Since their inception, skate fashion and streetwear have played a major role in dictating trends, while the rest of the fashion world follows closely behind taking notes. Over the past few years, some of the biggest names in fashion have been jumping to collaborate with skateboard companies, and snapping up people from the streetwear world to name them creative directors of various luxury brands. In the mix of all this, Canadian brands and creatives have always been on the forefront of what’s hot in streetwear.
Fashion trends are undeniably cyclical, and circular. The aesthetics and influence of styles from decades past often serves as a guidebook for what’s cool tomorrow, and our current era will be no exception. Today, Complex Canada is taking a look at how current Canadian streetwear brands and designers will help shape trends in the year 3000.
Techwear Is Here To Stay
Though science fiction and movies have various ideas about what the fashion of the future will look like, one thing is undeniable: function and practicality will be important as ever—the gorpcore and techwear looks are here to stay. Victoria-born designer Colin Meredith is making some of the coolest practical gear in the gorpcore world currently. His resumé includes working with Virgil Abloh on designs for Been Trill and Louis Vuitton, and creating custom-made garments for Drake. While living in his current home of Vancouver, Meredith spent some time as a designer for CYC (Reigning Champ) and later Arc’teryx, working on their high-performance, forward-thinking System_A line of clothing. More recently, Meredith launched his own line of products, making custom pieces for Amine’s ‘Best Tour Ever’, and creating an entire collection of clothes and camping equipment that he used on a six-day kayak trip.
Subversive Is Sought-After
If Bill and Ted were around today, they wouldn’t look out of place as stoned-skater-punk-rockers from the year 3000 if they went to the future in their punkandyo jorts, Jesus hat, bullet belt, and neon-colored P&Y watch. The brand was started in Montreal by former Dime graphic designer Anthony Asfour and Alltimers skater Etienne Gagne, and the duo have been steadily dropping some very subversive drip since 2020. Selling their gear through last-minute street popups around the world, out of rented trucks driving around Montreal, and through random tourist shops on Canal street, punkandyo has quickly become one of the most sought-after brands in skate clothing.
Sustainability and Upcycling
Upcycled and sustainably made clothing has seen a massive rise in popularity over the past few years. If you’re environmentally conscious, you want something quality and handmade, or you’re looking for some headgear that’s one of one, custom-made to your size and specifications, Thheme has got you covered. The brainchild of skateboarder and headwear expert Tom Robinson, Thheme hats are handmade in Vancouver, using only sustainably-sourced and upcycled materials. Robinson is bringing us the future of cranium-covering technology today, with hats custom-made to your preferred measurements, materials, and color specifications—creating your dream hat, down to the stitching.
Cyberpunk and Science Fiction
If anyone is ready for the future of fashion, it’s Jeremy Karl. Citing the work of science-fiction author William Gibson, and clothing from the futuristic anime Ghost in the Shell as some of his major influences, much of the gear he’s designed wouldn’t look out of place in these fictional cyberpunk worlds.
Getting his start over a decade ago working with other Montreal-based creatives Justin Saunders and Dime’s Vincent Tsang, Karl’s work has always had a strong emphasis on the functionality and practicality of the clothing—a necessity to withstand the harshness of Montreal winters. Karl has also spoken frequently of incorporating new technologies into the fashion and design world: using crypto and blockchain technology, specifically with his project Permet, a decentralized autonomous organization aiming to return power and ownership to creators in the fashion industry.
Karl had a role in designing for brands like Been Trill and Yeezy, and more recently working on Drake’s Nike sub-label NOCTA, and Arc’teryx’s System_A line. In interviews, Karl has emphasized the emotional function of clothing, and how that works into his designs—he believes that stepping out the house in something that looks good and makes you feel confident is equally as important as the technical function of your clothing against the elements.
