Streetwear

Streetwear style is generally accepted to have been born out of the Los Angeles surf culture and eventually later the New York City hip hop culture of the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Early streetwear in the 1970s and 1980s also took inspiration from the DIY aesthetic of punk, Japanese street fashion, new wave, heavy metal and hip hop, co-opting established legacy sportswear and workwear fashion brands such as Schott NYC, Dr. Martens, Kangol, Fila and Adidas.

In the late 1980s, surfboard designer Shawn Stussy began selling printed T-shirts featuring the same trademark signature he placed on his custom surfboards. Initially selling the items from his own car, Stussy expanded sales to boutiques once popularity increased.[6][7][8] Then as sales peaked, Stüssy moved into exclusive sales to create product scarcity, which firmed up the ultimate baseline definition of streetwear: T-shirts and exclusivity."[3]

In the early 1990s, burgeoning record labels associated with popular hip hop acts like Tommy Boy Records, Def Jam Recordings, and Delicious Vinyl began selling branded merchandise embroidered onto letterman jackets and workwear jackets made by companies like Carhartt.[9]

In the mid to late 90s, influences included skateboarding and gangsta rap. Professional American sports franchises having a big impact on the scene, especially the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Raiders and Chicago Bulls caps and jackets, with their production of oversized team jerseys, as well as boots from The Timberland Company and the latest shoe design releases from Nike, Inc..

Brand launches by the chief executives of record companies followed, with Russell Simmons of Def Jam launching his Phat Farm label, Sean Combs of Bad Boy with Sean John, and Jay-Z and Damon Dash of Roc-a-Fella Records launching Rocawear. Rap superstar 50 Cent a few years later launched his G-Unit clothing label, with the sneaker rights given to Reebok.

In the 2000s, the advent of "bling" culture saw established luxury brands make inroads into the market, with Burberry, Gucci and Fendi making appearances in hip hop videos and films. The most popular shoe of the era was the Nike Air Force 1, immortalized in the song by Nelly,[10] then the fashion clothing manufacturers began to follow the streetwear companies co-opting the idea of very limited edition capsule collections, now known as "drops", using social media and product scarcity as marketing tools.[11]

In the 2010s, some streetwear brands were now coveted as much as the most historically elite fashion brands. Complex Magazine named Stüssy, Supreme, and A Bathing Ape as the top streetwear brands,[3] and many went on to collaborate on prized high fashion capsule collections such as Supreme x Louis Vuitton, Fila x Fendi, A Bathing Ape x Commes des Garcons, and Stussy x Dior.[12]

In 2018, Wikipedia released two sets of long sleeve streetwear T shirts, in collaboration with LA-based brand Advisory Board Crystals and rapper Lil Wayne, with all profits going to the Wikimedia Foundation.[13][14]

Timberland boots are a common shoe in streetwear

Common sportswear worn in contemporary street styles include hoodies, bomber jackets, tennis-style skirts, track pants, leggings, and sneakers. Some of these are a revival of 1990s hip-hop fashion, which also favoured bomber jackets and baseball caps.

Contemporary streetwear is usually influenced by the generic sporty twists and sleek athletic lines. In earlier stages of sportswear fashion, femininity was usually expressed with the lines becoming cleaner, and silhouettes becoming minimal. Later, bold volumes in sportswear started to develop, hi-tech fabrics and old-school approaches were used in styling. In general, relaxed silhouettes, clean shapes, little embellishments, and an overall sophisticated feel would be observed in the looks of the trend.

Contemporary streetwear has also become much more influential in the world of haute couture influencing and in turn being influenced by runway shows by prominent designers. Raf Simons has made a large impact on streetwear stylings as it has evolved over the years, this might be attributed by the designers influence in hip hop and popular culture.[15][16] Other designers such as Demna Gvasalia, creative director of Vetements and Balenciaga, have also had an impact in recent years championing trends such as the chunky sneaker[17] and the oversized hoodie,[18] which have slowly become streetwear staples.

Luxury sportswear

Alexander Wang developed "luxury sportswear" in his eponymous brand

The decline of formal wear led to the rise of streetwear fashion. High-end and luxury brands began to develop "luxury sportswear", for example Alexander Wang, Gucci, and DKNY. Among this type of "luxury sportswear", luxe fabrics were used to produce their sportswear fashion for a high contrast on the sporty silhouette. Fabrics like silk organza, washed satin, leather, neoprene, and wool crepe were used to produce the "luxury sportswear". These types of fabrics may help experiment a garment with texture, and may assist in capturing a modern-sports spirit of the season.

Details of the designs in "luxury sportswear" looks are pulled directly from actual active wear. The two words, "luxury" and "minimalism" were first used together for sportswear in fashion, to interpret a fresh sports look which is sleek and clean, but bearing recognizable athletic influences.

Common mix-and-match combination of "luxury sportswear" on streetwear are track pants under basketball shorts, with bold patterns and sumptuous fabrics for men; and light colored pencil skirts, with bomber jackets and sleek tops, cut in satin or tweed, for women.