Street art, precursor to dialogue
Streetwear was born in the streets, just like urban art. Starting in the 1970s, New York graffiti artists laid the foundations for a radical, free, and anti-establishment visual vocabulary. This same visual language gradually infused fashion, giving rise to a wardrobe marked by raw expression: logos, oversized typography, and saturated colors.
Artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat and Keith Haring, who moved from the subway to galleries, paved the way for this recognition. Their aesthetic is now a direct source of inspiration for many brands, from Supreme to Arte Antwerp .
Iconic collaborations between galleries and street culture
The fusion of fashion and art is no longer limited to inspiration: it's becoming a collaboration. This is evidenced by the numerous capsule collections launched in recent years:
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Supreme x Damien Hirst : provocation and pop culture combined,
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Carhartt WIP x Futura : a tribute to historic graffiti,
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Comme des Garçons x Cindy Sherman : conceptual fashion and identity staging.
These partnerships cultivate an artistic blur between artwork and clothing. By wearing a piece from these collaborations, we display a vision, a manifesto.
Art in the Details — When the Cut Becomes a Sculpture
Some designers go further: they don't just rely on patterns or collaborations. They sculpt the garment as a three-dimensional work. The Japanese brand Goldwin , for example, designs its technical pieces with an almost architectural obsession for detail. Like contemporary art, its approach questions form and function.
Creative youth in search of meaning
In a world saturated with images, clothing becomes a storytelling tool. Wearing a Salomon ACS Pro parka or an Arte hoodie is no small feat: it's a statement of culture, a perspective on the world, often informed by artistic references.
Younger generations get their information from Instagram, explore online exhibitions, and mix and match styles like a DJ sampling classics. This constant hybridization makes streetwear a field of expression as rich as any canvas.
Towards a new urban museum?
What if tomorrow, museums collected Gore-Tex jackets like sculptures? Already, some institutions like MoMA and the Palais Galliera are incorporating streetwear pieces into their exhibitions. Streetwear, far from being a simple trend, is establishing itself as a testament to its time—just like works of art.
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