What Did Virgil Mean When He Said “Streetwear Is Dead?”

What Did Virgil Mean When He Said “Streetwear Is Dead?”

Fashion trends emerge out of the blue from unpredictable circumstances and inspirations. Similarly, Streetwear won popularity as soon as it was emerged out of hip hop scenes in New York City in the ’90s. But how surprising it is that the founder of PYREX and streetwear fashion influencer altered his opinion and claimed: “streetwear is dead.”

Virgil Abloh is a fashion icon and a creative director of Louis Vuitton’s menswear collection, who made this statement in an interview with Dazen Magazine. We are curious about this insight, especially the hypebeasts. Now let’s dive into the details.

Launching of Virgil’s Pyrex and Off-White

A brand is like a real-time identity to your business or company. Some brands have millions of followers worldwide,

Virgil has been a passionate kid, and his enthusiasm for art, design, and culture made him a pioneer in fashion designing. His first brand Pyrex Vision suddenly became popular out of nowhere in 2012.

He purchased a deadstock of Lauren flannel shirts at cheap cost, printed them with the “pyrex” and “23” in honor of his childhood hero, Michael Jordan, and sold them for $550 each. It was a huge success for him and motivated him to become an artistic director.

As soon as the Pyrex shuttered in 2013, Virgil launched his luxury collection of men and women streetwear with the label Off-White.

Off-White Consumers and Products

Streetwear is mostly adored by the hype beasts and hip-hop music fans, even if they are not rich. They have a craze of buying streetwear products, including hoodies, sneakers, logo tees, ribbed socks, puffer jackets, sweat pants, hats, tracksuits, chain necklaces, sports jerseys, and loose trousers.

The followers of Streetwear are under 30 and consider it as a fashionable clothing style. Although the products are expensive, they are high in demand because of their catchy and different looks.

Virgil’s Explanation on “Streetwear Is Dead”?

Right after his interview publication, followers became upset with what did Virgil mean when he said “streetwear is dead”? From the reader’s point of view, it simply means the extinction of streetwear fashion. Imagine disappearing off the style and fashion you feel comfortable and look classy in?

The phrase “streetwear is dead” hit hard like anything, especially on all the streetwear lovers who spent a huge sum of money in stocking favorite items.

 It also sounds like a loss for the manufacturers of Streetwear who have been earning large profits.

“I would definitely say it’s going to die, you know? Like, its time will be up. In my mind, how many more t-shirts can we own, how many more hoodies, how many sneakers?” said Abloh in his interview to explain what he meant by Streetwear is going to die.

It was very surprising for the masses and media to digest this opinion by the creator of Streetwear himself. But soon, Virgil gave a clear insight on why he said, “Streetwear is dead.”

Unfortunately, the Off-white and Louis Vuitton designer became a target of backlash on social media after sharing his views regarding George Floyd’s killing. CEO of label Off-white captioned images of violent racism protests and looting of shops on his social media account.

Those captions clearly depicted what did Virgil mean when he said “Streetwear Is Dead”.

“Our own communities, our own shops … this shop was built with blood, sweat, and tears.”

“Streetwear is a community. It’s groups of friends that have a common bond. We hang out on street corners, fight with each other, fight for each other”. But this time, considering it as a community, not a consumer product.

From Embracing Streetwear to “Streetwear is Dead”

“I am all about championing this new era of designers becoming the new rock stars,” shared Virgil Abloh in his blog post while talking about his passion for the Off white brand. He designed his collection of clothes with community-related logos indicating unity, harmony, and peace. Little did we know the end of the decade would be the total alteration of this statement.

The fashion pioneer always had a passion for Streetwear as a community of art, design, and fashion with all the fellow beings. Abloh burst emotionally in the following words while expressing his grief over his notion “streetwear is dead.” “You see the passion, blood, sweat, and tears Sean puts in for our culture.

Moreover, this disgusts me. To the kids that ransacked his store and RSVP DTLA, and all our stores in our scene just know, that product staring at you in your home/apartment right now is tainted and a reminder of a person, I hope you aren’t. We’re a part of culture together.

Is this what you want?? When you walk past him in the future, please have the dignity not to look him in the eye, hang your head in shame….”

Is Off-White Still Popular?

Despite all the mess that happened in recent times, Abloh is still known for driving the “post-streetwear movement” and has earned the title of a pioneer in streetwear luxury fashion. He has millions of Instagram followers.

 Plus, no matter what, he is a role model and fashion icon for his followers. Off-White is planning to be top of the world as it announced in February to seek 1 billion euros in the next decade.

Streetwear is Alive

The youngsters are crazy consumers of streetwear, and they consider these clothes as a class and enhancer of their personalities.

Moreover, Streetwear brands like NIKE, Off-White, Gucci, Supreme NYC, Off-white, and Jordan have launched their 2021 collections. So Streetwear can never be dead as it is a community, passion, and enthusiasm, not just merchandise.

Final Words

Virgil is a passionate American fashion designer who reflects his brand products with love and compassion for the community. We know that he uttered the words “streetwear is dead” owing to crucial circumstances, but it is not actually true.

Actually, this statement was the sentimental outlook and insight of the fashion director of LWMH and GUCCI, as he loves his community and people unconditionally. Additionally, there are a number of streetwear products, and they are high in demand. Hence, Streetwear had a bigger impact on the fashion and luxury industry. To sum up, Streetwear is class, not a trend that is dead or alive.