Street Style Becomes High Fashion

Blogging Day 4: Trickle Up Fashion in the 21st Century

By the 1960’s, the Post War era and time of Industrialization made it possible for everyone to have the same products due to mass production of fashion goods. Social classes began to disappear and you could no longer tell how much money someone had by what they were wearing. Subcultures were created by the youth as a way for them to be distinctive and unique. These subcultures had an influence on fashion, “[t]hrough global media and popular culture, members of the lower classes, and subcultural and marginal groups, have been able to influence fashion as much as those in the upper classes.” (Medvedev, K., 2005, para. 12).

Vivienne Westwood's Fall 2010 Collection Pieces

Military inspired looks

For years now, designers have been inspired by street style and what the average person is wearing. As human beings, we like new things. Fashion is driven by the consumers’ acceptance or rejection of a product. Times have changed, its not only the upper class who have a say in what is “in”. The hottest trends have been found on the streets and are worn by the middle class, people who have created these unique looks for themselves because they couldn’t afford the upper class’ idea of fashion. Vivienne Westwood took the punk look off the streets and made it trendy for high fashion. The military inspired clothing started in the 16^th century with slashed and cut clothes but the style has not gone away. Military inspired prints and outfits can still be found in famous retailers, like Forever 21 and Express, today.

Tribal inspired look

 One specific trend that has always been trickle up fashion is ethnic inspired wear. Truly ethnic and traditional clothing is known as anti-fashion because it’s a method of adornment that doesn’t fit within the traditional idea of fashion as change (Kaiser, S. & Looysen, R., n.d.).  Ethnic wear stays the same over years; fashion however, is constantly changing. Yet, designers found ethnic wear inspiring. The tribal look is all the rage these days, “[t]hey [designers] are all weaving their ideas into a cross-cultural patchwork that embraces the magic-carpet motifs of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, the Ikat patterns of Indonesia, and the embroideries inspired by ancient Chinese dynasties.” (Alexander, H., 2010, para. 2).

Another trend that started with average people is the nautical look. The trend has been around for a while and is probably in culmination right now; even I have a striped tee and anchor necklace. The trend was a hit with designers and consumers alike because, “[t]here is a romantic image of life on the sea reflected in a navy jacket with brass buttons, a crisp white sailor’s uniform….” (Bye, E., 2005). The look is once again on the runway as designers like Chanel, Alexander McQueen, and Sarah Burton showcased their ocean inspired looks on the Spring 2012 runway (“Style.com”, n.d.).

Nautical inspired looks

Designers can get inspiration from anywhere and everywhere. Looking at what a regular person is wearing out and about helps a designer create products that consumers will enjoy and accept. Denim jeans are a classic piece that everyone owns now, they may even have five or 6 pairs of jeans; however, jeans were a common work uniform for workers. The item then trickled up and has turned into one of the most common and staple commodities everyone has in their wardrobe.

Resources:

1. Alexander, H. (2010, April). Get the tribal look for spring/summer 2010. Retrieved from http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/news-features/TMG7624293/Get-the-tribal-look-for-springsummer-2010.html

2. Bye, Elizabeth. 2005. Nautical style. In A–Z of Fashion. Retrieved from http://www.bergfashionlibrary.com/view/bazf/bazf00416.xml

3. Kaiser, S. & Looysen, R. (n.d.). Antifashion. In Berg Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion: Volume 3 – The United States and Canada . Retrieved from http://www.bergfashionlibrary.com/view/bewdf/BEWDF-v3/EDch3023.xml

4. Medvedev, K. (2005). Social class and clothing. In A–Z of Fashion. Retrieved from http://www.bergfashionlibrary.com/view/bazf/bazf00532.xml

5. Spring 2012 Trend Reports. (n.d.). In Style.com. Retrieved from http://www.style.com/trendsshopping/trendreport/010912_Trend_Report/