearing whatever you’re wearing, but I also think if I were giving people a note on how to use it, I would not hold it like with your hands on the outside; I would stick your fingers in the fringe and get messy a little bit and hold it like that.
That’s a good point. Yeah. Otherwise, the bohemian is a little bit off.
Yeah, like it just gets flat.
What do you think made it go viral?
It’s a bit absurd and unnecessary, which a lot of OGBFF things are. I think people just see it and they’re like, “Oh, that’s ridiculous… but I kind of want it.” Also, the first video I posted of it was one of my honest, diary-style videos where I was like, “I made these awesome phone cases.” But I didn’t even look up what models of phone cases exist. So I ended up not making that many sizes, including the size of the phone that I had. The first batch of cases comes in, and I’m trying them all on, trying to put one on my phone, and I’m like, “Where’s the iPhone 17?” Of course I didn’t make those. I did not spend one minute researching. I’m like, “Is this how this brand is run??”
Killing it, as per usual.
