Young and cheeky: 10 street brands on the cutting edge of fashion
Collaboration Louis Vuitton and Supreme - another proof of how significant street fashion has become. The stamps, whose founders came from skate or graffiti culture, are now literally everyone’s interest. Interestingly, they often, like high fashion, began to demonstrate an elitist approach to selling their belongings: selected capsule lines disassemble in the first minutes of sales, and for some things, the queue at the stores is occupied in a few weeks. Almost no street brand has a separate women's line, but, in fairness, their clothes are suitable for everyone. We have collected 10 brands of street clothes, which are interesting to follow.
Brain dead
Brain Dead invented in 2014, Kyle Eun and Ed Davis as a platform for the realization of their own ideas in design, music and art, without much regard to the commercial side of the issue. Now Brain Dead is both a clothing line and a music label. At the same time, the creators like to repeat that their offspring is by no means a “fashion brand”.
By the time the company was founded, only Kyle had experience in the field of fashion, who, ironically, at first wanted to do something completely different - to make films. Prior to that, he worked on the notorious Los Angeles brands AXS Folk Technology and Farm Tactics. The strength of Brain Dead, thanks to which it can now be found in any selection of street-style from men's fashion weeks, are prints that are crammed with cultural references from cinema, visual arts, music and popular culture. At the same time, everything is stylistically impeccable.
Polar Skate Co.
The last couple of years an important topic in the skate industry has been the emergence of a new wave of small local brands. It is believed that skateboarding has experienced an identity crisis associated with the arrival of large companies. Polar Skate Co. - an example of such a successful young brand, which with a pool of others marks an important milestone in the history of skate culture. Everything is as it should be: there is an authoritative founder (skateboarder Pontus Alv), there is a deep connection with the local scene (the brand comes from the Swedish city of Malmö) and there is a powerful skate team running for the brand. In addition, Polar by the standards of the skate scene is inventive in clothes: in addition to basic sweatshirts and T-shirts, they release interesting things like fleece sweaters, high-tech jackets and unusual accessories.
Canal new york
Mark from New York, which came out of, as it is easy to guess, the skate scene of Canal Street. Such a regional division is a characteristic thing for New York skateboarding. For example, all the heroes of the famous film "Children" Larry Clark were from the community of Washington Square Park. The most famous now is the Tompkins Square Park Skate Party and several communities in Brooklyn. Involvement in a particular locality and community is an important part of the ambience of a street brand. All designs and prints of such brands are in tune with their place of origin.
Canal New York is the quintessence of a relaxed New York street style with blank hoodies and sweatshirts. In addition to them in the official store of the brand you can buy waist bags, hats, headbands and skateboard wheels with a company logo that parodies the Chanel emblem. This is also a special joke, because Canal Street is famous for its street trays with counterfeit Chinese goods. It is believed that this is a business card of the area - you can start to get acquainted with it from this video.
Cav Empt
The brand of two street culture veterans - Brit Toby Feltwell and Sk8thing Japanese. A typical duet of a talented manager and artist who is often found in the world of high fashion. Feltwell began as a music manager for the iconic Mo Wax label, and then moved to Japan to manage the Farrell Williams and Nigo brands: A Bathing Ape, Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream. Sk8thing is a designer who, since the early 1990s, has had a hand in all the important street brands in Japan. He is a real gray cardinal of a Japanese streetwearer: he does not like the press, does not give interviews, takes pictures in a mask and hides his name.
Together, these two distinguished figures under the brand Cav Empt are doing amazing things - modern and fun. They are interesting not only prints, but also inventive design. The brand is sold in selected stores around the world, and in Moscow it is represented in BELIEF.
Patta
Patta was once a small shop window near Amsterdam Central Station. As often happens with such inconspicuous points on the map, this place is not easy. The store opened in 2004, just before the rise of the next big wave of interest in street culture, and quickly became the flagship of the movement in Holland. Then came the story, long known for similar cult shops in the United States: first, joint projects with well-deserved brands, for example Puma and Diadora, and then - their own clothing line. The strength of the brand is collaboration and the ability to choose the right partners. Recently, the brand announced a collaboration with London-based musician Sampha.
Sex Skateboards
Another brand from the pool of a new wave of skateboard brands. The best manifestation of logomania peculiar to street clothes: the corporate symbol with the imprint of a kiss and the inscription "Sex" is anyway present on all models of the brand. If it is not visible on the thing itself, then it will definitely be on the lining. Sex Skateboards in general is doing well with graphics - and this, combined with the entourage of a small self-made brand in 2017, is already enough for universal love. It is noteworthy that the brand is honored in both GQ and Highsnobiety. Another proof of how strong the role of street culture in modern fashion is.
Dime
Dime is a Canadian brand, whose popularity a few years ago broke far beyond the borders of its native Montreal. The secret of success is simple - authenticity. Dime impresses with its well-considered approach, support for local skateboarding, and generally embodies all those things that have become especially valuable in the age of the arrival of large companies in subcultures. Well, actually, Dime's clothes are all right: they are simple but not boring hoodies, t-shirts and hats with prints and a logo. You can follow the drops using the official website of the brand - at the moment things are not available. We advise you to subscribe to their instagram: in addition to new releases, they post skate tricks and photos from the competition of their wards.
Bronze 56k
Another New York brand that, according to the creators, mixes web punk and street skateboarding. In general, applying random Tumblr pictures on T-shirts is quite a popular sub-genre among street brands, but at Bronze 56k it all looks amazing whole. Prints Bronze 56k are designed in the same style, and the things themselves are a nice basic set - these are all the same sweatshirts, caps and hoodies. The most expensive will cost $ 80.
Pizza skateboards
California skate brand in the best traditions of local culture. These are very relaxed clothes made with humor. They produce nice basic things, but their fun accessories are especially interesting: caps, socks and enameled badges. On the website of the brand you can purchase branded skateboard decks - both with the logo and with Tumblr prints.
Know wave
Strictly speaking, Know Wave is above all not a clothing brand, but something like a media platform, spun off from the Moran Bondaroff gallery, formerly known as OHWOW. The gallery, in turn, was founded by a man named Aaron Bondaroff, a veteran of street culture in New York, a man of many talents, who began his career in Supreme in 1994, and in 2001 launched his own brand aNYthing.
In general, he has great experience in the fashion industry, so it is not surprising that he found it to be used within the framework of Know Wave, which is, in fact, a radio station, a samizdat, and a clothing brand. By the way, buying things themselves is somewhat problematic: the entire range on the brand’s website is currently sold out. You need to follow the date of the drops or look for instances on eBay. The creators carefully relate to the choice of points of sale for Know Wave items: you can buy their branded T-shirts, for example, at Dover Street Market.