Bobby Hundreds' 50 Greatest Streetwear Brands of All Time

Bobby Hundreds counts down all the classic streetwear brands who've grown from T-shirts to the top. It's gonna be an awkward MAGIC!

Greatest Streetwear Brands

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Greatest Streetwear Brands

This article was originally published on June 21, 2011.

When Complex first asked me to select the Top 50 Streetwear Brands of All Time, I thought the following:

1) This is gonna get me into a lot of trouble,

2) but I wouldn't want anyone else to write this,

3) so, sure.

As Co-Owner of The Hundreds, it's a catch-22 for me. Anyone I leave off the list is gonna be peeved, and anyone on the list who's not #1 will be pissed they're not higher. Anywhere I place our own brand on the list is gonna be scoffed, and I'm gonna look like I'm playing favorites, hating competitors, or riding bias.

Worst of all, streetwear, more than any other industry or scene, is overrun with ego and insecure males, so friends and rivals alike will take issue with this list (and me). It's gonna be an awkward MAGIC. But I'm okay with that, as long as streetwear is properly upheld.

The first challenge in creating this list is defining streetwear. True traditional streetwear is a genre of contemporary apparel, united between sportswear and military looks, and is one that speaks to a spectrum of subcultures (skateboarding and hip-hop mostly). Vision may have coined the term "streetwear," but Shawn Stussy was the one who created its modern embodiment. So to all the misled who think streetwear is an urban expression, having to do with the literal streets, you gotta remember streetwear was instituted by a surf company. Stussy took a multi-faceted, subculturally diverse, Southern California lifestyle-based T-shirt brand and mimicked the limited feel of a high-end luxury brand. And those are the two most integral components of what makes a brand streetwear: T-shirts and exclusivity.

Every line on this list, with a few exceptions, has built their brand off T-shirts, not catering specifically to just an urban or skate audience, and initializing their distribution through selective channels. Sales distro and image are what ultimately constitute a brand as streetwear, not the art or design.

The final requirements to being one of the "Greatest of All Time" are influence and longevity. Streetwear is an endurance game. It's easy to make a hot T-shirt, show up on the back of the newest rapper, blow out in mall doors; but nearly impossible to last for 10 years, let alone 30.

The second challenge to writing this article is personal, and that's staying unbiased. I promise I've done my best to maintain journalistic integrity and objectivity throughout this list. There are close friends of mine that didn't make the cut, and some brands on here (especially in the higher ranks) whose staff and owners I outright despise.

I hope you can find some value in the list, and remember, just because I said it, doesn't make it true. And just because you don't believe it, doesn't mean it's not.

50. Primitive

49. Irons

48. Subcrew

47. Silas & Maria

46. Us Versus Them

45. Fucking Awesome

44. Brknhome

43. carhartt uk

42. Reason

41. In4mation

40. J-Money

39. Original Fake

38. Black Scale

37. DQM

36. W)Taps

35. King Stampede

34. invisible:man

33. Rockers NYC

32. Deadline

31. Benny Gold

30. Mishka

29. Maharishi

28. Fiberops

27. Mighty Healthy

26. Situationormal

25. UNDFTD

24. Flying Coffin

23. Gypsies and Thieves/Green Apple Tree

22. Acapulco Gold

21. Staple

20. Hellz Bellz

19. CLOT

18. Recon

17. Married to the Mob

16. Anything

15. Bounty Hunter

14. HUF

13. Diamond

12. Neighborhood

11. 10 Deep

10. X-Large

9. Crooks & Castles

8. SSUR

7. Fuct

6. Alife

5. The Hundreds

4. Freshjive

3. A Bathing Ape

2. Supreme

1. Stussy

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