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Streetwear refers to clothing customarily worn by urban, popular culture, and skate enthusiasts. Created scarcity, recurring drops, intrepid and bodacious designs, are just a few aspects of the heraldry of this culture. The movement is primarily thought to have come out of 70’s New York as hip-hop fashion and then blended with skate and surf culture in the 80’s, and finally encompassed elements of Japanese street fashion, as well as punk and sportswear in the 90’s.
Other street culture purists attribute the globalization of this culture to Shawn Stussy of Stussy, a surfboard manufacturer from California, who started printing his signature on shirts and surfboards which he eventually began selling out of his car. Besides Shawn, contributors to streetwear culture include James Jebbia, the founder of Supreme NYC, who popularized the weekly “thursday drops”, as well as the blueprint for streetwear stores. They would hang the clothes on the walls and leave the middle of the store empty so folks could skate while they shopped.
Apart from the popular streetwear names we are all too familiar with, there are a few other brands we do not often hear about that command a cult like following and stand out for their unique style, creativity and authenticity. This article highlights 8 streetwear brands you…
