STREETWEAR IS DEAD
Quasi every single streetwear startup I’ve encountered the last 3 years as a freelance Streetwear technical designer is completely captured by the “minimalist” trend, and categorically refuses to step outside these specs:
-drab, poop tones like beige, greige, browns
-small tonal sans serif wordmark.
-logo is plain and simple, as similar as possible to existing logos.
-base garments are: boxy, drop shoulder, cropped, with the most generic trims and finishes possible. And the highest GSM possible too even if it feels like wearing combat armor.
In 100% cotton because any fibre developed post 1859 is the Devil Incarnate.
But they don’t want to use blanks, “bro”.
They want to pay a designer and manufacturers thousands of $$ to develop a tech pack and patterns to custom manufacture what is essentially “their blank”.
Whyyy?
They’ll never admit it, but subconsciously, they all wish to make a Fear of God nr 1598. Absolutely no unique features are allowed.
Just proposing a different hood lining or font is as horrifying to them as telling them to cut their cat’s whiskers off.
What is so genius and amazing about FOG? The Essentials line most people drool on and purchase and want to emulate is nothing but merch: overpriced square beige poorly cut tube garments with basic typography slapped on the chest.
Has streetwear just become about blind celebrity worship and hyperconsumerism, where any wanker with celebs in his network can offer the hundredth chicken nugget and sheep will fawn and rave over it as if it were 3 Michelin star cuisine?
Jerry Lorenzo's entire career is a masterclass in "it's not what you make, it's who you know."
He met Virgil, Virgil knew Kanye, Kanye wore his shit, and suddenly a guy with no design training nor business acumen who spent $14,000 is a “fashion icon”.
The timeline says it all:
2013: Launches Fear of God by wasting $14k making noob errors because he knew absolutely nothing about garments, fashion, business or manufacturing.
2013: Virgil Abloh shows up at his apartment, takes his tees, gives them to Kanye
2014: Kanye wears Fear of God
2015: Justin Bieber wears Fear of God
2016: Rihanna, Jay-Z, every damn celeb wears Fear of God
2025: CFDA Innovation Award for... beige classic garments and basic hoodies
He didn't build a brand. He banked on cronyism. The product (yes product- not fashion) was secondary. His connections were what sold.
And now every Streetwear startup wantrepreneur thinks they can also pump out more lazy boring crap and get the same result.
They don't realize they're copying the wrong part. They should be copying his contact list, not his hoodie specs.
Do you think Bob from accounting is going to achieve the same success by hiring a designer to make more metric fucktonnes of generic bland basics?
Why has any type of innovation become so taboo in this space?
Isn’t it ages old common sense new businesses need to have a splendid USP to be able to compete in this hyper saturated market?
You all NEED to go to r/streetwearstartup stat and post your basic bland crap then send me screens of the comments you get, so we can both laugh then solve your acute consoomer conformism together.