Fashion’s Latest Obsession With Skateboarding: Cultural Appropriation Or Appreciation?

Walking the streets of any metropolitan city, you’re doomed to enter the pool of wannabe fashionistas and trendsetters wearing what seems to be the newest must have staple of any aspiring fashion blogger: The infamous Thrasher tee. A now unavoidable statement piece loved by any and everyone who thinks they’ve got a unique sense of fashion, upsetting the skater kids that ‘wore it before it was cool’ and now scornfully mumble “fucking posers” under their breath as they mean mug the culture vultures sucking the life out of originality or of what’s left of it…

…at least that is what it feels like looking at the current situation surrounding fashion’s latest obsession over skate culture.

Models, rappers, anyone with a popping Instagram (which basically is the same thing as a model) and everyone else in the fashion sphere is now rocking something skate related. Although no one quite knows where this sudden craze around skateboarding has come from, it’s here and everyone wants a piece of the pie.
Whilst some brands like Vetements or Gosha Rubchinskiy leave it at releasing clothes inspired by skate brands…

Vetements Interpretation on the Thrasher Flame Shirt

Gosha Rubchinskiy Interpretation on the Thrasher Flame Shirt

… others take it a step further and transform entire showrooms into skate parks like Dior did for their Dior Homme Winter 2016/2017 fashion show:

Dior Homme Winter 2016/2017 fashion show

Although fashion’s fascination feels brusque, it wasn’t as unpredictable as one may think. The relationship between skateboard culture and the fashion industry has been in existence for a long time now but probably was never at this peaking level as it is right now. Still, the concluding fusion of these two parts was foreseeable to occur at some point or another so this just might be that time.

The (unintended) influence skate culture is having on current fashion is undeniable and with that, it’s clothing has gone mainstream and skaters are not with it. Understandably…. to some extent, that is.

As fashion has always had a pretty rocky past with culture and people constantly calling it out for it’s lack or blatant defiance of authenticity and lazy attempts of recreation, it doesn’t come as a surprise that skaters feel as though their culture isn’t being represented and respected correctly which is replicable looking at some of the corny videos released by various fashion outlets featuring models instead of actual skaters -which is the main problem- displaying ‘skater looks’ and posing in skate parks. Fashion’s at times cringeworthy take on skateboarding makes it hard to shake the feeling off of skate culture being seen as nothing but another trivial trend with no depth, value or purpose besides the one it serves fashion wise and that is the aftermath many foresaw when the fashion industry made it’s first moves on skateboarding.

Gucci SS16

Back in the day, skate brands like Vans, Thrasher, Fucking Awesome and others used to enjoy a certain sense of cool anonymity. Only a certain group of people –skaters– knew about them thus giving them a interesting, mysterious vibe. (Not saying that they’ve lost it, but you get the gist) They were directly related to skate culture and symbolized that rugged, rebellious, badass attitude you associate with the lifestyle. You see a kid in a Spitfire tee, there’s a high chance you’d think they’re a skater. You see a kid in a Girl sweater, you’d probably think they’re a skater.
Fast forward a couple of years later and that direct link has gone. Nowadays everyone wears what used to be clothing that represented the culture and what it stood for. The grimy underground flair of iconic skater clothing steadily fades into nothingness each time another big name is spotted in a skater hoodie and therefore advertises it. The result of that is exposure and even though this may sound like a positive at first, many people in the skate community have voiced their complaints about this via blogs and other outlets.

One of the people that didn’t seem to resonate well with celebs wearing skater clothing, in particular Thrasher was Thrasher Magazines Editor Jake Phelps who stated his discomfort about non skaters wearing skate clothing in an interview with Hypebeast.com in which he clarified that the brand does not endorse Rihanna, Justin or “any of those f-ing clowns” by sending them their merchandise.

Justin Bieber and Rihanna wearing Thrasher

Although many agree with his stance on the topic, others appear to take it more lightly.

In an interview with fashionista.com a skate shop employee from Brooklyn’s KCDC had this to say when asked about fashion application of skate culture:

“I think the people who get mad about it are those who try to ‘own’ skateboarding, but you can’t own skateboarding. It’s for everyone and you can’t try to claim it as your own. I think it’s flattering to skateboarding that it’s reaching other areas and other lifestyles, but it sucks if they don’t do it properly or get the right people involved. But that’s out of skateboarders’ hands as well. If someone wants to get involved in skateboarding and they have the money to do it, then they can — and you can’t really blame them for trying.”

Two different standpoints on the case that sum up the polarizing ends of the fence but we can all agree on one fact. Fashion could do better.

CÉLINE Spring 2011 Campaign

But is the heat the fashion industry is receiving validated or is it an overreaction?

On one hand yes it is. It is understandable why someone involved in the skating scene would passive aggressively ball their fist when seeing a person with absolutely no knowledge on skating and a lack of interest in it wearing a skate brand or going as far as using a skateboard as an accessory. The annoyance I imagine skaters feel at this sight is comparable to the blanketed rage you feel when that band you used to like but everyone shitted on, finally lands a mainstream hit and all of a sudden everyone pretends as if they’ve been die hard fans all along. We’ve all been there, we all hate it so yes, we get it. But actually getting mad over it is not worth it because if there’s one thing we’ve learned about the fashion industry over the past years then that it wields it’s obsession the same way 13 year olds do. They come as fast as they go.
Fashion is not about to settle down and it’s affair with skate culture will be nothing other than exactly that: another transitory liaison. It’s in now and it’s gonna be out tomorrow.

So in conclusion, it all comes down to the fashion industry once again missing the point of appreciating culture and as ever appropriating it. Big surprise. But until it finally gets the memo and starts educating itself on culture and how not to appropriate it, all we can really do is sit back and watch which culture fashion will feast on next.

Slider Image: Skateandannoy