In today’s industry, streetwear style is no longer strictly reserved for independent brands that are under the radar. As we’ve addressed before, more and more high-end labels are adopting elements within the genre, while actual streetwear brands are becoming increasingly mainstream.
This evolution has apparently pissed off a few self-starting designers, so much so that they’ve decided to take the genre back to its roots.
In piece published by The Fader, we get to know four low-key brands that are attempting to recapture streetwear’s glory days. And how are they doing it? By not giving any fucks.
The featured brands are Dertbag, Illegal Civilzation, Death Precision, and FTP (Fuck the Population); the latter was actually contacted by Homeland Security, which demanded the brand stop selling a T-shirt with the words “Terrorist Organization” written on the front.
“All these brands now are doing this colorful Zumiez played-out shit, and I just feel like they don’t deserve to be where they’re at,” FTP founder Zac Austin Clark told The Fader.
His sentiment was echoed by the handful of other designers, who say they’re putting less emphasis on “being cool” and more emphasis on “being real.”
“As an independent brand, it’s easier to make what you really want to make [when] you don’t have to make twenty-thousand different pieces,” Death Precision founder Jakobi McLemore told The Fader. “The people buying it can feel like they’re really part of something. I want to build that type of community we had early on.”
It’s a pretty refreshing article that proves the initial spirit of streetwear is alive and well. You can read the full piece on The Fader’s website.
