There are several petit, make that miniature, streetwear labels that will end up pointing the way forward for the big world known as the fashion industry. It's always the renegades that come up with the best ideas, the best graphics and the most up to date images. If any "designer fashion" label has its finger on the heartbeat of today, its typically the ones that can really feel the direction the street is going in, know the people well and what they think. Some enormous corporations have this feeling but more often than not it will the the tiny less familiar ones that really know what the people need.
These companies can at times be founded by punks desiring to go in their own direction and answer to nobody. These people are not your typical business entrepreneurs. They didn't sit down and analyze the market, hire some graffiti artists off the street, get along with a crack publicist and NY advertising executive and set out to make some cookie cutter clothing company and call it "streetwear."
Real streetwear comes from the streets and here's where some of the very most well respected companies of today come from such as Rebel 8, Diamond Supply Company, Stussy, Famous Stars and Straps and Rogue Status as well as numerous others like them too. Many of these tiny brands begin on extremely tight budgets for example the founders of Rebel 8, Joshie D and Mike Giant got together and with a beginning budget of $500 made a bunch of shirts that Josh then took to the streets and sold out of a cycle messenger bag.
We are going to be sticking with Rebel 8 for the present so that you can get some insight into what goes on in the background at an underground brand. Josh is a San Francisco native who constructed a solid name for himself with his graffiti website before teaming with Giant to launch their new brand. Mike Giant dropped out of university just one semester before finishing his architecture degree to work full time as a graphic artist for a legendary San Fran skate company. His artwork has gained world recognition and he's had exhibitions in NY, Paris, Tokyo and London, simply to name a few of the major art capitals of the world that have shown his work. He's especially famous for wonderfully detailed drawings of hot girls with tattoos wearing Victorian lace with a few skulls chucked in for good measure.
The label that these 2 street punks have made stuck to a harsh policy of quality. This is not of premium importance to just this brand in particular but all small brands that want their creations to hit consumers hard and make them take note. The images are all hand-illustrated, a marked exit from most big company clothing designs, which digitise original artwork into a vector format. Mike's graphic art illustrated attire features precise reproductions of his original artwork and so can be honestly believed to be "wearable art." That's a refreshing change from the factory manufactured "streetwear" you see everywhere today.
Brands like Rebel 8, Rogue Status, DTA and Dimaond Supply Corp are merely a couple of a clothing labels, street wear or otherwise, that can make a claim to originality. That is due to the fact that the founders don't care about beginning a major mass distributed over exported label - they're fascinated by making stuff that's cutting edge and absolutely original. Aside from the tees and other stuff that feature overwhelming graphics, they've got some great shirts, jackets and crews, too.
If you are bored with all the lame enormous name streetwear companies, then take a look at a more underground brand for example the ones listed in this post and a considerable number of others that are out there. They are all pretty easy to find online with the right search. These are the kind of streetwear companies that make streetwear for the people of the street and not the shopping mall.
These companies can at times be founded by punks desiring to go in their own direction and answer to nobody. These people are not your typical business entrepreneurs. They didn't sit down and analyze the market, hire some graffiti artists off the street, get along with a crack publicist and NY advertising executive and set out to make some cookie cutter clothing company and call it "streetwear."
Real streetwear comes from the streets and here's where some of the very most well respected companies of today come from such as Rebel 8, Diamond Supply Company, Stussy, Famous Stars and Straps and Rogue Status as well as numerous others like them too. Many of these tiny brands begin on extremely tight budgets for example the founders of Rebel 8, Joshie D and Mike Giant got together and with a beginning budget of $500 made a bunch of shirts that Josh then took to the streets and sold out of a cycle messenger bag.
We are going to be sticking with Rebel 8 for the present so that you can get some insight into what goes on in the background at an underground brand. Josh is a San Francisco native who constructed a solid name for himself with his graffiti website before teaming with Giant to launch their new brand. Mike Giant dropped out of university just one semester before finishing his architecture degree to work full time as a graphic artist for a legendary San Fran skate company. His artwork has gained world recognition and he's had exhibitions in NY, Paris, Tokyo and London, simply to name a few of the major art capitals of the world that have shown his work. He's especially famous for wonderfully detailed drawings of hot girls with tattoos wearing Victorian lace with a few skulls chucked in for good measure.
The label that these 2 street punks have made stuck to a harsh policy of quality. This is not of premium importance to just this brand in particular but all small brands that want their creations to hit consumers hard and make them take note. The images are all hand-illustrated, a marked exit from most big company clothing designs, which digitise original artwork into a vector format. Mike's graphic art illustrated attire features precise reproductions of his original artwork and so can be honestly believed to be "wearable art." That's a refreshing change from the factory manufactured "streetwear" you see everywhere today.
Brands like Rebel 8, Rogue Status, DTA and Dimaond Supply Corp are merely a couple of a clothing labels, street wear or otherwise, that can make a claim to originality. That is due to the fact that the founders don't care about beginning a major mass distributed over exported label - they're fascinated by making stuff that's cutting edge and absolutely original. Aside from the tees and other stuff that feature overwhelming graphics, they've got some great shirts, jackets and crews, too.
If you are bored with all the lame enormous name streetwear companies, then take a look at a more underground brand for example the ones listed in this post and a considerable number of others that are out there. They are all pretty easy to find online with the right search. These are the kind of streetwear companies that make streetwear for the people of the street and not the shopping mall.
About the Author:
Gerry Cramer is a business development chief who writes on small company start ups as well as concentrating on bigger firms. His main field is in the surf and skate industries, paying special attention to the mens skate shoes market where he's made public numerous reports on brands like DC, DVS, Lakai and Nike 6.0. He has worked closely with Supra shoes UK and their development programme.
