take a monetary route to “street cred” because you have an influx of cash to conduct trial and error experiments is quite insulting. Rather than ingratiating themselves within the culture – offering them a chance to truly grow an understanding of the history and disposition of its constituents – they buy their affiliations and collaborations with streetwear, only to jump ship after they’ve bastardized the brand.
Now these formerly sought after brands are “out of style” or “too urban,” forcing parasitic high-end brands to find the next streetwear brand to leach off of. Ultimately, this all plays into the continuous narrative of the ambivalent approach to being a minority in America.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Kemji, co-founder of the digital/creative agency, KAMIZV, on this particular subject. I simply asked him one question, “What’s your unfiltered perspective on the recent mergers of streetwear and luxury brands?”
He offered a very healthy and informative response:
“There’s no formula to the culture. You can’t calculate it. That’s what’s so beautiful about it. These high-end brands don’t actually care about these streetwear brands or the culture itself. If they did, they would be a part of the culture. But they don’t want to.
Before you know it you’re buying a warehouse full of Girbaud jeans, look up, and now the culture is wearing skinny jeans. They can’t calculate culture nor do they have a finger on the pulse of it. I don’t wish badly on anyone, but I’m all about the demise of the colonizer.
Let’s delve deeper. Let’s look at Nike.
Here’s my bold prediction: By 2020 Adidas will surpass Nike. They’ve already passed Jordan in