In our survey, 62 percent of respondents say they find quality more important than six months ago, while other dominant desirability drivers include being “a timeless brand” (48 percent ), “the durability of a product” (45 percent ), “timeless product silhouette” (45 percent). It’s in line with the changing expectations consumers place on brands today. Yet, with consumer sentiment towards loud streetwear rapidly changing, an influential growing group of “silent” streetwear devotees are dictating the direction of menswear’s next move.
Brands including YEEZY, WTAPS, and Reigning Champ have long been purveyors of the aesthetic, while luxury brands including The Row, 1017 ALYX 9SM, and Jil Sander - under leadership of ex-Supreme designer Luke Meier - in recent seasons have seamlessly evolved their men’s design language towards one where luxury streetwear staples are subtly perfected. “Outward validation, it seems, has taken a backseat to a more self-assured sense of taste,” noted Highsnobiety’s editorial director, Jian DeLeon.Īt its core, “silent” streetwear isn’t new. For this group of young, sartorial connoisseurs, “minimalist styles” ranked highest in terms of post-pandemic aesthetic attractiveness, with 53 percent of survey respondents stating they found the style more attractive than six months ago. The “Immunized Shopper” has a new generational approach to the world, and has developed an immunity to classic desirability drivers and the more shallow aspects of luxury. In a recent survey that polled the Highsnobiety audience, we laid out how our generation’s relationship to fashion and luxury has changed in the weeks following the global Covid-19 pandemic.
That’s if it’s up to the influential consumers who drive trends. What is true, is that the form of “streetwear,” as it's perceived by the mainstream media and shopper, is partially about to change. The resulting homogenized men’s fashion landscape has been this way for years. Anyone stating otherwise hasn’t opened their eyes to a reality where the once clear distinctions between the design aesthetics and business models of OG streetwear labels, and those of luxury and fast fashion brands - looking to make a quick buck by appropriating streetwear’s sartorial codes - no longer exist.