Is streetwear on life support?
To Virgil Abloh, the answer is yes, but to streetwear brands and commentators, he’s dead wrong.
In a recent interview with Dazed magazine, as part of the publication’s series featuring this decade’s top players, Abloh predicted streetwear is going to die in the coming decade, and consumers will “hit this like, really awesome state of expressing your knowledge and personal style with vintage.”
“In my mind, how many more T-shirts can we own, how many more hoodies, how many sneakers,” he said in the interview. “There are so many clothes that are cool that are in vintage shops and it’s just about wearing them. I think that fashion is gonna go away from buying a box fresh something; it’ll be like, hey I’m gonna go into my archive.”
But his comments raised the hackles of the streetwear community.
“He’s part of the reason why streetwear is the new high fashion, and luxury today is sneakers and T-shirts. Him saying that is like the biggest rapper saying hip-hop is dead and then making different music,” said Broken Promises designer Mandee Bence. “He’s just outgrown it.”
“I believe Virgil has an interesting perspective that I respect, but I disagree with his statement that
To Virgil Abloh, the answer is yes, but to streetwear brands and commentators, he’s dead wrong.
In a recent interview with Dazed magazine, as part of the publication’s series featuring this decade’s top players, Abloh predicted streetwear is going to die in the coming decade, and consumers will “hit this like, really awesome state of expressing your knowledge and personal style with vintage.”
“In my mind, how many more T-shirts can we own, how many more hoodies, how many sneakers,” he said in the interview. “There are so many clothes that are cool that are in vintage shops and it’s just about wearing them. I think that fashion is gonna go away from buying a box fresh something; it’ll be like, hey I’m gonna go into my archive.”
But his comments raised the hackles of the streetwear community.
“He’s part of the reason why streetwear is the new high fashion, and luxury today is sneakers and T-shirts. Him saying that is like the biggest rapper saying hip-hop is dead and then making different music,” said Broken Promises designer Mandee Bence. “He’s just outgrown it.”
“I believe Virgil has an interesting perspective that I respect, but I disagree with his statement that