The Intention
In this book, I plan on looking at streetwear as a genre, analysing the history and looking at the positives/ negatives and how this can be used to transverse New Codes in to the Metaverse, or at the very least, how to adapt streetwear in to the digital space. Looking at what streetwear brands in particular are doing within this space and whether some brands could take the plunge or why they haven’t, like Yohji Yamamoto for example. Whilst doing this, I plan on looking at creating visuals to support the separate chapters, creating inspiration for the testing phases later in the project. As streetwear is an important subject for my work, I also have a love/ hate relationship with it, having some of the biggest names within the streetwear world like Jerry Lorenzo, Craig Green and Virgil Abloh inspire my individual and professional endeavours within the industry so far, I’m really interested to delve into why I have this connection and how I can maybe inspire others with this.
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Contents Page The Intention...............................................................................................................2 Contents Page..............................................................................................................3 What is Streetwear.....................................................................................................4-5 How Streetwear started and it’s Evolution................................................................6-9 The Innovators and Inspirations for Streetwear..........................................................10 Japanese Influence.................................................................................................11-13 Virgil Abloh...........................................................................................................14-17 Jerry Lorenzo........................................................................................................18-19 The Biggest Streetwear Brands Today.........................................................................20 Supreme......................................................................................................................21 New Balance...............................................................................................................22 Stussy..........................................................................................................................23 Palace Skateboards.....................................................................................................24 Off-White...................................................................................................................25 Bape..........................................................................................................................26 Nike...........................................................................................................................27 What is Conceptual Streetwear...................................................................................28 Craig Green................................................................................................................29 Yohji Yamamoto....................................................................................................30-31 New Codes Intention..............................................................................................32-33 References.............................................................................................................34-35
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What is Streetwear?
Streetwear is something that has been around for decades, although the controversy and discussion over where it started is still a sore point for some. It itself is something we all take part in, in some way or another, because what can really define streetwear more than what we wear on the street. Obviously over the years, tribes/ codes and trends have been and gone, with brands that have withstood this and brands that have not. I think the idea of streetwear is something that is fascinating and can be completely unique to the individual, but are we swaying away from this notion with this wave of uniformity? A definition taken from Hypebeast Streetwear Impact Report states this “Streetwear’s dictionary definition is simple enough: fashionable, casual clothes. But that definition underplays what has become a multibillion-dollar retail phenomenon, with roots in countercultures of the 1980s and 1990s, including graffiti, hip-hop, skate and surf.” (Menendez, 2019). So the inspiration comes from many cultural angles and I think depending on where you come from/ enjoy, than this changes how you interpret and consume streetwear as a whole. Consuming streetwear is as simple as going to retailers, independent shops and shopping online for the obvious items such as t-shirts, hoodies and something that has risen in popularity is household items, like a Stussy candles or a pair of Supreme chopsticks for example, as streetwear is more than just a wardrobe for your daily life, but a lifestyle you live. But the key for streetwear is keeping it cool, as cringeworthy as it is to say, the idea of streetwear being the cool thing to be in and get involved in is quite an old-fashioned way of looking at it, but major brands and companies still do, as the main consumer for streetwear brands tend to be the younger generations, so around 30 and under. So a typical streetwear consumer looks like a younger person, going out experiencing bigger cities, holidays, new careers and nowadays, posting it on social media like Instagram. According to an in-depth report by Strategy&, 60% of consumers surveyed were under 25 and around three quarters had a yearly income of less that $40,000. As I said before, according to statistics, the top source of their influence (84%) is social media and the other young, urban people that they follow (Leeb, 2019) But why is this? Generation Z currently makes up a lot of the streetwear consumer at the moment as they’re currently between the ages of 27 and 12, so the current and near future of streetwear will depend on their consumption.
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Gen Z was the first generation to take up a proper influence from technology as this was what most of them knew from an early age, so this cultural influence happened more so over social media than any other generation before them. A research from McKinsey had this to say about Gen Z’s “From earliest youth, they have been exposed to the internet, to social networks, and to mobile systems. That context has produced a hypercognitive generation very comfortable with collecting and cross-referencing many sources of information and with integrating virtual and offline experiences.” (Francis, 2018). This exposure is an accumulation of everything that we take inspiration from, such as music, influencers *eyeroll* and film/ tv shows/ anime for instance. We rep what we want to represent and this helps us identify where we sit in terms of our tribe or community within streetwear, this is all subject to change of course. For example, 4 years ago, I was buying every Yeezy 350 V2 under the sun, trying to be part of that Hypebeast resell market and secure the bag, but now, I would say I align myself with more sustainable and self sufficient brand values, like shopping at a higher quality point and consuming less and making the most of what I’ve got, layering/ styling a smaller collection of clothing that represents me more. So I’ve made that transition from wearing more mainstream and casual streetwear to wearing and curating more individual and creative styles. Which I think has been part growth as a person but also within the industry itself for me.
How Streetwear started and it’s evolution Streetwear has many origins according to multiple sources like I said, but I think the overall consensus is that it was inspired and started during the late 70’s, around the time we ventured in to early hip-hop and punk rock, as the first streetwear innovators like Shawn Stussy took from this do-it-yourself kind of attitude and applied it to his early surf inspired wear (RebelsMarket, 2021). This was something that many genres of music and fashion inspired, such as like I said, but another culture that took this approach was skate culture… In the early 80’s, we saw brands like DC, Vans and in the introduction of Thrasher magazine inspire a lot of looks and trends within the streetwear scene along with Stussy, mixing practical and trendy clothing that all the coolest skaters were wearing. Hence we have a uniform for people to follow and adapt, which is wear that traditional cool skater look comes from, we all know it, the baggy jeans, DC low tops and a graphic tee with a cap to cover up the long hair you’d be rocking. But the beauty of before technology was the finding and discovering of new trends and styles through different people and experiences, so you couldn’t just go on socials and see what everyone was wearing 5000 miles away in Japan, the US or Europe, and buy it online and get it delivered, you had to be in the know, or know a guy who’s know a guy who can hook you up with those brand new Air Force 1’s.
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This caused a more natural and organic growth that saw different countries and regions curate their own styles and trends within their own culture, for example, Bape, which started in the 90’s was a global brand and had a massive raise in popularity in Japan originally, because it was based off American hip-hop culture in the 90’s and this was something new and different to what other Japanese brands were doing at the time. This was called ‘Ura-Harajuku’ or ‘underground Harajuku’ which is, according to Highsnobiety “the underground scene going during the early ‘90s which was heavily informed by a mixture of various American clothing’s and styles.” (Foley, 2018). The American roots of streetwear were mainly through hip-hip culture and skate styles like we said, but workwear which is currently a big trend at the moment, was a massive part of the shaping of streetwear in the 80’s. According to sources of why this was “The rise of certain subcultures aided and helped this change. Suddenly, donkey jackets and overalls were worn by people who had nothing to do with manual labour but simply wanted to defy trends and refused to conform to them.” (ADC, n.d.). Trends like this, are why we see brands like Carhartt around today, which was a workwear brand designed to a streetwear enthusiast, creating a niche for their signature work jackets, knit hats and caps, which are still staples in a streetwear wardrobe in 2022 (Skid, 2020).
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An image taken from the Streetwear Impact Report (Menendez, 2019)
Hypebeast conducted an interview with streetwear godfather I think is fair to say, Hiroshi Fujiwara, the creator of Fragment design. I’ve highlighted this interview as I believe he has a unique perspective on history and origins of streetwear as he as part of this Ura-Harajuku movement in the 80’s/ 90’s and how he saw the space change and evolve over the coming decades. When asked about defining streetwear, he spoke about skate culture and how this is why we use the word ‘street’ as that’s where people skated and so, it was named streetwear. The overall vision of skate-wear was what caught Fujiwara’s eye as he understood the importance of this uniform as the movement started. But he states that this has shifted dramatically from skate and said:
“The current reality is different. It feels like a sneaker culture now; sneakers and hip-hop culture have become the street culture.” (Menendez, 2019)
This evolution has happened through multiple reasons and trends, such as a certain basketball player called Michael Jordan, you might’ve heard of him before, as well as luxury brands investing in streetwear through designer sneakers and t-shirts like Balenciaga and their Triple S’s. We’ve gone pretty far in to this without touching on Supreme but their impact has been monumental in terms of creating a streetwear lifestyle brand and how to complete the collaboration game and their narrative over the years is a good way to judge how the streetwear game has changed. For example, in the early 200’s we saw them collaborate with The North Face for the first time, whilst also working with luxury brands like Louis Vuitton and Gucci, creating renditions of the ever iconic Supreme box logo. At the same time also keeping to it’s hip-hop roots and working with Public Enemy in 2006 creating staple beanies and tee’s that both represented an anti-establishment approach and a political agenda which matched both parties at the time. 8
Going back briefly to Fujiwara’s statement about how we view streetwear now, in terms of an overriding sneaker culture, Nike have now entered the conversation and during the 80’s we start to see Air Force 1’s and Air Jordan start to take off, pardon the pun. We haven’t seen a sports icon have an influence quite like MJ, we’ve had Stan Smith, famed for the well, Stan Smiths and we’ve seen stars since like LeBron James and Kobe Bryant have sneaker lines. None of these names have equated to the influence that a Jordan sneaker has had, I think sneakers have become a focal point in everyone’s outfit, personal, I decide what shoes are going on my feet before anything else.
“It turns out that much like with the renewed hype for Michael Jordan himself, it’s not just about recognizing greatness; it’s about finding new ways to tell the stories that build the myth.” (Sayles, 2020)
Image of the Air Jordan 1 ‘Banned’ Ad campaign (Complex, 2020) The Jordan 1 for example, was first released in 1985 and one of the original colourways was a mixture of black and red, with a white midsole called the ‘bred’ colourway, creative right! But the origin story of this sneaker is what makes it special, so this sneaker colourway was made as a homage to the fact that due to basketball rules, your footwear had to be 51% white and due to this, this colourway was banned by the NBA in professional matches and thus becoming the Jordan 1 ‘banned’ which was an unreal marketing ploy by Nike, because in them days as we know, everyone wanted to be more like Mike. Overall, the creation of streetwear was a cumulation of cultures, designers, sports and more to create a unique but uniform world that lets people ‘fit in’ with like minded individuals whilst also wearing what you want. The space is ever-changing and I think will continue to adapt and change more and more with the metaverse especially. But we’ll get on to that in a bit… 9
The
Innovators and
Inspirations for
Streetwear 10
Japanese Influence Streetwear is something that has seen many phases and trends come and go, but who are the real innovators of it and who made it what it is today? A lot streetwear is inspired by people and faces, oppose to just general trends and I’ve picked out a couple of people that I think have been crucial in the forming and growth of streetwear in the past 40 years. We’ve spoken about Fujiwara before, but I think he needs mentioning again, but I’m also adding Nigo and Jun Takahashi to this section as they had an influence that intertwined a lot through brands like Undercover, Fragment and Bape, but also through the Ura-Harajuku movement that I’ve mentioned before. These three designers were the sort of leaders from the late 80’s in to the 90’s of Japanese streetwear, using the American model of mixing fashion, music and film cultures altogether to create a new movement, for example, Nigo based his Bape logo on the 1960’s American ‘Planet of the Apes’ film. They all met through Bunka Fashion college, and this is where their influence began in terms of working together on a plethora of projects and brands, building up what was to be the core of Japanese streetwear for the coming years. With the help of Fujiwara, who had mentored and supported Nigo and Takahashi, they opened up Nowhere in 1993, a boutique in the heart of Harajuku that was the birth place of Bape and Takahashi’s UNDERCOVER. These brands were built off rarity and the idea that the production never matched the demand, going along the idea that just because you want it, doesn’t mean you should have it.
This image was taken from Verdy’s instagram, with in order of left to right, Jun Takahashi, Verdy and Nigo. Debuting a collection inspired by Fujiwara.
Nigo and Fujiwara are both musicians as well as influences within fashion, Nigo especially has had a career in music that has expanded his horizons and views in to American culture. His relationship with Pharrell Williams is something that has helped BAPE grow as a worldwide brand, this also lead to the creation of BAPE records and Billionaire Boys Club between the pair. BBC themselves quoted this on their relationship:
“It was the start of a relationship that has taken them to collaborate in music and fashion, to create Billionaire Boys Club and form alliances with Louis Vuitton, Uniqlo, Adidas and the trajectory of his life.” (BBC, 2021)
Nigo was also part of the ‘Teriyaki Boyz’ and their music was quite expansive in terms of the impact they have, Teriyaki Boyz themselves will produce songs for the Need for Speed: Tokyo Drift soundtrack the following year as well as a single in collaboration with Kanye West.” (Abazia, 2021). I think something we’ve seen throughout the course of streetwear especially, is designers and brands crossing over with music and vice versa. This goes back to the origins of streetwear and how it started in America. This relationship is something that will always been present in some way I think.
Pharrell Williams and Nigo in front of their brand, Billionaire Boys Club, (Turner, 2017) 12
This is a collection of Jun Takahashi’s work ranging from his own collections with UNDERCOVER and collaborations with Nike.
“Takahashi has become renowned for his unique sense of street fashion and his use of weird and wonderful references, ranging from flower bouquets, Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange¸ taxidermy and Japanese Manga art.” (Jun Takahashi , 2022)
Takahashi is known as a bit of a godfather of streetwear, but he approaches streetwear a bit differently than most designers and has a different angle, similar to that of Rei Kawakubo at Comme Des Garcons, with a dark and black approach to their work. Some of Takahashi’s work contains skulls, beetles and moths. Which traditionally when we think of streetwear, we don’t go to these topics and ideas first, but this is Takahashi’s niche or individualistic angle that makes him stand out. Takahashi’s work has described as having meticulous attention to detail, an artisan approach to affection for art and music, quoting this as joining the dots between mainstream and underground culture (Jama, 2019). Creating something within a higher level of streetwear like luxury or conceptual, a deeper narrative or storyline is the cause and spine of the project, these narratives tend to lean in to other industries, like we’ve seen, such as music and film. When you see runways and collections from the likes of Undercover or OffWhite, there’s always a deeper meaning behind their designs, settings and overall visuals. 13
Virgil Abloh Virgil Abloh in an interview with GQ, talking about the influence of skateboarding on his career (Leitch, 2021)
One of the biggest names in fashion, let alone streetwear for the past 10 years has been Virgil Abloh, whether it be with Off-White or Louis Vuitton, it would be criminal not to give him a mention in terms of his accomplishments within the streetwear scene. With the passing of Abloh in late 2021, the fashion industry reflected on all of his achievements throughout his career, but in this section we’ll mainly look at his time at Off-White as I believe his influence was strongest in terms of his personal narrative on the scene. Abloh originally studied architecture at the Illinois Institute of Technology, before then getting an internship at Fendi with a certain Kanye West, not a bad name drop to be fair, during this time, they worked closely with each other and Abloh becomes the creative director for Kanye’s creative agency, Donda. Through this, Abloh gains a platform and creates the grammy-winning artwork for Kanye and Jay-Z’s ‘Watch the Throne’ album. This has given Abloh enough momentum to create and launch Pyrex Vision in 2012, a brand based on printing on Ralph Lauren Polo’s with Pyrex, 23 on and reselling for $550 apiece. This only lasted a year, before he linked up with ‘New Guards Group’ to create a menswear label called Off-White. After the first year, Abloh started the womenswear as well, taking part in Paris Fashion week with both collections in 2014, the brand took off pretty much immediately and he owned this elite period of streetwear where Off-White was the brand to be wearing, with the iconic OW belt or the OW paint splatter hoodie, these items were some of the most popular and most sought after pieces in the whole streetwear market. Carrying on into 2017, Abloh wins the British Fashion award for Urban luxe brand, then in 2018, Abloh himself is named the artistic director for Louis Vuitton, replacing Kim Jones, his former mentor. (OFF-WHITE C/O VIRGIL ABLOH, 2019). 14
So we have a timeline in terms of up until his appointment, but what was his impact whilst at Off-White on streetwear and the industry and why was this something to be highlighted? Something we’ll look at a little later is what a hypebeast is, but for now, all you need to know is that hype beast’s loved Off-White in the 2010’s and still today, but no one clothing brand specifically had an impact like OW. Yeezy had a firm grip on the sneaker game, but when it came to what to wear on top, it was Off-White, whether it be a classic Arrows tee, or one of OW’s signature art hoodies that quickly became part of the core uniform for a streetwear savvy individual. We also have to mention, in my personal opinion, one of, if not the biggest collaboration within streetwear ever. The Off White Nike ‘The Ten’ collection, containing 10 iconic Nike silhouettes that have been modified and re-crafted by Abloh, some of these models were the coveted Air Jordan 1, a Nike Blazer high and even a Chuck Taylor Converse as Nike own Converse as well. The impact this had was massive because it changed the way we consumed sneakers and how we looked at the resell market in general, some of these sneakers in certain sizes now sell for $5000 and upwards on reselling platforms such as StockX and GOAT. With this collaboration, we saw a bridge between the luxury and high street fashion market levels, bringing Nike consumers up market and providing a platform for Off-White to become the next step for people interested in streetwear. Another example of this happening would’ve been with Gucci collaborating with The North Face in 2021, and how this gave North Face consumers a luxury brand to consume and build a relationship with if you will. Luxury brand often do this when their attention shifts from one generation to another, in Off-Whites case, this was millennials to Gen Z’s, even thought we (a gen Z) didn’t have the disposable income to invest in these, the Nike Off-White sneakers became a bit of a grail or goal to work towards for a lot of people. Abloh signing an Off-White x Jordan 1 Chicago, taken from SneakerFreaker
“It’s my goal that those kids sitting at a line at Supreme or know about Staples first time they released a Dunk know that there’s an opportunity within Nike, this big coporation, to insert their ideas… This generation that’s taught themselves how to screen-print t-shirts or skateboard and turn that into a huge industry or make our niche culture relevant, there’s windows within Nike – or any corporation – to insert young ideas, and that’s the premise of my work.” Virgil talking at ‘The Ten’ launch event in New York city (Verry, 2017)
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Jerry Lorenzo Someone with I think more of a subtle impact on streetwear, at the higher market levels specifically would be Jerry Lorenzo and Fear Of God, with Essentials really taking off in the past couple of years. Something that has taken the world by storm is the earthy tone aesthetic that we see the likes of Yeezy and Fear of God take inspiration from, this palette of brown, grey, tan and white etc. This has not only been a trend within fashion, but interior design as well, and this something that Fear Of God have become known for, creating that earthy but modern luxury streetwear brand that oozes casual sophistication. Jerry Lorenzo started his own brand after years of representing and marketing in the American sports scene, after gaining experience and crediting this as crucial for in teaching him how “important branding and creating desirability around an experience/product is.” (Everything you need to know about Jerry Lorenzo and Fear of God, 2021). This was something that he carries as one of his brand values and you can visibly see this with the way FoG release their collections, never rushing and always of the highest quality. FoG is built off creating styling pieces that Lorenzo hadn’t previously scene or garments that he thought lacked and need innovation or elevation in his case.
“Gender doesn’t constrict his designs, he instead focuses on unisex shapes to be worn by everyone. Fear of God has also collaborated with myriad brands such as Converse, Nike, Adidas, and, recently, luxury menswear brand Zegna.” (Everything you need to know about Jerry Lorenzo and Fear of God, 2021) Images showing Fear of God’s multipe collections such as the Seventh Collection, (Poole, 2020)
Image showing FoG essential collection with Mr Porter (Cambe, 2022)
Fear of God then released a diffusion brand called Essentials, a bridge brand that sells loungewear and athleisure wear. This has become one of Lorenzo’s most popular outputs, as we entered 2020 and lockdown, stylish joggers, tracksuits and t-shirts became very much in demand and we saw a massive surge in popularity for this brand, as it still boasted those earthy tones and a touch of luxury that really played to Instagram influencers and mainstream celebrities alike. This quickly became part of the streetwear uniform over 2020, with the resell market well and truly taking off on these, making retailers like Selfridges, SSense and End Clothing sell out in a matter of minutes, if not seconds. The hype of the brand really drove the popularity of Essentials, the brand was questioned as some felt it a bit, basic shall we say, for the price point. But really the brand focuses on quality, wearability and comfort over hype or over-exaggerated branding, Christopher Morency, the editorial director of Highsnobiety, said this about the brand “The brand doesn’t have to hide behind empty hype, loud graphics or difficult silhouettes,” he says. “When stripped back to its bare essentials, quality and construction stand on their own.” (Toner, 2021). This backs up the idea of creating quality and longevity, this is where Fear of God’s quality really kicks in and people discover a new side to streetwear that maybe they’re not used to, called silent streetwear. This is the idea of using clean-cut silhouettes and a more minimalistic approach to creation, leaving out colourful graphics and intricate subcultural references. Essentials, have managed to create this, whilst still creating a clear image that people can associate with and want to get involved in. Like I said, we saw this rise in popularity due to lockdown and people wanting to be comfy whilst in lockdown and stuck at home, but why Essentials? An expensive and exclusive brand? Why not cheap and easily accessible alternatives? Essentials provided a good split of hype and exclusivity and also a more sustainable approach that gave the consumer a product with longevity and quality like we’ve mentioned. This has been a trend that activewear has been on for a while, with a steady rise in value in the industry. “In fact, the global activewear market is now expected to be worth nearly $547 billion by 2024, according to Allied Market Research.” (Ell, 2020), this supports the fact that we’ll see the younger generations wear activewear as a lifestyle choice and not just as workout gear. Essentials was a comfortable in-between for a lot of people and more and more brands will follow suit, in a higher quality and more sustainable way. 19
The biggest streetwear brands today
There are more streetwear brands than ever before, with social media giving more opportunity and platforms for selling than we’ve ever seen. Apps like Depop and 21 Buttons have inspired more and more people to take matters in to their own hands in terms of creating an independent business, with the likes of Instagram also now including Instagram shopping on their platform, this indicates that this trend is far from over and it isn’t disappearing anytime soon. But, this being said, we still have the powerhouses within streetwear that monopolise multiple sub genre’s within streetwear, take Nike for example, they sell everything that a streetwear fan would need, from rigid overshirts, to skateboard gear and obviously the latest hype sneakers. But apart from them, who are the biggest streetwear brands out there today? In this chapter we’ll be looking at some brands that have been at there or thereabouts for decades and we’ll also look at some that are on the rise or that have made a comeback in recent years. There’s a lot of factors to consider and look at, but the main factors will be:
Hype, as cringeworthy as it may sound, this has to be taken in to consideration but it isn’t
necessarily the most important part.
Creativity and uniqueness, this looks at the brands approach to marketing and how
they gained traction or stayed on top for time, we’ll look at what makes them different to other brands they could be compared to.
Transparency & accessibility, there’s different between exclusivity and being just stin-
gy. For example, Anti-Social Social club are a brand that a renowned for being terrible at delivering on releases and have either not delivered orders or taken 6 months to create and deliver a product, this in todays day and age isn’t acceptable and something that turns a lot of people away from a brand. Transparency goes hand in hand with this in terms of providing information/ customer care as well as sticking to a ethical or sustainable mission statement. This picture was taken from What The Spots, talking about the most popular shops in London, this is the Supreme store in Soho
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Supreme
Supreme New York, to give it it’s full title, is one of the OG’s if you like of streetwear. Founded in 1994 by James Jebbia, Supreme was the cool, cool place to go, Jebbia considers “more as a space.” (Sullivan, 2017). This gave it an aura that no other shop had in New York, a place that housed all of the cool stuff that cool, street savvy people were wearing, starting from mostly skateboarding apparel and branching off to more and more diverse items over the years such as the newly announced Supreme branded Airstream travel trailer.
Supreme is one of the most hyped brands of all time, with some of the most sought after items selling out hundreds of units in a matter of seconds through bots that have been created to access these products before anyone else. Some of Supremes’ biggest collaborators include Nike, creating some Supreme branded Air max’s and even getting their hands on the Air Jordan V, Comme Des Garcons have also worked with Supreme on creating a box logo that was very different to their usual ideas. Some more edgy collaborations have included Rimowa, a luggage manufacturer, but one of their most prestigious collaborations came in the form of the highest quality leather goods form Louis Vuitton. This collaboration was working towards a similar goal to the likes of Off-White and Nike etc, in that they elevated a consumer from high street/ diffusion level to a luxury level through a collaboration that introduced them to a new level of consuming. This collaboration really shook up the secondary market and has helped supreme propel their demand, whilst keeping their exclusivity This brings me on to how we consume Supreme and why I think this is a massive part of their USP, creating a demand and a need for their product whilst maintaining a ‘you can look but you can’t touch’ sort of ideology. Supreme usually drop their products on 4pm UK time on the Supreme website and their app. These drops contain a number of items from their seasonal collections, mixed in with their collaborative work as well. They also have physical stores in New York of course, London. Berlin and Tokyo to name a few.
New Balance
This is a brand that has history, but not necessarily in being a cool and trendy streetwear brand. Quoting an article talking about New Balance “Not only are they damn comfortable, but the simple style – or lack thereof – has been a staple of dads around the world since first busting onto the scene back in 1982.” (Holdraker, 2019). This sums up what a lot of people’s perception of NB is. But New Balance hasn’t necessarily changed completely, but rather expanded on what they do and create and who they work with. Something that New Balance has done is become a lifestyle brand, creating sneakers for the everyday run-around and sneakers that bring the likes of Balenciaga’s Triple S and Yeezy 700’s down to a digestible level.
“The brands first collaborated on the reliable New Balance 997, but the shoes themselves were almost upstaged by a memorable ad campaign. It featured New Balance’s trademark minimalist design adorning photos of an older New York native clad in a distinctly New York fit—wool topcoat, sweats, and a thick, worn-in scarf.” Taken from GQ, talking over the relationship between New Balance and Aime Leon Dore (Dean, 2021)
One of the reasons NB has risen in the past couple of years is the choice of collaborations and how these have changed the perception of their brand. Aime Leon Dore is an up and coming brand out of New York city, and have a luxurious and elegant design palette, with stores to match, NB and ALD began working together in 2019, releasing many different models and colourways of each. These collaborations had the physical quality and wearability of a NB sneaker, with the concept and presentation of Aime Leon Dore. This elevated NB and brought them in to this streetwear scene that holds collaborations and exclusivity at the next level. They’ve also collaborated with the likes of Bodega as well, this created unique colourways that held a narrative that gave them more of a depth to the collection of rare sneakers.
A pair of New Balance 550’s, one of their most popuular pairs since 2020 (Paz, 2021)
A picture of Stu surf collaboratio with Nike, featu the full ttracksu and fossil sneake taken from Stus website
ussy’s on uring uit ers, ssy’s
Stussy
We’ve briefly spoken about Shawn Stussy, one of the godfathers of streetwear I think would be an appropriate title and his endeavours have led to collaborations with Dior personally and an ongoing partnership with Nike that includes a range of apparel and accessories. Stussy was originally a surf wear brand, focusing on creating clothing and accessories for the scene in the late 80’s and 90’s. Stussy began making waves, literally, with printed t-shirts and shorts with Shawn’s last name graffitied on the back as a logo so to speak. This took off and he began to sell this apparel to boutique’s and stores around America, in places specifically like Los Angeles and New York, his work began to spread and grew to redefine what we perceive to be casualwear. What made Stussy stand out was the way they showed their fashion, as the lifestyle of Stussy was just as important as the clothing itself, working with artists and creatives from different backgrounds, Stussy has always given a broader and more culturally aware perspective on their fashion, showing originality and diversity throughout.
“This approach appealed to a worldwide network of creative youth who shared a common interest in surf-culture, skating and music. Limited distribution fuelled the desire internationally, and those who wanted the gear found it and felt a part of something bigger in the process.” Part of Stussy’s story, taken from their from and what the brand itself means
But why does Stussy rank amongst some world? One of the main aspects that people that it is one of those ‘if you know, you know’ seen wearing it, it’s highly appreciated by ics, part of a code that lets people know that doing. Very few brands have this alure, for to have this affect, then it became too specialness and uniqueness in that way, sold through their own channels and then around the globe, keeping this experi-
website talking about where they came (Stussy, 2022)
of the biggest brands in the appreciate about Stussy is brands that when you’re fellow streetwear fanatyou know what you’re example, Supreme used mainstream and lost its but Stussy is still only within certain retailers ence and exclusivity.
Palace Skateboards
One of the biggest British made streetwear brands today, is Palace Skateboards, a brand started in 2009 by Len Tanju and Gareth Skewis. This brand is London street culture summed up in garments and accessories for all occasions, similarly to Supreme, Palace offers a lot of clothing selections and a range of unique accessories from season to season, dropping once a week. I’ve spent many a time waiting on the Palace website for the clock to hit 11:00 to cop the latest Tri-ferg hoodie, only for it to sell out in under a minute. Exclusivity is the name of the game and Palace play it very well, as well as Stussy, this brand has the gravitas of being part of the streetwear underworld that only a few take part in.
“Terrace culture — named for the standing section of soccer stadiums, where fans (often working class) are most belligerent — is a big part of the look. And at the heart of any good look is necessity. Like how to maneuver style-centric London roads while doing your best sober impression, for example.” This is how Hypebeast described the culture of Palace to their predominantly American audience (Davis, 2020)
So we know Palace is an exclusive brand that offers high quality product, but the reason we hold it in high regard is, especially for me being a British streetwear consumer, how it represents us in terms of attitude and cultural points we hold in high regard, the personal experience on their website, the collaborations with Reebok, Stella Artois and Adidas have really added to building a brand that offers a bit of everything. But Palace themselves are known the most for, as I mentioned before, their Tri-Ferg design which can only be compared to Supreme’s box logo in terms of how it makes you associate the logo with Palace every time. 24
Off-White We’ve already mentioned Off-White when talking about Virgil Abloh and his endeavours within the world of streetwear, but Off-White themselves are still worth a mention and a section in this chapter. One of the biggest brands over the past 7/8 years has been Off-White, this is because of the way they changed how many brands view and create streetwear, paving the path and combination of luxury streetwear in terms of how higher end brands dedicate their collections and presentation to the streetwear sector, focusing on pieces likes sweatshirts- t-shirts and sneakers, dressing the snobs of streetwear, I mean this in the most polite way possible as I wear Off-White a lot too. Off-White has become a beacon of hypebeasts all around the world, from the arrows logos to the diagonal line hoodies we see everyone who’s anyone wear at some point since OW’s rise in 2014. But if we breakdown their designs and their commercial branding, they have their designs and also their quotation pieces, selling a pair of boots that has “FOR WALKING” written alongside of them. Not many brands would get away with doing this, but this trend became somewhat of a revelation amongst designers as we’ve seen collaborators like Nike take inspiration from this as well, making their own designs based off this. Off-White are inevitably one of the go to’s for curating a fashionable wardrobe and their success for this is described as “Currently, Off–White lies at the crux of an incredibly profitable trifecta: the growing market for luxury goods amongst younger consumers, the popularity of hip hop in the United States, and the demand for streetwear.” (Ganeshan, 2020). But something we assume is that it’s hard to get a hold of, as that is a trend amongst most popular streetwear brands, but it isn’t, I think what attracts people to OffWhite is the assumption and guarantee of quality in terms of design and product, they are the originators of their style so you’re wearing something that is authentic to itself.
Bape One for the Japanese streetwear connoisseur’s, Bape is a loud and very recognisable brand that was built upon this idea of exclusivity and high demand low stock ideals. Dating back to the early 1990’s, it has always operated under a luxury ideal that not everyone should have it, but everyone will want it. Born out of the streets of Harajuku and the brainchild of Nigo, a multi-faceted cultural icon, we’ve seen Bape expand in to the music industry as well, with Bape Records. But is Bape quite a controversial pick? It’s well know that it isn’t what it used to be, Nigo left in a shock announcement back in 2013, after starting Bape Records and secondary lines like AAPE and BAPY, focusing on lowering price points and targeting different consumers.
“Since Nigo sold 90 percent of his stake in 2011 and left, Bape’s collaborations have made less and less sense. Amazon, Angry Birds, and Minions were all head-scratchers. Several additional rappers have aligned with the brand, making the partnerships less precious.”
An article berating Bape since Nigo’s departure in 2013 (Servantes, 2020), but shows how personal the brand was to him in terms of he had to be there to make it work, which is part of the reason for the original success, his personal signature and work within the brand.
Bape will forever be synonymous with their coveted Shark hoodie and Bapesta sneakers, that well looked like Nike Air Force 1 knock off ’s (because they were). Like I’ve mentioned, Bape was built upon the basis of making low amounts of clothing and making sure the streets knew about it, using his knowledge of American hip-hop and culture, Nigo curated a brand that in Japan, was something completely new and unique that people hadn’t seen before. In the 90’s this access to other cultures was a lot harder than it is now, so having a brand that showed an acknowledgement of American culture was something that really boosted Bape’s place in the streetwear world. Bape was most of an Pacific brand, sharing between eastern Asia and America, hence why it’s probably not on everyone’s radar in Europe. I think something that halted it’s progress in the last decade was when Nigo left, the brand seemed to slow down in terms of opening new retailers, especially in Europe, the brand seemed to settle with where it’s at, in terms of accessibility, it is available in the UK and worldwide, but I think it got left behind in terms of where the likes of Balenciaga, Off-White and UNDERCOVER went. The reason we keep Bape in the conversation is the cultural importance and how this brand shaped Nigo’s career, during and after he left Bape.
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Nike
Even though Nike’s roots aren’t necessarily within streetwear, their impact on the streetwear world has been everlasting with sneaker silhouette’s and collaborative pieces that will go down as monumental in the fashion industry. Started as Blue Ribbon sports back in 1964 and renamed Nike Inc in 1978, Nike has a rich history in sportswear and has graced different sports all around the world, supporting and signing some of the biggest sports men and women, like Cristiano Ronaldo, Michael Jordan and Serena Williams. This has seen them work on sneakers and apparel for decades, reaching many different market levels and audiences. In terms of streetwear, Nike have worked with some of the biggest brands around, such as Off-White, UNDERCOVER, Stussy and Supreme, showing how they can turn their hand to pretty much any type of collaboration, be it footwear, apparel or accessories. Nike have many lines that have donned some of the coolest players in the game, the Air Force 1, which debuted in 1982, was the heat on the street and guess what, today it still is. Their iterations of the Nike Air Max, building on creating a perfect sneaker, balancing technology and style, this is one of Nike’s biggest USPs. Having access to technology is one thing, but having access to creating something advanced and new is another thing, putting money in to paving their way as forward thinking, outward facing innovators and constantly using this to challenge other big brands and companies to be better. Something that is important is accessibility, no good having a quality product if no one can wear it, but Nike are all about having great quality and sharing it round for everyone to take part in. Available at most high street retailers around the world, Nike are a brilliant base for a streetwear uniform, from all white sneakers, to quality essentials and casual sportswear, they have a selection that overshadows anyone else within the scene. Creating some special and sharing is what Nike do, and will continue to do because they have a loyal fanbase that know what they’re getting when they consume it and they know it’s going to be good.
“Believe that voice that says you can run a little faster, and you can throw a little harder. That for you, the laws of physic are only merely a suggestion.” One of Nike’s best slogans, referencing their running collection (Juma, 2021) 27
What is Conceptual Streetwear?
We’ve looked at the streetwear scene as a whole, but within streetwear, conceptual streetwear designers like Craig Green and Yohji Yamamoto, that aren’t necessarily mainstream in terms of a wider audience, but have made moves in terms of changing traditional streetwear and bubbling up mainstream fashion. This type of fashion tends to be a more creative and outlandish design, that influences lower market levels, from luxury to bridge and high street. Creating conceptual streetwear has always had an artistic narrative or deeper meaning to it, oppose to an outwards facing narrative, we see inspiration taken from many areas of life, like we’ll discover further in to this chapter. The purpose of this is to look at how we can transcribe this in to the metaverse, and re-write how we view conceptual streetwear and make it in to something that feasibly cannot exist in the real world.
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Craig Green
Streetwear has multiple market levels and the upper market levels are occupied by brands like Off-White and Supreme like we’ve looked at, but one of the major brands/ designers on the conceptual level is Craig Green, a British designer that came on to the scene in 2013 and has since won awards ranging from British Menswear designer of the year in 2017 & 2018, and the GQ Menswear fund prize in 2016. Green’s work has often been seen as art and has featured in installations in the Metropolitan Museum of Art China, (Davison, 2022). Craig Green is known for his abstract shapes, patterns and materials, creating new silhouettes from the traditional themes we’re used to seeing. Craig Green’s website quotes “Though known for their dramatic and deeply emotive qualities, his collections are firmly rooted in the steady development of simple, yet rigorously considered signature garments such as the Worker Jacket.” (About, 2022). This quote also goes along with the narrative of the workwear coming back into fashion in recent years, Green’s work has a trickle down effect on the industry with many brands taking inspiration from his unique style. Craig Green’s collaborations include an ongoing partnership with Adidas that is one of their premium collaborative works, with sneakers, accessories and apparel ranging from £50 to £300+ for these products. This collaboration has made Adidas silhouettes in to more conceptual shapes and creations, this in turn, has had an knock-on effect with Adidas themselves in to continuing this trend within their own lines and products. Throughout his career, Green has gathered inspiration from many topics and items including camping equipment, food packaging, religious uniform, the Afterlife and exercise machines. As someone who studied at Central Saint Martins, Green has always had a more conceptual approach to his work, after admitting he wasn’t necessarily set on being a fashion designer, but he thought he’d give it a go and under Louise Wilson’s guidance, here we are now… 29
Yohji Yamamoto
One of Japan’s best streetwear designers, and designers in general is Yohji Yamamoto, a graduate from Bunka Fashion college in Tokyo. Born in 1943, he graduated and curated Japanese fashion with the likes of Junya Watanabe and Rei Kawakubo, this became a golden age and a major turning point in terms of a culture clash between Japan and the rest of the world. In the early 1980’s Yamamoto took to Paris to partake in Paris fashion week and open his first shop. This was a huge step and part of that culture clash at Paris Fashion Week 1981, “The contingent of Japanese designers…have relinquished neither their favored colors, black and white, nor their unconventional shapes for fall…they have maintained their high level of innovation and creativity in textiles.” (Foley B. , 2010). This was referring to how the press in France reacted to their monochrome approach to fashion, focusing on silhouette and a more labour and working class narrative, calling the collection Terminal fashion, named after people waiting at Bus depots and bus stops. Since this, Yamamoto has gone on to influence fashion all over the world in his home country of Japan and in America also, stocking both his main lines Yohji Yamamoto and Y’s in high-end department stores by the time 2007 came around. This has won him many awards over the course of his career. His style is described as avant-garde and spiritual by many, using a multitude of interesting textures and styles to create his work, as quoted from an article talking about his career…
“Yamamoto’s loose, flowing silhouettes and ubiquitous use of black further enhanced his groundbreaking work, which became the favored look of the 1980s urban aesthetic.” A section of Fashion history talking about Yamamoto’s early career (Mears, n.d.)
Yamamoto has worked with a plethora of collaborators such as Adidas (Y-3), Hermes and Mikimoto, whilst also working with artists such as Tina Turner and Takeshi Kitano, these collaborations show the variation and flexibility of Yamamoto within his work, whilst from previous experience, his work with Adidas is very Yohji and definitely has trickled down and taken a lot of influence from his personal work.
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New Codes Intention 32
This book was an accumulation of information and research in to streetwear, and where I think streetwear as a whole stands as an industry, looking at mainstream streetwear and conceptual streetwear equally as these are both areas I want to delve deeper in to, in terms of looking at consumer how they consume and why they consume and how this might change from generation to generation. The intention for this information was to inform myself and underpin the streetwear world I will talk about throughout my project, looking at how we can use the trends and key points that travel throughout these successful brands and turn this in to something that can support my following work. These trends include looking at how brands have successfully navigated in to social media in recent years and can we use these methods for transcending in to the metaverse? For example, Palace have nailed a personal but high quality front on Instagram, with a mix of more informal and personal stories and replies, but still have everything a professional brand needs to have a presence on the platform.
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