When Did Streetwear Become Popular
Streetwear is a casual clothing style which became worldwide popular during the 90s. In the early 1980s, streetwear began as artistic expression via styles. While streetwear has roots in California and New York, other early adopters such as Hiroshi Fujiwara and Nigo, both influential DJs and designers, were mostly responsible for launching the street style and hip-hop scenes in Japan during the 1980s. Emerging from New Yorks hip-hop scene, streetwear evolved with elements from both Californian and Japanese fashion.
Streetwear also has roots in music, as Hip-Hop culture developed. In the mid-1990s, streetwear trends were integrated in New York Citys hip-hop scene, Japanese nightlife, and the skateboarding community of California. Streetwear in London was also based on the earlier hip-hop scenes of New York, as well as the way rappers had worn clothing during the 1980s and 1990s. Like most skateboard brands of the 1980s and 90s, streetwear mirrors an emerging subculture that lacks mainstream fashion appeal.
Streetwear today combines elements from Japanese street fashion, athletic wear, and popular culture, becoming a worldwide symbol of fashion that is comfortable, yet still stylish. Streetwear has penetrated into the world of fashion, becoming a synonym for contemporary fashion design. Streetwear fashion comprises of hoodies, runners, sneakers, sweatshirts, etc. The Streetwear industry is focused around Hypebeast culture. The term streetwear refers to the distinct street style of fashion that has roots in Californian and skate cultures, but which also incorporates elements from hip-hop fashion, contemporary high fashion, and couture.
Streetwear originated as a blend of hip-hop fashion in New York City, surfing culture of California, and elements of athletic wear, punk, and Japanese street fashion. Streetstyle is a particular fashion style originating in British fashion culture. Street style, as opposed to other types of fashion, does not just encompass a single dressing style, it covers an entire spectrum of styles. American-style streetwear has gained popularity in hip-hop, social media, and skateboarding cultures.
On the other hand, streetwear is an amalgamation of scrappy punk, hip-hop, and surf/skateboarding style. In addition to paying homage to the earliest skateboarding, surf, and hip-hop cultures, streetwear often draws from 80s nostalgia, too, so vintage T-shirts, 80s-inspired T-shirts, and logos would not be out of place as part of a city ensemble. Today, streetwear has a layered identity, mixing casual looks, fashions that are made for the everyday, and usually luxury mixed in with exclusivity. In its early days, streetwear was simpler, an antidote to the complex, detailed styles in fashion at the time.
While streetwear has gone global, with the U.S. leading the way, Japan is the next hotspot for emerging fashion designers looking to introduce new styles into the streetwear scene. The next huge jump for the streetwear industry was sneaker culture. By the mid-1980s, Nike had taken over the market for sneakers for urban streetwear, with other apparel brands like Champion and Timberland becoming heavily involved with the scene. In 2000, streetwear entered the sneakers business, rising to fashion levels.
The promotion spurred the fashion industry, as well as luxury brands such as Nike, Gucci, and others, to quickly enter streetwear fashion. In the early 2000s, the new luxury streetwear trend started to gain attention. In the 2010s, streetwear culture reached its height in popularity due to the collaborations with high-profile celebrities. Although streetwear originated in the 1980s, it was only popularized by the early 2000s, thanks to skaters and their unexpected impact on popular culture.
Brands such as DC Shoes, Vans, and the publication of Thrasher magazine affected streetwear culture during this period, and created a draw and a sense of community amongst skaters around the world. The most popular shoe at that time was Nikes Air Force 1, immortalized in the song by Nelly, and fashion apparel manufacturers later began following in the footsteps of the streetwear companies, embracing the concept of highly limited-edition capsule collections, now known as drops, in which social media and scarcity of products were used as marketing tools. One brand to lead the way for Streetwear was Williwear Limited, created by late fashion designer Willi Smith.
One of Streetwears biggest fashion victories was pushing the sweatshirt into high-fashion territory. Brands such as Supreme and Stussy pioneered designers such as Vigil Abloh and Raf Simmons into creating their own, designers-led approaches to streetwear. Brands like Jay-Z-starting Rocawear, Diddy-signing Sean John, and Kimora Lee-signing Baby Phat changed prevailing patterns and permeated the streetwear scene in a powerful way.
As a result, streetwear brands in the late 70s and 80s borrowed heavily from DIY aesthetics from punk, new wave, and heavy metal cultures. Streetwear of the 1970s and 1980s was inspired by hip hop, punks do-it-yourself aesthetic, Japanese street fashion, new wave, heavy metal, and the co-operations of leading sportswear and working-wear fashion brands like Schott NYC, Dr. Martens, Kangol, Fila, and Adidas. Hip hop artists in this early era, beginning to popularize athletic pants, chains, and Kangol caps, among other items, gave rise to a new and exciting streetwear culture that was uniquely suited to the hip hop scene of New York.
Designer Dapper Dan played a key role in elevating streetwear into luxuries as early as the 80as, coming from Harlem, New York, creating styles for hip hop artists that were shunned by mainstream luxury brands of the era. Kanye Westas signature streetwear line started as just a sneakers collab with Adidas, but has since grown into an extremely successful and well-regarded brand, which even debuted at New York Fashion Week in 2015. An avid advocate for streetwear, Kanye Wests was also an early adopter of Vetements, along with Givenchys Rottweiler shirts.
Clothing inspired by the skateboard culture was adopted by hip-hop artists such as Run DMC and Puff Daddy, and this is where streetwear continues to get its blood - not only from the customer base, but from a confidence of the counterculture. The brands first proper fashion line arrived at the 2010 Spring/Summer edition of Paris Fashion Week, but its lasting legacy -- and the cause behind projects like Pigalle Basketball today -- is rooted in the jerseys.
