style in progress 1/2023 – CODES OF CONDUCT

CODES OF CONDUCT

The look is the code, and the creator behind it is, more often than not, the brand. The streetwear market has always played by its own rules, and these brands are instrumental in bringing a new, contemporary interpretation to the foreground. They convey values and sustainability, while offering more depth than a simple brand logo on a basic shirt might suggest at first glance.

Verborgen Studios

Verborgen Studios – FANBASE LONDON

Launched in 2017 by Jack Fernandes as a modest jersey line, British brand Verborgen has steadily evolved and expanded its designs. Although the epicentre remains London, the label is now deeply entwined with the US rap scene and counts rapper Chris Brown (pictured left of Jack Fernandes) among its fans. www. verborgenstudios.co.uk

Young Saint

Young Saint – BERLIN STREETWEAR

This brand, founded by Justin Minow and Tim Borkenhagen in Berlin, also dates back to the streetwear boom year of 2019. Young Saint offers two lines, namely Cozyline and Techline, and embodies bigcity flair, sporty casualness, and functional designs. www.youngsaint.de

1C1Y

1C1Y – SOCIAL FASHION

Inspired by the skate heritage of the 1990s, 1C1Y launched its first collection in autumn 2022. 1 Child 1 Year is a German fair-trade label that sustainably manufactures a small range of items in Europe under the ownership of non-profit organisation Arthelps. 60 Euros per item sold support a child in one of their worldwide facilities for one year. www.1C1Y.de

A Cold Wall

A Cold Wall – ART COLLECTIVE

The driving force behind the brand is British artist, fashion guru, and product designer Samuel Ross, who sees his fashion as a material study of social architecture. Through high-profile collaborations with the likes of Off-White, Nike, Barney’s, and, most recently, British artist Pa Salieu (see picture), A Cold Wall proves just how dynamic the fusion of art, music, fashion, and street culture can be. www.a-cold-wall.com

Alife & Kickin

Alife & Kickin – CONSCIOUSNESS PIONEERS

Vegan, eco-friendly, fairly produced streetwear made of recycled materials, synthetic down, Lyocell, and Tyvek is the trademark of Alife & Kickin. The label was created by Mila and Nico Jakob, who recently published their first conscious fashion book on sustainable, fairly produced fashion in November 2022. www.alifeandkickin.com

Filling Pieces x Daily Paper

Filling Pieces x Daily Paper – A DECADE ON

Filling Pieces and Daily Paper, two pioneering streetwear brands from Amsterdam, are currently celebrating the relaunch of their collaboration with another capsule collection. The first was launched in 2013, and now the second follows almost a decade later: a tribute to Congolese dandyism. www.fillingpieces.com

Kith for Columbia

Kith for Columbia – STYLE ICON WITH HERITAGE

New York retail icon Kith launched its sixth limited edition with Columbia Sportswear in 2022. As always, the core of the collaboration combines Columbia’s high-tech performance innovations with the hip streetwear styles that Kith is so famous for. www.columbiasportswear.com, www.kith.com

Iuter

Iuter – CREW FOR CREW

They celebrated their 20th anniversary last year, yet they remain as relevant as ever. The Milanese Iuter crew launched their eponymous brand in 2002 and, inspired by the switch from the Italian Lira to the Euro, followed up with the Euroiuter sub-brand featuring corresponding design references. Since then, they have steadily developed into a creative clan that enjoys a strong following to this day. www.iuter.com

Daily Paper

Daily Paper – BORN IN AMSTERDAM

Initially launched by Abderrahmane Trabsini, Jefferson Osei, and Hussein Suleiman – a trio with African roots –as a music, art, and street culture blog, Daily Paper was soon developed into a fashion brand. Collaboration partners include the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, Off-White, Alpha Industries, and Puma. The label currently runs three stores in Amsterdam, London, and New York. www.dailypaperclothing.com

Jordan Brand x Maison Château Rouge

Jordan Brand x Maison Château Rouge – HOMAGE TO HUMANITY

In collaboration with Parisian streetwear brand Maison Château Rouge, Jordan Brand launched a capsule dedicated to African cultural influences in the 18th arrondissement of Paris in 2022. As an independent platform, Maison Château Rouge is not only one of the hottest streetwear brands but also part of a social project called “Les Oiseaux Migrateurs”, which addresses the concerns of minorities. www.maisonchateaurouge.com

LiveFastDieYoung

LiveFastDieYoung – DÜSSELDORF STREETWEAR

The rules of the fashion industry were made for others, is the motto of the Düsseldorf streetwear brand and its founders Lorenz Amend and Patrick van den Heuvel, who initially started out with self-printed t-shirts. Today, they maintain their own stores in Munich, Berlin, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Amsterdam, and, most recently, Hamburg to offer their customers a physical touchpoint. www.livefastdieyoung.com

Rag & Bone

Rag & Bone – CASUALWEAR OF NEW YORK

Marcus Wainwright has consistently developed his brand of urban New York flair into a premium label that now also features ready-to-wear lines of athletic looks and streetwear. Rag & Bone is particularly famous for its high-profile collaborations with the likes of Eminem, Jordan Brand, and Casio. www.rag-bone.com

A3B – The All-Encompassing Black

A3B – The All-Encompassing Black – FULL COMMUNITY TRANSPARENCY

A3B really took off during the pandemic. Their two drops entitled Global Shutdown and Panic Room sold out within ten minutes. “Our ambition is for each collection to outshine the previous one,” says Jan Naber, who founded the brand in Wolfsburg alongside Jacques Inglisa. Their products reflect the zeitgeist. The designs often revolve around the logo, using contemporary cuts and carefully selected materials. As lateral entrants, they have always been particularly passionate about new design methods, innovative collection concepts, and unusual production techniques. “Our clothes are characterised by the attitude one radiates whilst wearing them. They are as polarising as the aura a pilot exudes at an airport,” Jacques Inglisa argues. Yet their community is always invited along on the journey. From collection development to photo shoots, all processes are fully transparent and accessible via TikTok and Instagram. “TikTok has had an immense impact on our growth trajectory. One of our formats is packing videos. If the customer in question consents, we film the packing of their order and the personal delivery to publish it on TikTok.” With at least four drops a year, the brand has, since last autumn, also made its debut at retailers such as Peek & Cloppenburg and Ansons, as well as other department stores. www.thea3b.com

WHYAT

WHYAT – ARISEN FROM THE STORE

Austrian streetwear brand Whyat evolved as the in-house brand of the eponymous store in Vienna. The initial motivation of brothers Philipp and Bernhard Ledl was to leave a lasting mark on Vienna’s streetwear scene by introducing new, innovative brands. Today, their own collection is worn by international superstars such as Chris Brown, G Eazy, and Antoine Griezmann. The collection now features in stores such as BSTN, Breuninger, and Modehaus Schnitzler. www.whyat.com

South2 West8 x Reebok

South2 West8 x Reebok – INSPIRED BY FLY FISHING

Partnerships and capsule collections involving community icons are like language basics in streetwear. Everyone needs them to communicate, but not everyone can master them. Reebok is among the most established sneaker brands that reinvents itself repeatedly through such means. The current collaboration involves Japanese outdoor brand South2 West8, which is dedicated to traditional fly fishing. www.reebok.com

Octopus

Octopus – THE POWER OF PERSEVERANCE

Oversized tentacles are the trademark of Italian high street collection Octopus, which adopted its stylistic devices from VNGRD and carried them out into the world. After a major relaunch, the brand debuted its collection in a large-scale guerrilla out-of-home advertising campaign across Italy in 2022. Its potential lies in its network, which facilitates collaborations with renowned artists, rappers, street artists, and stores such as Slam Jam Store and One Block Down in Milan. www.octopusbrand.com

Diadora

Diadora – INNOVATION DRIVEN BY HERITAGE

Diadora CEO Enrico Moretti Polegato has two inexhaustible sources he can rely on for differentiation within the sneaker market, and to which he attributes the robust growth his brand is experiencing in North America: the unquestionable expertise as a sports shoe manufacturer with almost 75 years of experience, and the Italian DNA that blends sporting performance with authentic design. The Heritage collection, which is based on bold reinterpretations of iconic models from the company’s own archives, successfully addresses premium retailers. One of the management’s main priorities is to continuously improve production. To this end, Diadora acquired a disused factory in Caerano di San Marco in northern Italy, in order to launch its own in-house production and keep the supply chain as short as possible. www.diadora.com

Preach

Preach – WHAT IS REALITY WITHOUT A FUTURE?

The unisex collection featuring striking slogans and graphics is underpinned by high standards in terms of sustainability, fairness, and responsibility towards everyone in the community. Managing Director Julian Lutz, incidentally also the founder, does not put himself in the spotlight, but rather the whole community of Preach, which is characterised by inclusion and cosmopolitanism. Preach launched in Düsseldorf in 2019 with a balanced manufacturing philosophy and collections produced exclusively in Europe in a sustainable manner. “The idea is to give those who need it that little push, that creative touch in everything that life throws at you,” is how Lutz describes the message behind Preach. www.preach.shop