The State of Street Fashion.
I rarely post my opinions on things at length on this site. Mainly because between work, school, teetering on the edge of insanity, sleep, parties, and my brickhouse of a girlfriend (don’t hate) I rarely have time to sit down and formulate them in my head, much less put finger to key and post them here. But winter break is coming which means school will be done for about three weeks (some break, NU!) and there will be more of my personal feelings on ish on this here blog of mine. The first I felt I should do is the one the blog seems to focus on most of all: fashion, specifically, the street side.
But can we call it street fashion anymore?
Thanks to the ever-blurring lines between cultures, subcultures, and countercultures alike, nothing seems to stay to itself for very long if it has anything of merit or interest to offer anyone. Whether this is a good or bad thing is not my place to say, but personally, I look at it as a two edged sword, not only in regards to fashion, but anything and everything this could be applied to. As the lines between music genres continue to thin, how can we be certain what a certain song or album should be categorized as? Should we even still categorize them? As once faithful, cheaper end streetwear companies get more buzz and/or money, they product quality and marketing becomes superior, while the avaliability and price put it farther out of people’s range. Still street fashion? High Fashion? Or are we lacking the correct labor for it/them?
I’ve yet to have the time to fully think about and answer these questions myself. But it’s clear, that as brands seek to elevate themselves to higher heights through advances in quality and production and placement, clientele and location, and collaborations with higher end (or even even-tiered or lower-end) brands, the lines are more vague than ever. So is one street fashion because it’s sold at Bodega and the other High Fashion because it’s sold at Riccardi? No, or course not. But if we cannot delineate said categories in this way, how can and will we in the future? Here’s my solution: We shouldn’t.
Fashion is fashion. I believe the only thing that categories in fashion do is mark the people who wear clothing in each category. I like my jeans Evisu, my tees Supreme, my hats New Era and my watches Casio or Nooka, so I must be a streetwear head. My girlfriend likes her purses LV, her shades Dolce, and her bracelets Tiffany, so she must be a highender, right? These assumptions, cast upon us and others by the labels attached to what we wear, couldn’t be further from the truth. Because, in truth, these labels come with others. Think of a streetwear head. What does he look like? What does he sound like? What music does he listen to, what food does he eat, where is he from, what does he want to be, who does he admire, what is his worldview? Based on what we’ve been given to think, you could answer those questions about as quickly as you read them seconds ago. But they aren’t all fact, they’re assumptions, sterotypes, if you will, brought upon by that one label. So, instead of labeling fashion and therefore the patrons of certain looks or styles, let us all agree that if it’s hot, rock it, if you want it, cop it, and if you see it faked, tell the ones who rock it, “stop it!”
The State of Street Fashion: Dead.
