Streetwear

Streetwear first originated and evolved from bustling 90s New York, the surf-skate culture of Los Angeles and California, as well as the thriving nightlife of Japan. So what is streetwear and how did it become one of the most expensive styles of casual clothing?

Streetwear got big because it let people express themselves in their own unique way. It also allows people to dress fashionably but casually. Some say that streetwear could’ve first originated from the rise of punk in the 1970s but many others, and the most likely answer, believe that it was due to the ever increasing block parties hence the name streetwear. These were usually big outdoor events with DJs being at the heart of the parties which was very popular within the hiphop community. The fashion-concious began to hop into the hip-hop style consisting of shirts, jeans and other graphic/branded items of clothing.

However, it wasn’t until a small surfboard company in the 1980s really boosted the streetwear style to where it is today. The company, Stüssy, began printing t-shirts with their logo in with hit open brands

Los Angeles where the creator of the company, Shawn Stüssy, took his brand and hit the road, wanting to take his style to many respected stores. Jumping forward to the present day, Stüssy is still one of the most popular streetwear brands in the world with the company being worth around £20M.

Supreme was also another big brand that heavily influenced streetwear., which was first founded by James Jebbia in New York in 1994. Originally from England, Jebbia moved to New York when he turned 18. He got a job which he soon left to open Store Union. This would be around the same time that Stüssy would start appearing in shops and stores around the United States, which was where Union helped the brand pick up in popularity. As Jebbia liked the skate community, he decided to open up his own skate shop with very minimalistic decorations, very similar to the Supreme logo design which is, again, one of the most popular streetwear brands to date. These shops had very little stock which was the reason it was so popular and is now very expensive. These limited drops had customers flooding into stores to get their hands on these limited items. In very few cases, releases have been stopped by the police because of the sheer amount of people in one public location.

Streetwear shouldn’t be looked at as a trend though and rather as a movement created by those who had their own idea on what fashion meant for them. The graphic t-shirts, loose fitted jeans and sneakers were all created for the sole purpose for the target audience at the time: the rapper, the skater and the rebel. Even today, those three groups are still the biggest consumers of the clothing style. Streetwear can be looked at as an experimental clothing genre that is always trying to come up with new designs and dipping back into older design ideas. But most importantly, it’s a genre that listens to their customers which is why it ranks as one of the most idolised styles of fashion to date.

Journalist: Oscar Cardno

Designer: Oscar Cardno

Photographer: Rebecca Walters