Beyond the Streets Streetwear’s Rise as a Cultural Powerhouse
Beginning in the late 20th century in cities like New York and Los Angeles, streetwear popped out of the places where skate, hip-hop, and punk occupied the same streets and built community. Every streetwear style is steeped in a “DIY” ethos, sights of graphic hope, and cadences of rebellion and risk-taking viewed as an alternative to the codes of traditional fashion. Their brand, Wellington’s Stüssy, and many others captured the youth lifestyle, an apparel that represented authenticity and individualism.
As streetwear began to establish its impact, it started to escape its conceptual homes. The continued expansion of streetwear was aided by the commercial value in understanding how subcultures communicate through clothing. As streetwear crossed the chasm of subculture and into mainstream fashion, many luxury brands began to develop their eye on streetwear enthusiasts. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, high fashion began to collaborate and collaborate with streetwear labels, blurring the lines – manipulating categories – between high fashion and streetwear, which propelled streetwear’s development and recognition. It continued to spark the dialogue in youth culture in places across the globe, cementing streetwear in the canon of fashion.
As streetwear becomes a universal language of self-expression in all corners of the globe, it can be molded in a manner that draws on many from many cultural backgrounds that can channel their existential identities into their streetwear or individual respective fashion. In Tokyo, Lagos, or London, traditional motifs and fabrics are used by local designers as a channel of global stories that speak to a common purpose. It supports the evidence that along with individualism, streetwear achieves the tenuous act of creating community with those that may not be known to the wearers, or the designers and likewise.
Streetwear’s fluidity can be traced through music, art and fashion and social movements. It is common for artists and designers to embed messages in the garments they create. As well, we have witnessed designers use the fashion platform to express their responsibility and duty to speak of social issues, and such sentiments have been echoed in the most memorable fashion lines in history; some that have rejected consumerism and others that haven’t. Whether it is on a hoodie or mentioned on a runway, streetwear can stage commentary, proof of why streetwear deserves its own shelf life.
In an era of digital engagement, fashion can enter any entry point or go live. The manner in which pure information spreads, the rise of online forums, influencer culture, and digital platforms for virtual fashion, have also expanded the cultural conversation of ‘we’ instead of ‘me’; allowing those new to sonic and cultural practices to connect, shape and introduce their identity to streetwear. We can readily consume, whether planned or accidental, streetwear as living and momentary performance.
Streetwear brands continue to initiate their journey into sustainability and ontological consciousness, exploring sustainable fabrics, recycling old goods, and developing creative ideas with consideration for the environment. New fashions will continue to emerge, such as gamification – bringing together digital fashion and players to enter a creative world previously unknown.
In looking to sum up streetwear, from its underground roots to its global impact has always made the desire for streetwear a novice seem easy, even with the knowledge of its unique design elements usually passed down through generations as markers of cultural contributions.
As an embodiment of personal identity and contemplation of culture, streetwear will continue to contribute to the broader landscape of fashion as an evolving aspect to how we understand self-expression in fashion.
