I know this toot is about not using JS to achieve the given design. I 100% agree that you should not use JS if you need to build this sort of design.
That said, I really do not like form elements that masquarade as other things and do not know what problem is supposed to be solved.
You can achieve a still clean design by allowing the elements to look like form elements:
(this is https://brutalist-web.design)
https://play.tailwindcss.com/22pi4G8eSn
https://ruby.social/@fractaledmind/112659687578142561