Bluntly, Streetwear as we know it is dying. The nostalgia we have for XXXL t-shirts and baggy jeans is fading in a rapid way. This has paved way for a new form of Urban clothing, a phenomenally successful and growing style.
But, before I begin my rant on the decline of my favourite era of fashion, I feel I must detail what I mean by streetwear. ‘Defining streetwear is like fencing in a mirage’ - Bobby Hundreds in his book ‘This is not a T-Shirt'. Streetwear to me is a highly emotive form of dressing, the idea of clothing having an attitude, an intention to disrupt, to be noticed.
I’m aware being born in 2003 puts me at a severe disadvantage of understanding what streetwear is and was in its prime of the 1990’s and 2000's. However, even I can see the change inflicted on the market and style by the high fashion and big-name brands such as Nike & Adidas and high-fashion brands developing their own interpretation of what streetwear is.
'The core streetwear consumers are millennial and Gen Z shoppers, but the consumer base is maturing’ - Laura Leeb, director with PwC Strategy& Austria and author of the company’s Streetwear: The New Exclusivity report. Streetwear has evolved from being marketed by small start-up businesses like The Hundreds to being a massive part of high fashion brands' range of clothing. From Balenciaga to Burberry, high fashion brands are changing the streetwear market as we know it, streetwear is no longer reserved for the Skaters or edgy kids at school, plenty of high-income consumers are adapting to the change and streetwear is now seen more than ever as the pinnacle of modern fashion.
Streetwear began as an underground and hipster movement, rooted heavily in diversity and different cultures. Taking major influence from the surf culture of the 1950’s and the skate culture of the 1970’s respectively, streetwear was seen as an expression of teenage rebellion and conflict against THE MAN. It gave many confused and lonely young adults a sense of community and belonging, an identity of which they could stand behind. For the first time in many people's lives, they felt heard, seen, noticed. This is the beauty of streetwear that I experienced in finding my passion for fashion (excuse the rhyme).
This is what, I feel, is being lost by these high-fashion brands entering the market. In my eyes, these clothes lack personality and show the business’ transparency. Their intentions are clear, to make a quick buck off the trend, to remain relevant, to ensure self-preservation.
In hindsight, maybe I take issue with the entirety of fast fashion and brands deserting trends just as quickly as they had found them and high fashion brands entering the streetwear market as just the perfect example to express my greater frustration with the situation.
Overall, streetwear is a fine example of the nature of fashion, the coming and going of trends and the power of identity which can be found in clothes alone. We will have to wait and see what streetwear holds for the world of fashion next.
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