Streetwear is not even close to dying. Not EVEN CLOSE. Why?
Because true streetwear heads will not allow it to. My points:
1) Most people will shop at the Mall, thats how it is and how it will be for a long time. They shop at department stores who try to buy what's hot.fortunately, MACYs will NEVER know and recieve true streetwear because respectable streetwear companies will not allow thier integrity and true fan base to slide. Some "streetwear" brands like the ones mentioned above are respected, (the Creative Recs and such) because most people will still buy shoes from footlocker or buy Polo jeans because they think will make them look nice. Most people are not up on the latest brand, they just wear what their favorite rapper wears or what they think will make them "get chicks" or look nice.
2) Sure mainstream rappers are wearing more streetwear and such but that doesn't mean streetwear is becoming mainstream. Unless, rappers and artists exclusively rock one brand (ie Pharrell and Bape) or exclusivly shop at one store, those who attempt to dress like the rapper may want a Hundreds shirt when Jay wears one, but when Jay wears some button-up and fitted, they are gonna wanna be on the next thing, forget the Hundreds existed and search for the hat button-up that will give them "swagger." True Hundreds fans are gonna stay true to a brand, fans of a rapper are gonna stay true to the rapper.
3) You guys are overestimating the amount of people who know what streetwear is. Just two months ago, I asked a friend who said he was "a streetwear afficionado" about the latest 10 deep line and he was like, "what's 10 deep?" People like to act like they are trendsetters or up on the lates trend but they really aren't. They follow what's "in" because they are concerned with what other people think about thier fashion sense. Men are just like women. A lot of women wear uggs, they say its because they are comfortable, but lets be serious here, uggs were comfortable in 2000, but nobody wore em. Women are always up on the latest trends, and so are men who consider themselves "fashion forward." True Streetwear isn't a trend because its too hard to find the true stuff. Not enough people wear "streetwear" because of its exclusivity for it to be a trend, so those trend followers go to the mall where they have shopped all their lives, look up streetwear, and think thats what its all about.
4) When a previously streetwear brand goes mainstream or sells out Its not true streetwear anymore, its mainstream streetwear you see at the mall. Lets face it, if 10 deep or Crooks was sold at Macys, streetwear heads wouldn't have the same respect that had before and would most likely wear it less or notat all. People say hip-hop is dead. There is still underground, backpack, lyrical hip-hop thriving in the underground. But most people see aboveground and assume thats how it is everywhere. Then when a streetwear brand becomes popped, a new one will emerge, be sick, and take the underground game over again. New brands are coming up every day, one is bound to be the next thing.
5) Truth of the matter = true streetwear will always be underground. Macys will sell more than Versus, GQ will sell more magazines than (enter your favorite streetwear magazine), Footlocker will sell more than UNDFTD. And it won't be by a slim margin, it will be by a lot. Just like many people in here, streetwear heads don't want to see the game die, and they won't let it.
Also, Urban Outfitters is not streetwear. My friend thinks it is and swears hes up on everything because he shops there.
O and the guy above me is right. HYPEBEASTS = mainstream streetwear.
