The Endless Pursuit.
May 14, 2009
Street Etiquette x The Award Tour. Manhattan, NYC. 2008.
Style. A five letter word creates the biggest debate and controversy over who has it and who is merely play acting. I'm only going to touch on one part of the dialogue today because considering the way I write, going deep into the entire issue would probably take more than a few blog posts and more than a few weeks.
The biggest topic that has to come up in this discussion is influence. Quite simply there is nothing that anyone does without prompts and direction from a past source. Where you derive your inspiration from however is what begins to make the situation interesting. Considering the fact that you are reading this here on Hypebeast, the large majority of the readers of this blog, look to outlets such as this site and others for the items that have received the essential stamp of "cool." Whether or not most will care to admit it, someone else behind a screen and a few blogs decide that such and such label is "cool" and that in turn very often leads to such labels ending up on the back of the reader in a mere matter of weeks.
King D, Me, Juice. Philadelphia. 2008.
Take a look at the photo above that pictures myself and some of my brethren last year. Besides the disgusting over abundance of plaid that prompted us all to cease wearing any sort of flannel there is one other common thread. Labels. On every surface of the clothing, on every available place, the brand name is present. It may be a little hard to spot because of the angle but each hat is either adorned with Award Tour or Supreme, each jean has its particular brand, and all the shirts are plastered with their respective companies logo.
I'm not saying there is anything wrong with this, As you can see, I am a participant in the system, but observe how obvious the brands placement is. Regardless of what coast you are from, or what city you reside in, if you are a member of the "streetwear omniverse" than you focus on your labels. Its a running joke around the Hypebeast community that the standard uniform is Supreme, APC, and Vans. I wish god's blessing on the poor ill informed souls that somehow end up on the Hypebeast forums and attempt to post "WDYWT" fits that are outside of the accepted norm. The backlash they receive although frequently comical is nothing short of ridiculous.
The Supreme, APC, Vans quip is not far from the truth, individuals are consumed with presenting themselves within the definition of what a few members of the community have decided is the definition of streetwear "cool." Visit a line up in front of any boutique for a release and you will see an endless line of the same brands over and over again.
I'm not here to say that every label should reconsider, rather I'd like to highlight the contradiction in this scenario. Streetwear derives it's inspirations from two style generation in which labels were not of immediate importance. The number one influence on all of these labels comes from a subculture and a time in which labels largely couldn't be afforded, the skate and surf culture of the 1970's-90's.
Early Z-Boys. Venice, California-1970s. Image credit: Rockers NYC.
Take a look at this photo and realize the separation between it and the picture from last year above. The subjects in both pictures are younger kids, caught in a subculture, only a few decades apart, and as far as the style is concerned it's not entirely changed but there is one distinct difference: the absence of labels in the photo directly above. The kids above are wearing the clothes they have in complete confidence, with complete "swagger" (Hate the word.), and assurance of themselves without the inclusion of labels pasted across their clothes.
To some extent, given the background we know about kids in this era, more expensive "labeled clothing" was probably not largely available. In the rundown areas of Venice Beach where the culture was birthed, extra money was definitely not being given out for new clothes at the beginning of every school year. These kids were coming from relatively poor backgrounds and what was received was what was worn. The clothing they wore was for function, they turned what they had available to them into an original style that than came to define them.
The clothes did not define the style, how they were worn and who embodied the clothes defined the style. These kids didn't need a Supreme, Hundreds, or even an Award Tour pasted across their t-shirt to have themselves defined as members of their sub-culture, they merely were the culture themselves. There is an enormous departure from today in which in order to be a purveyor of the essential streetwear "cool," one must be draped head to toe in the correct brands.
Early Z-Boys. Venice, California-1970s. Image credit: Rockers NYC.
Granted of course there were labels at this time, Vans were still worn by skaters and they without a doubt had preference to what labels they would wear if they could, but that was not what was important. It all rotated around how you embodied what you wore. The labels came secondary. You could walk down the street in the most ratty of threads and still be jocked by every third follower and female because you yourself were the culture, style, and subject of the attention, not your labels.
Today, you recognize someone as a part of the culture based on the label. When you see someone walking down the street in a Stussy t-shirt you assume that they know their way around the street-wear omniverse. Back in the day, such a label didn't exist. You recognized someone because they had destroyed shoes, wild hair, and probably are carrying a skateboard that had actually been used. Those kids had a certain and a certain presence and swagger (Still hate the word.) that boldly stated to the world, I live the life. It wasn't the label that created the culture, it was the participants who created the label.
Anyway. Another post with far too many words from me, who am I to say anything anyway?
Looking forwards to hearing some responses.
Also all credit must be given to the guys over at Rockers NYC where the older pictures were taken from. Amazing history over at the Rockers brand.
Stay Safe-Phil.
i hope im not the only one who read this but i also hate the word swagger. But anyways im down with the levis but i cant stand the people who feel they have achieved something in life because they wear l-r-g or vans (when they know they are not a skateboarder). But ill sum it up now because i dont want to type any more words.
Wale > anyone's Fav M.C.