The beginnings of urban fashion in the 1970s and 1980s were also inspired by the “do it yourself” aesthetic of punk, Japanese street fashion, new wave, heavy metal and established sportswear and workwear brands such as Schott NYC, Dr. In the world of urban fashion, more than 10 years in the game give a brand the status of grandfather. There are some names from the 80s and 90s that have adapted and evolved with the times to continue competing today. Some of them even dictate the direction in which urban fashion is heading.
Due to the constant change in trends, economic recessions and the tastes of people who opt for men's clothing, it's impressive how long these brands have stayed on their feet. Read about the oldest urban clothing brands that exist today. When you think of Japanese urban clothing, Bape is probably one of the first brands to pop into your mind. Short for A Bathing Ape, Bape was one of the first Japanese labels to successfully create a fan base in the United States.
Its combination of bold colors and camouflage prints swept the American urban fashion scene and, for most of the late 90s and early 2000s, it was one of the most requested Japanese brands. After California, the look became popular among youth cultural scenes, especially in skateboarding and hip-hop circles in New York. But it was brands like Supreme, based in New York, which began in 1994 as a skateboard and clothing store, that boosted the trend even more. Created by James Jebbia, the brand quickly gained a cult following that has only grown over the years.
To find out what the future holds for us, I spoke to Sofia Prantera, of the cult brand of the 90s Silas and now founder of the new urban clothing brand Aries, about the direction of this trend. Just take a look at The 50 best urban clothing brands and you'll see that, for various reasons, many of them don't exist today. This model of managing an urban clothing brand didn't exist before Stussy and soon became the model for future generations of urban clothing brands. Therefore, openness to cultural phenomena and a transparent approach to related issues are the key to the hearts of urban clothing consumers around the world.
Brands such as Off-White, Nike, Balenciaga and Palace have inspired traditional brands to design “casual and fashionable clothing”, and established luxury fashion brands are launching collections inspired by urban fashion more and more frequently. Based in Los Angeles, The Hundreds, founded by Bobby and Ben Hundreds, is more than just an urban clothing brand and store. To learn more about what urban fashion means to their community, British and Italian VOCAST researchers spoke to three leading experts in the sector. Jun Takahashi's dual-personality designs and his ability to seamlessly fuse polarizing concepts have allowed Undercover to evolve far beyond urban punk aesthetics and, today, it is a heavyweight on the streets of Harajuku and on the runways of Paris.
Undoubtedly, one of the most important indicators is that one of the original urban clothing brands, Stussy, has increased by 11% year-on-year in searches, and reached its highest point of all time in July of this year, with hoodies as the category with the best performance. Now, luxury brands are betting on urban clothing and are manufacturing garments that they didn't specifically make. Originally, urban fashion was a way of describing comfortable clothing, mainly worn by people who followed the skateboarding and surfing culture in Los Angeles.
