What is Street Style?
Street style is fashion that is born, as the name suggests, from the streets. With deep origins in Black culture, streetwear is the fashion from people around us instead of those far removed from us like fashion executives.
The difference is the well-dressed people you encounter by happenstance are rooted in function and fashion; plus they’re not afraid to take risks. It’s the originality of the outfits, of the combined patterns and contrasting fits that make these ensembles memorable and enviable.
Street style has been around for as long as people have been. The changes we’ve seen in the past decade is how it has proliferated into every sector of the fashion industry. Like all trends, the style originated from Black people in cities for Black people in cities, but has now gained traction everywhere.
Considering the style originated within the Black community, it makes sense for other people of color to be influenced, namely the South Asian community.
South Asia encompassing Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Butan, Maldives and Nepal have rich histories of fashion. Their vibrant colors and patterns lend themselves beautifully to all fashion trends. It’s no surprise that they’ve also found homes in street style.
South Asian designers are making waves in luxury urban fashion as evidenced by the brands below. All the brands share a history in South Asia mingled with streetwear influences that each creates a captivating brand.
Which of the following brands are you excited to follow?
NorBlack NorWhite
Image courtesy of norblacknorwhite.com
NorBlack NorWhite was founded by Mriga Kapadiya and Amrit Kumar in 2010 when the two moved to Mumbai to further explore their Indian roots. They learned ancient methods of tie-dye that inspired them to bring new life to old styles; and make them accessible to all people.
The brand has since evolved to an in-house production facility that produces fashion collections and welcomes collaborations with other people of color/women-led brands.
Love Closely
Love Closely is a Canadian-based brand that makes urban wear “rooted in tradition, culture and history.” Many of their pieces feature excerpts of famous Farsi and Urdu poems as a conscious reminder of the timeless arts Asian cultures have provided.
Along with taking their roots seriously, the brand also prioritizes ethical standards for producing their clothing; they visit their factories to ensure compliance to safety standards, regular internal audits are performed and goods are made locally to reduce breaks in the supply chain whenever possible.
Rastah
Described as an “artisanal urban wear brand”, Rastah aims to bring South Asian, specifically Pakistani images and motifs in the same conversation as Western elements. A classic styling is Urdu phrases in vibrant colors imprinted on Western style sweatpants and hoodies.
Despite the Western influence, Rastah is entirely based in Pakistan: its mockups, material sourcing and production all take place in the country. Rastah also releases limited collections as part of their sustainable promise.
Image courtesy of rastah.co
Profound Co.
Image courtesy of profoundco.com
Profound is a luxury streetwear brand whose pieces ”invoke a sense of timeless poetry within the framework of global contemporary fashion”. They excel at creating fresh pieces rooted in themes of culture, religion and love.
Mercy x Mankind
Mercy x Mankind is a New-York based luxury streetwear brand founded by American-Pakistani designer Isaac Saqib. The brand explores themes of faith, struggle and love all to ”assert the power of understanding others and ourselves through mercy”.
MXM gives 10% of every purchase to a charitable organization and holds firm to ethically-produced clothing ideals; every garment is made-to-order either by a seamstress with which Isaac directly interacts or by artisans in Pakistan.
Image courtesy of mxmny.com