High Fashion designers and labels have taken inspiration from street culture for many years. But, is street culture still relevant in inspiring high fashion today?
FASHION ICONS SPEAK OUT:
About the influence of street culture in fashion, Tom Ford said, “I think that street wear, and more specifically, youth culture is, and has always been, a great influence on fashion. I can’t say I take the tube to work anymore, but I’m constantly inspired by how kids wear clothes and put things together in a fresh and exciting way.”
Dior’s Raf Simons said, “The answer to this question has changed considerably in the last decade. Fashion is on the streets faster than ever and the streets have a direct and quick access to fashion. There’s now the possibility of a much more integrated dialogue between fashion and its audience and vice versa. I don’t know if it’s an influence, it’s rather a much more direct energy that you may choose to avail yourself or not.”
F/w ’14 international runway – street inspirations:
We on BandraRoad agree with these designers. Street culture is still very much alive and part of the high street fashion industry. Looking through some of the collections from Paris, Milan and New York fashion weeks, a few designer collections stood out to us as influenced by the street culture. You can clearly see the influence of pop, grunge and rock, reflected in their clothes.
McQ Alexander McQueen: Milan Fashion Week F/W 14
I love this ready-to-wear collection from McQueen. The torn boyfriend jeans paired with a varsity jacket is so simple, yet effortlessly cool. The leather patchwork skinnies just scream rocker chic.
Manish Arora: Paris Fashion Week F/W 14
I’ve always been such a Manish Arora fan. For me, his collection always makes me happy. I love his use of color and graphic prints – it’s never too much, the way he does it.
DSquared2: F/W 2014
I’m crazy about DSquared2. I love their use of denim – it’s laid back and easy. Brothers Dan and Dean always know how to put a look together, which makes their collection extremely wearable.
India RUNWAY – STREET INSPIRATIONS:
Street culture, albeit from different “streets,” also inspire top designers in India. Take a look at some of our favourite street inspired looks that hit the runway this season in India.
Kallol Datta is among the new breed in the Indian fashion industry and my personal favourite. He has a very strong aesthetic and is one of the few designers that is ALWAYS inspired by art and music. When asked if street culture inspires his collection, he said, “I gravitate towards a certain ‘datedness’ in design. Subcultural references from the 1980s and ’90s are always present in my line, be it layering, iconography or music.”
The inspiration behind his most recent collection at Wills India Fashion Week was about love. Love for an entity and hate for another entity co-existing in his head beautifully. Hence, his collection is called, “Paranoia Paranoia”. The vibe was very grunge but luxe. Very basic street templates like t-shirts and cargos. I loved the red saree, and pairing it with red sneakers makes the look very versatile and wearable.
Aneeth Arora, of Pero, describes her clothing as ‘instinctive’; she lets the fabric do the talking. She is inspired by ordinary people going about their daily lives. And that inspiration clearly comes through in her latest collection.
I love her brand of ant-fit and frumpy chic clothing. The use of stripes and checkered prints makes her clothes very endearing and relatable. I particularly liked her big hobo leather bags and bag packs. I loved this white cotton dress, pair it with cute brown booties and you have the perfect brunch outfit.
Mrinalini Gupta believes that street culture has a major influence in fashion. Her recent collection was influenced by Kashmir, its aggression and duress.
There is something very comfortable about her clothes – adapting to a subtle grunge look and cooling off to lounge shapes. I loved her loose-fitting pants that dominated the collection. My favourite, however, is the wide leg white palazzo pants paired with a loose white shirt. You can wear these pants with a fitted tank top or pair that shirt with boyfriend denims and you have two great summer looks.
Runway meets the street:
The verdict is in… whether it be the runway of Milan and Paris or the runways of Delhi and Mumbai; street culture is still a major influence to high fashion designers. What’s super cool is that each designer has different “Streets” that inspire him/her, from the streets of New York to the streets of Kashmir… exactly the ethos we live for on BandraRoad.
The next time you’re out street shopping, whether in India or abroad, look out for those one-off statement pieces so that you can put together your own runway-meets-the-street look.
Stay tuned with us on BandraRoad for our upcoming series on how to get your own runway-ready looks, straight from the street.
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