While the street fashion has only recently come into prominence, it has been around for over half a century. A recent report suggests that street fashion started in California in the 70s defined by the laid-back surfer dude style. Today, it has gone global with an estimated valuation of over $300 billion.
Influencers and Ease of Access
Influencers such as celebrities, athletes, and social media personalities have fueled the evolution. One of the largest consumers of this street fashion is Generation Z. They are tech savvy and have a huge online presence. Besides that, their spending power has grown in recent years. In the past, few stores were willing to offer these street fashion brands a place to sell their wares. However, nowadays, they are very easy to find on online marketplaces and they do not even have to be niched at just streetwear. You can find clothing as this on sites such as 24mx as well as in brick-and-mortar high-end fashion stores.
Trends around the World
In the past half century, street fashion has become an urban uniform for young people globally. Even places that often fall off the fashion rad have become leaders in the street fashion world. A good example is Kazakhstan. Wherever you go around the world, there is a uniqueness to it. For instance, in Iceland, street fashion has heavy tones of vintage. In Mexico and South Korea, the punk rock undertones are easy to see.
The Influence of Street Fashion
Most street fashion is based on urban subcultures. For instance, skaters, hip-hop, and punks have had a major influence on the street fashion world. Most of the major influencers in these categories have remained unchanged. However, in hip-hop, a new lineup of influencers is changing the street fashion world. They include Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, and Drake among many others.
Social Media and Street Fashion
Most street fashion brands are not large enough to splash out money on major ad campaigns. Thus, they rely on social media to market themselves. They actively engage with the social media users and most posts end up spreading organically. In fact, street fashion brands such as Fear of God were at one time getting four times as many social actions per mention compared to Adidas.
Collaborations with Major Brands
Social media has played an important role in keeping street fashion brands relevant. Now major mainstream brands and personalities are working with these street fashion brands. Major personalities and brands such as Lebron James and Converse have been collaborating on projects with these street brands in the recent past. For instance, Fear of God recently partnered with Justin Bieber on a line of shirts. Immediately this happened, the brand got in with all his 101 million followers on The Gram.
By working with mainstream brands, these street brands also avoid being thought of as sellouts. For instance, if Supreme decided to produce an extremely expensive item piece on its own, this would raise eyebrows amongst its supporters. However, if it worked with a major brand such as Louis Vuitton, this would help to justify the high price of the item to its base. It also makes the item even more of a collector’s item and its resale value shoots.
