Will Streetwear Be the End of Luxury as We Know It? | The Robin Report

This article was originally published in The Robin Report, written by Pam Danziger with my own added introduction. You can read the full article here.

Introduction: Streetwear versus Luxury.

What is the mutual relationship?

Streetwear and luxury are in a very close relationship today. What has dawned on me recently is that there is ultimately a dual nature to the position that streetwear holds in the luxury culture today. On one hand, and especially to the lovers of the “pure” luxury and the aura of exclusivity of the heritage brands, luxury and streetwear are two different things. In this legacy perspective, streetwear is just a diffusion line to luxury and not the luxury itself.

From the POV of the young consumers and the emergent generation, however, streetwear might very well be the new luxury. Streetwear is leading the outdated forms of traditional luxury towards a new future as it’s currently the most individualistic and culturally relevant expression of luxury to the new generation. A generation which covets the values such as freedom, self-actualisation and individual identity as the highest and most desirable expressions of the Self. And as the return to the Authentic Self is one of the biggest…