Its 2019 and I’m sure we’re all well aware that street wear culture and fashion have taken over the sidewalks. From high end Commes Des Garcon and Gucci to everyday wear of Adidas and Nike. From your Gigi Hadids to your Lil Xans, street wear has come to snatch some edges. Street wear has been around for many years, before skrrs skrrs decided to make it their uniform, in fact, just over 60 years ago, Yves Saint Laurent, who once looked around the dull streets of Paris and felt the change in the air of youth and ease making its way into fashion. He then released everything from miniskirts and sneakers as office attire to the world and since then street wear or prêt a porter has taken over.
Street wear greats such as Virgil Abloh, Kim Jones and Hedi Slimane have all become heads of fashion house greats such Gucci, Luis Vuitton and Celine by bringing the traditionally haute couture brands into the future with more youth trendy looks. Bringing what people have labeled as the snobsociety brands into modern times. We have your street wear and prêt a porter heavy weight brands that have been doing it since Run D Mc was telling us to walk this way and Puffy was Biggie’s hype man such as, Adidas, Kappa, Fubu and Fila, Vetements, Commes De Garcon who have all made tremendous resurrections over the past five years thanks once again to Hip Hop which as always plays a major role in fashion:  Stussy, Undefeated, Supreme and the list goes on. These labels have taken over our instagram pages, music videos, adverts, your mom’s bible study; they’re everywhere. Their off-beat fashion shows, their raw grunge themes have made waves and influenced some of the greats such as Gucci. More and more haute couture houses are taking street wear and blending them into their shows and collections, some to improve house salves and popularity and others for clout cause most millennials don’t know their names unless they break out the street wear and recruit street wear designers to help improve their image now. That leaves me the question of; where did all the haute couture go?
Houte Couture is high end fashion, the original one of ones, straight off the run way, Galliano, Mergela, Fendi, Dior, Prada, Vera Wang, Givenchy, Gaultier, oh the glitz and the glam. These fashion houses create unique and painstakingly expensive pieces that are basically art. Each designer from the houses spend months designing mostly handmade, embroidered for hours to be released at a fashion show and sold to the highest paying client. Now when it comes to these pieces they range from hundred thousands to the millions. Each piece worked on for months and sometimes years until the designer is ready to unveil his master piece. Just for a fashion house to become known or even considered as Haute Couture it has to follow strict criteria by French Law such as, a fashion house must have a workshop in Paris, us have at least fifteen full time staff members, must design made to order pieces for clients with at least one fitting. There are currently only fifteen Haute Couture studios in Paris.
Although Street wear sales rival those of the haute couture, production and runway shows differ vastly. Where haute couture shows are committed to showing at least thirty five pieces only twice a year and go by seasons for example winter collection will be shown six months before winter in July, the ending of summer in Paris while the summer show will be in January, the wind down of winter. Street wear shows happen a year before, for example the summer 2016 collection will show case in the summer of 2015. Street wear production doesn’t focus on one piece made specifically for one size or one client; they make broad sizes and make clothing for all types of shapes as well as print the same pieces multiple times and are for mass consumption, where as haute couture make clothes for the top percentile of the world. You got a couple hundred thousand euros or dollars to spare, fashion houses are for you. Each piece is tailored for the specific client, all handmade that is the requirement. These pieces though often than not set the street wear trends though as most street wear designers take inspiration from haute couture and their elaborate runway shows, pieces and design transforming them into everyday wear, trendy and fun.
Personally, I wanna be buried in an original piece, give me haute couture every day. I favor wearing a work of art over common wear and that’s the kind of exclusivity haute couture gives their clients. Fashion is art, exclusivity, expression and haute couture does exactly that caters to ones specific need. Street wear is affordable and for the masses, lets everyone in on the “high end†everyday look.  Street wear although comfortable and helps one express themselves, there’s nothing like a one of a kind handmade and tailored piece made specifically for you to make you skip along the street. In a sea of street wear, I’ll ride along draped in haute couture. What do you think, tell us in the comment section below.
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