Counter-
culture to couture
12/24
Articles
Today, the lines are blurred. Supreme cosied up with Louis Vuitton. Balenciaga borrowed hoodies and sneakers, marked them with a hefty price tag, and called it high fashion. What once thrived in underground subcultures now basks in the neon glow of luxury storefronts. Is this evolution, or is it appropriation? Maybe both.
Back then, streetwear wasn’t about logos or drops. It was about identity. You wore a Stüssy tee because it said something about you — or maybe, for you. Then came the hype machine. Supreme started its Thursday drops, and suddenly scarcity was currency. People camped outside stores, refreshing websites like their lives depended on it.
But hype doesn’t age well. Today, drop culture feels tired. Consumers are asking tougher questions: Where’s this made? What’s the environmental cost? And most importantly — what’s the story? Hype alone doesn’t cut it anymore. Purpose does.
Everything’s gone green
Sustainability is the new frontier. Customers want transparency, and some brands are listening. They’re embedding NFC tags into garments, letting you trace the fabric’s journey from raw material to retail. But let’s not kid ourselves — most of the industry isn’t there yet. Fast fashion still churns out disposable hoodies by the truckload.
The good news? Streetwear has always been good at reinventing itself. It’s uniquely positioned to lead the charge in sustainable fashion. Circular design, upcycling, tech-driven transparency — these aren’t just buzzwords. They’re lifelines.
Streetwear has gone global, no question. It borrows freely from Tokyo’s sleek minimalism, and the rhythms of London’s grime scene. But with this globalisation comes a tricky conversation about cultural appropriation. How do brands celebrate global influences without exploiting them? It’s a fine line, and not everyone is walking it gracefully.
The future of streetwear isn’t just about what you wear. It’s about who made it, whose story it tells, and whose voice it amplifies. The brands that get this right will thrive. The rest? They’ll fade into the noise. Is there room for a new sustainable streetwear brand?
Thoughts
Streetwear was never meant to stay still. It’s a shape-shifter, a mirror to the culture it exists in. And right now, that culture is asking tough questions. The brands that answer with creativity, integrity, and a dash of rebellion? They’ll lead the charge into the next chapter. Because at the end of the day, streetwear isn’t just what you wear — it’s what you stand for.