Whoever told you that Streetwear is dead, is…’dead’ wrong. Sure fast fashion labels are no longer polluting the market with their copycat version of popular streetwear, but this doesn’t mean streetwear no longer a trend. OG streetwear labels are still here and thriving.
However, what is true is that the “mainstream” perception of streetwear is about to change. And with recent events and changing attitudes to the creation and selling of fashion, is no surprise that the trend is evolving.
Influential consumers and influencers are driving the change of trends and the markets. We’ve seen this with many trends, now it’s streetwear’s turn.
People such as Billie Eilish have pioneered the trend of loud prints, logos and colours. Resulting in huge amounts of changes to menswear and streetwear. Many influencers had followed the Lout print trend making it popular and somewhat mainstream.
But recently aesthetical shifts have begun, with consumer fatigue and the rise of minimalist styles and the sentiment of a “less, but better”.
A survey conducted by highsnobiety, found that “41 per cent finds “sustainability” more important than six months ago” and that “62 per cent of respondents say they find quality more important than six months ago”. Their survey also found that “minimalist styles” ranked highest with “53 per cent of survey respondents stating they found the style more attractive than six months ago”.
A new trend is emerging. “Silent Streetwear”, this new trend is set to make big moves in the fashion world. As young consumers and influencers appear to be swapping their monogram prints and bright colours for muted tones and simple Co-ord sets. WTAPS, Reigning Champ and AURALEE have long been purveyors of the aesthetic, with brands like The Row, 1017 ALYX 9SM have begun to follow this in recent seasons.
Streetwear expert Denis Yahko said;
“I feel like silent street is just the next generation of kid’s kind of making their mark, I’m personally not a fan of the simplicity of it, but a few years ago you could tell this was where the trends were moving towards it with guys like Jerry Lorenzo releasing their essentials line.
I also feel like above all the simplicity of it, helps it the most, it helps it garner a much more mainstream crowd, like 3-4 years ago streetwear was all about graphics and art and I personally felt like there was so much more to it than just clothing, it was heavily community based, and that was very outgoing and noticeable, I feel like silent streetwear appeals more to a mainstream market it’s not as outlandish, it’s minimalist.”
Fashion is making a radical shift towards sustainability and minimal design focusing on craft and detailing. ThredUp’s 2019 Fashion report found that “74% of 18-29-year-olds prefer to buy from sustainably conscious brands”.
Like other styles and trends, streetwear won’t disappear but will mature and evolve. As streetwear has become such an ambiguous term, Silent streetwear is just the next step of evolution in the market and it surely won’t be the last.
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