Cliche Magazine Aug/Sept 2018 | Page 37

flaunting a belonging to a subculture ) was the secondary sign of one ’ s place in the counterculture . However , music no longer grants one the sense of individuality it used to . During grunge ’ s reign , people would have to work to be in the know ; they would have to read zines or go to underground concerts in order to be in the know . Now that Spotify has opened the music world to everyone , we all listen to everything . Music cannot produce the same sensation of individuality and belonging that is was once able to . So , it fell to clothing .
Streetwear ’ s method of ‘ drops ’ rather than luxury fashion ’ s cycles of Fall / Winter and Spring / Summer create the same sensation music used to . Where people once waited for the latest CD , they now line-up for the next Supreme collab . People become connected with one another over shared love of streetwear ; you see someone wearing a pair of TripleS sneakers , you know something about them . Not everyone would recognize them ; it is something for people within the cult of streetwear to connect over .
Alek Eror , a contributor at Highsnobiety , wrote , “ Streetwear might have a distinct visual identity and have intimate ties to hip-hop , but that doesn ’ t make it a subculture , because streetwear doesn ’ t stand for anything side from brand and product .” How is stanning Balenciaga or carefully following Virgil Abloh ’ s path between Off-White and Louis Vuitton that different from blasting Nirvana and memorizing Kurt Cobain ’ s lyrics ? Where grunge thrived against materialism , streetwear subculture is based in consumerism , on having the latest thing , on knowing who the next big designer is .
However , like how Marc Jacobs killed grunge when he put it on the luxury stage in ’ 92 and made it even more mainstream , the luxury brands of today are destroying the streetwear subculture . It is no longer a niche group of people invested in a certain style but the prevailing norm of dress .
There was a time where owning something from Supreme was not a status symbol but a sign of belonging to a certain group ; now you walk down the street and see every next person in something either bearing Supreme or Thrasher . The soaring prices of luxury streetwear and the mad-grab of many houses to get into streetwear has stripped streetwear of its counter-culture and killed it into the mainstream .
BY MARGARET BLATZ
Kendall Jenner dressed in Off-White for the Met Gala via @ off __ white on Instagram
Gucci Sweatshirt from @ gucci on instagram