that reaches out to the younger generations,
but also allows
companies like Balenciaga to sell sweatshirts
for more than $900 as well as make
headlines over $1000 shoes that look like
what your dad would wear in the 80’s.
However, the trickling up of low-fashion
goes even further than inspiration. Saint
Laurent faced serious backlash after
debuting a $3,490 lipstick dress that looked
almost identical to a $23 Forever 21 dress.
50
L
ast Spring the internet blew up after Balenciaga released a
$2,1245 bag that looked eerily similar to Ikea’s iconic blue
bag (99¢). It seemed like everyone had something to say
about the luxury brand taking over something so quintes-
sentially lowbrow. However, the blending of low and high fashion
has been on the rise over the past few years with companies like
Moschino debuting a runway inspired by McDonald’s, Louis Vuitton
producing their own version of the classic
Chinatown shopping bag, and more. As
streetwear rises up from Instagram and
reaches the runway, it is getting harder
and harder to tell a luxury brand from a
streetwear brand.
As digital natives begin to take over
more and more of the consumer market,
nothing has become so paramount to
fashion brands as figuring out what they
want. With the growth of social media,
it is clear that irony, snark, and a certain
graphic-ness is necessary for success—
and no style captures those areas as well
as streetwear. The traditional, high-gloss,
status-defining nature of companies like
Louis Vuitton, Dior, and Balenciaga has
had to shift into something edgier and
newer. Thus, we seem to be entering a
new era where the lines between what
belongs on the streets and what on the
runway
blur heavily.
After Balenciaga, Gucci’s Ales-
sandro Michele may have been one of the
first to capitalize on the power of streetwear sites like Highsnobiety by
partnering with them to create a shoppable lookbook for Gucci’s graf-
fiti-inspired 2017 Cruise collection. So, what once was viewed as a
niche site catering to a subculture of fashion has now risen to working
alongside the biggest and oldest names in fashion, and this shift has
happened over the entire fashion world. Louis
Vuitton recently appointed Virgil Abloh, the founder of Off-White™,
an Italian streetwear label, to be their new artistic director of their
menswear division. The Parisian brand also had one of the most
hyped drops of 2017 after collabing with Supreme.
The bringing in of low and high culture not only creates a market
Thus, as they take inspiration from lower,
more affordable designers, luxury brands
are expecting consumers to pay much higher
prices under the gauze of name-brand and
higher production standards. While “the
higher the price, the higher the quality” is
mostly a myth, many customers are still
inclined to believe it. These luxury brands
take inspiration from working-class,
college-age trends, recreate them, and sell
them for much more profit.
www.clichemag.com
While this isn’t a new practice—trickle-
up fashion lead to Marc Jacobs’ attempt to
take over grunge at Perry Ellis—luxury’s
incorporation of streetwear has been met
with mostly success. And although it is nice
to see something exciting and relevant to
the younger population walk the runways,
one can only wonder how many collabs we
can see until we get tired of watching luxury
brands try to rise streetwear above where we
can reach. BY MARGARET BLATZ
HIGH
GOES
LOW