Looking back a few years behind us, we’ve lived and breathed streetwear. From it’s relatively muted days, to its astronomical rise in popularity, even its adoption into luxury fashion houses. Every person, every acquaintance you know has somehow sunk the hook and gotten into fashion’s latest big trend, some in small steps; others in huge leaps. From normal oversized t-shirts to a full outfit flex, the trend was in full force and mass adoption had already taken place. Now though, we may just begin to see its descent.
We take a look back at the runway shows that big fashion houses have hosted. Dior has been the front runner in spearheading the new direction; its SS19 shows mainly consisted of said suits, but in a different iteration than its standard Savile Row counterpart. Light colours and relaxed cuts took centre stage as the classic DNA gets transmogrified with a little bit of streetwear panache.
Speaking to Highsnobiety, buying director at Mr. Porter, Fiona Firth, had this to say, “With tailoring back in focus, we’ve seen a shift towards a more sophisticated aesthetic for Spring/Summer 2019. As luxury streetwear has evolved, men have embraced softer fabrics and larger proportions — both design elements we now see incorporated into contemporary suits and tailoring.”
Kanye wearing a Virgil Abloh designed Louis Vuitton suit with YEEZY Slides
In other words, more relaxed fits with graphic print on them, not usually heard of in the world of suits. One shining example that drove social media into a frenzy was Kanye’s debut of Virgil Abloh’s LV monogram suit at 2Chainz’s wedding. While not forgetting about his Yeezy Slides that’s one size too small, the suit sees through Abloh’s new vision of his plans at Louis Vuitton; casual fitting with a pastel coloured affair. The embossed monogram adds a nice little detail throughout the suit.
Kim Jones of Dior paid homage to several streetwear honchos, having featured KAWS’s BFF figure and transformed him into a 10-metre tall model made out of pink roses. Jones also tapped into 1019 ALYX SM’s Matthew Williams to incorporate his rollercoaster buckles into several Dior accessories like the daypack, and cap. Jones’s selection of suits too were of varying degrees of colour and cuts, all of which were tastefully made as Dior progressively moves to the epicentre of streetwear meets high fashion.
Sarah Burton from Alexander McQueen plays along in the same realm, having featured brightly coloured suits that take inspiration from renowned UK painter, Francis Bacon. It all plays towards the same theme, as we are now in the current intersection between suits, and streetwear.
But as the trend shifts forward in the Western countries, where does that leave us across the pond here in Malaysia? It’s highly unlikely the next Sneakerlah will feature Dior suits with Balenciaga sneakers spread across the audience, or a full Celine outfit that’ll definitely look out of place in such a convention. Back then (only very recently), the current status symbol has shifted from handbags to shoes, and usual outfits such as t-shirts, hoodies and jackets that were usually found practically everywhere else were elevated into luxury as Balenciaga dived headfirst in the general direction of the trend. I don’t think anyone could forget Demna’s satirical approach to branding as he sold to us a DHL t-shirt that costs RM2,300. Gucci parodied itself with the GUCCY hoodie; a simple piece of clothing, exalted into a higher level by means of handmade production and heavy grain cotton. It’s just fucking ridiculous.
While high fashion looks away from the prism of streetwear, we may see a return to its cultural roots, a proper back to basics that follows the stigma of what streetwear is all about, or rather, what it was about. Speculations may come and go; streetwear could evolve into something else altogether as major players over in the States, Europe, and Japan continue to pump out different styles. We may even stick to what is available to us now, and catch up with the trends later in the season. There will still be outliers, but the general consumption will again be skewed towards the middle as disinterest from the elitist few look away to different pastures.
Sacai X Nike
Part of it may retain, but overall as the mainstream catches up (and it already has), the style progressively becomes disingenuous, and people will no longer want to associate themselves with streetwear. Streetwear has now become uncool, and the cycle goes on and on.
