Streetwear is a force unlike any other, and I saw its influence firsthand. It was a sweltering day in summer 2019, when I was taking a stroll down Bowery around noon, on my way to get dim-sum and drunken chicken in Chinatown. The air was moist and the sun so bright that I contemplated hopping in a taxi for what is normally a 10-minute walk. I decided to suffer through it, thinking how I could spend the extra cash on pork buns instead. While walking just a little faster, in the hopes of getting into a climate controlled environment much quicker, I saw a line so far-reaching that my jaw dropped. A massive crowd was on queue from the entrance at the Germania Bank Building to Spring Street and around Elizabeth Street. The literal hotspot was the new location of Supreme, and the occasion was a drop of its latest brand collaboration.
The last time I had witnessed such fervor over fashion was a year prior on a very chilly winter morning on Lafayette Street, Supreme’s old haunt. Both times, the crowd was eager, but seemingly cool-headed as they steadily made their way toward the entrance. Kith and Bape stores experience similar turnouts. For all these patient peeps, what is being offered is worth braving the elements. These are the Supreme collectors; the Aimé Leon Dore diehards; the devotees of Stüssy, new and old; or all of the above. The smiles on their faces and pep in their step as they walk out with bags and bags of merch, even as they’re sweating buckets, is telling of the trust they have placed on these labels.
Streetwear is an industry term that was used to describe clothes that were non-designer and worn everyday on the, you guessed it, streets. It largely centered around skateboarding culture, particularly in California, and urban environments across the U.S. The silhouettes were long and loose, and the styles largely consisted of affordable graphic tees, hoodies, bucket hats, caps, sneakers, and certain types of denim. Think workwear, but more fun. Basically, they were things that dudes just wanted to wear all day.
The genius in streetwear, however, is how collections and particularly covetable grails were released. The quantities produced were so limited, thus instigating demand and, as a result, hype around all their drops. Wearing an item showed others in the know that you won; you were able to get your hands on something elusive that many of your peers also coveted. It’s a practice that has made a brand like Supreme a billion-dollar company.
Today, streetwear could be made by a luxury conglomerate. (Hell, Supreme has become a luxury conglomerate.) It has come to characterize a vibe and look, regardless of price. To wit: Streetwear tailoring and leather goods are now a thing. And it’s also not just contained in the U.S.; there are brands in Japan and Eastern Europe that also attract equal fanfare and hold the same kind of respect. Before going further, it bears repeating: Streetwear is a force unlike any other. And no matter how many times critics have sounded the death knell, the style, as with those lines down Spring Street, has grown every year. Below, are all the major players to know now and forever.
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Source : Esquire
