The fashion world acknowledges the fact that streetwear dates back to the rise of punk in the 70s. The streets have always been a form of inspiration to world famous designers for as long as anyone can remember. Street wear ideas were gotten from young, creative and insightful minds who were already showcasing this style on the streets, even before being recognized by Vogue or seen on the runway, street wear has always been common amongst people.
The block party subculture commonly known amongst the black community, is known to be where street wears are showcased at its peak. Although, it has not been stated when or where streetwear originated from, it has surely evolved from what is used to be with the in-depth understanding the creators of this work had of it. The only way we can fully understand where street style would be in the future, is if we are fully rooted in its culture both past and present.
The one question on people’s minds about street wear, is how this phenomenal fashion sense got to this level of significance in the fashion world, and how a small movement that had only skateboarders and surfers as its followers gained so much attention and influence in the fashion industry.
It is known that the only thing that is constant to humans is change, but the level at which the street wear movement evolved drastically, and became one of the most influential styles in fashion is one we are still shocked at. More individuals have grown to create their own path in this style and ditched following trends. The first look at street style design, started with surfboarder Shawn Stussy, who decided to take prints on the surfboards he made and put them on T- shirts.
These iconic logos made a lot of waves after they were seen on him. Now, he is being referred to as the father of street wear as his brilliant idea has further given rise to other streetwear lovers, and has also paved the way for new generation streetwear brands like Off White, Gap, Yeezy and others. The concept behind street wears were basically an act of sharing values and creativity amongst people.
Different eras came with their unique and different styles in street wear. In recent times, the world of street wear has been centered around sweatshirts, denims, combats and hoodies which has shown to not only be comfortable but fashionable too. In the past, these sets of clothes weren’t the best options because they were considered dress down clothes and not appropriate for certain gatherings.
Currently, top designers that followed in the path of their predecessors like Virgil Abloh the creative director of Off White, Jerry Lorenzo of Fear of God, Rebecca Bay of Gap have all contributed to the creation of luxurious streetwear, and have also elevated their quality and price. Due to this fact, the street style fashion headed towards a new path, and also increased the customer base.
The increase in customer base is due to the fact that people just prefer to be very comfortable for trips, lounging and just staying home in their sweat shirts and sneakers. We’ve always said fashion evolves with each era, even though we can’t totally predict the future but we can certainly make some strategic predictions.
With each passing day, we discover new ways to always feel free and comfy with our clothes, and that’s why streetwear will thrive even long after we’re gone. The cozy feeling gotten from these clothes will probably be inculcated into outfits for special occasions and even work wear.
The world of genderless based clothes has definitely found it’s way to street wears and the masses have embrace this style with open arms and more designers have made provisions to support genderless based street wears. Fusion of clothes with idealistic stitches with artistic representations are foreseen in the future for street wears.