A (Very) Brief History of Streetwear

Sep 20

The stars have aligned again to give us what we've all been waiting for: New York Fashion Week. Getting a peek of what's going to be trending will always be thrilling, but even more exciting than the shows themselves is seeing what everyone wears. Star-studded sidewalks create an unmatched buzz and we simply can't get enough. One trend that has stood the test of fashion week, as well as the concrete jungle runway, is streetwear. Streetwear is a trend that everyone seems to be dipping into, but where did it all begin?

At this point, everyone knows what street style is, but streetwear wasn't always at the forefront of the fashion industry. Today, most people might mash streetwear into some form of athleisure, but there is more to it than just that. With roots somewhere in the 1970s, between a mix of skate and hip-hop culture, the street style began as a Californian fashion subculture for only surfers and skateboarders wanting to wear comfortable clothing. Stüssy is credited with the evolution of the style after transitioning a surfboard logo onto t-shirts, while Supreme seems to be the major player in bringing the style into the limelight. It's also worth noting that fashion standards have lowered, in a way, making fashion more accessible and casual than ever before. For more information regarding the history of streetwear, check out this article.

Image Courtesy: Good Hood Store

Image Courtesy: High Snobiety

Hypebeasts have been milking the Supreme x Louis Vuitton collab for ages now, but Louis wasn't always considered a street-savvy brand. Major fashion houses seem to be weaving in bits of streetwear with their already iconic styles, in-turn creating chatter within the industry. Houses like Louis Vuitton and Balcengia have donned famous key streetwear players to help produce said styles. In 2015, Balcengia snatched a streetwear great in Demna Gvasalia. Gvasalia, who founded Vetements in 2014—a quote "design collective," has certainly twisted his street style eye into Balcengia's current branding (*cough* the ones that look like socks *cough*). In 2018, Louis Vuitton took in Virgil Abloh as Artistic Director of Men's Wear. Abloh, known previously for working closely with Kanye West but now popular in his own right, started his brand, Off-White, on a street style basis. Abloh has taken Louis's classic designs to the next level—from prism Keepalls to adding neon orange chains to anything, Abloh is keeping the fashion house relevant and at the forefront of trends. With high-end and affordable brands killing the streetwear game, there's a ton of ways for you to create your looks, check out Alasdair McLellan and Ronnie Fieg for some inspo!

After transcending its humble beginnings, streetwear is a force in the present day and future fashion (even if a $500 sweatshirt isn't your cup of tea, you still can't ignore the power of streetwear in modern fashion). We wonder what house will be next to take a streetwear giant in and incorporate the ever-changing style into their brand. Here is a look at some of our favorite looks from NYFW that involve streetwear now that we've had our little history lesson.