The cultural origins and essense of today’s streetwear

Hello fashionistas! Welcome one welcome all to this week’s edition of the fashion column. Our series continues with another exploration of modern fashion’s cultural and historical roots. I am so excited for this one because we’re talking about streetwear, the most effortlessly cool style out there.

Of course, like any other style, streetwear is not one single type of outfit. In fact, I say it’s one of the most creative, diverse, and unrestrictive styles. However, there are some easily identifiable staples of streetwear, and you probably are aware of them, like baggy jeans, logos, oversized t-shirts, sneakers, etc. Essentially, the common denominator of streetwear is that it’s casual and emulates its origins of urban subcultures.

Now we’ve established the broad essence of street fashion, let’s dive into the origins! Streetwear’s founder was New York’s hip hop scene in the 1980s and 90s, specifically from Black communities. There were also influences from the west coast’s surf and skate culture that was on the rise. Additionally, the Japanese Urahara cultural movement shared similar elements to the trends in New York and Los Angeles. These subcultures were made up of young urban people who pushed against the flow of the status quo. Streetwear was seen as the antithesis of high fashion, and these groups pushed the limits of style. Thank God they did!

I may do a part two to this article because there’s so much to get into! In any case, I’ll see you next time! Stay stylin!