May 2013 was the year I owned my very first designer item: a Stussy sweater. I got this sweater as a very late birthday gift. I had no idea what Stussy was or the importance of this brand in the fashion industry. That sweater changed my life and perspective on fashion and what it meant for me.
I started doing research on fashion and discovered there are categories like Haute Couture and “Streetwear.” Haute Couture is expensive, fashionable clothes produced by leading fashion houses. Chanel, Christian Dior, Versace, and Jean-Paul Gaultier are the main go-to and known Haute Couture designers in the industry. They hit the runway every season with high fashion items and models. Haute Couture designers are very detailed even down to models; the model selection plays a huge part in the process.
“StreetWear” is in quotations cause there’s no official term for this type of fashion. Some may argue that it has no relation to the street and some may argue differently. I believe that Street Wear originated in Asia, mainly in Japan, and then relocated to California in the 90s.
Streetwear is a style of casual clothing that became global in the 1990s. It grew from California surf-skate culture and New York hip-hop fashion to encompass elements of sportswear, punk, and Japanese street fashion. Eventually, Haute Couture became an influence. Heron Preston, Chinatown Market, Off-white and Supreme are just some of the popular “StreetWear” designers. All fashion lovers want to own at least one item from one of these designer’s collections. The marketing is totally different from how Haute Couture is marketed, but they still do a seasonal fashion show to let wearers know what’s hot and coming out the upcoming season.
This is how buying “StreetWear” works. Once a collection drops you have to get the item for the retail price or the price will hike up and you will end up paying the resell price which may cost you big bucks. Yeezy, which is owned by Kanye West, drops a sneaker every month; same shoe model but different colors. Retail price on that sneaker varies from $200-$300 depending on if its V or V2.
But two different fashion worlds have collided, and it has created a new kind of millennial uniform: luxury streetwear. Like Gucci, Amari and Louis Vuttion, even “Streetwear” has their Haute Couture. Millennials (Rappers) are mainly interested in Luxury Streetwear.
As the years have passed by, my love and obsession for “StreetWear” grew profoundly. I changed up my entire wardrobe and my way of thinking. Fashion changes a person in many ways, it has definitely changed me because everything has to click and relate to one another.
Dope Article streetwear seems to have that effect on people lol