Skateboarding & Global Luxury (Article)

SKATEBOARDING & GLOBAL LUXURY

BY TEVIN MUENDO

Despite the level of influence of the behemoth that is the Western Centric Global fashion industry we see that different cultures and subcultures have their own distinct conceptions of luxury and differ in their purposes for purchasing luxury. The use of luxury is not homogeneous. For example, in the Middle East social position translates into persistent materially different living standards and also civil participation, luxury has a unique and distinct function - to represent one’s position in society. Luxury connotes buying power and with it social status, aristocracy and royalty. Interestingly in Western countries such as the UK (where a large proportion of global luxury is headquartered), the function of luxury fashion and in some cases is in stark contrast to that of that in the global east. Crucially, we see that appropriation of luxury is not necessarily indicative of buying power or social status. The purchase of Global luxury here is dictated by two forces, moving in different directions towards the same outcome. The first phenomenon I call ‘buying up’. The second I will call the phenomenon of ‘Dressing down’.

And so, against this backdrop, where does luxury fashion locate itself within the subculture of skateboarding? Streetwear brands, which have been popular at the turn of the 2010’s preceded in some way the emergence of skate culture in luxury fashion, for example Kith and Undefeated. However now in the West, and in other notoriously fashion forward nations, such as Japan, we see there has been a decline in the popularity of streetwear and a waning of its influence in propagation of what is considered to be trendy. In a 2019 interview with Dazed digital, the late Virgil Abloh foretold the death of streetwear, suggesting a movement towards a more varied adoption of vintage clothes, such as vintage tailoring, as opposed to sneakers, hoodies and t-shirts.

Skating, however, has been experiencing an upsurge in its influence within the space of global luxury. One could hardly argue that this is a new phenomenon though, ever since its creation in the 1950’s, skateboarding has experienced fluctuations in its popularity and broader influence. A peak in 1963 signalled the explosive popularity that skateboarding could garner, the fates turned quickly though, as in 1965, it was considered to have fallen out of favour with the ever changing interests of the youth. Important to note is that in these formative years, skateboarding was still considered an outsider’s hobby, a counterculture, and what skateboarders wore was not of importance to those within the sport. This all changed when in a notable resurgence of skating in the 1980’s, crucially the subculture found its place within a rapidly expanding global fashion industry. And so where are we now? If I attempt to locate the present fixation with skateboarding within global luxury, I believe that fashion juggernaut Vogue’s activities in 2016 highlighted the time in which skating once again became ‘cool’. In particular their ‘skate week’ was a significant catalyst for mainstream dissemination of this ‘new’ aesthetic throughout the industry.

The subculture of skating, like many others, has its own specific conception of global luxu ry. In this community its purpose is both functional and contains an element of signalling. This differs from the signalling functions we explored earlier, in that they’re not trying to signify the themes associated with luxury: expense, scarcity, rarity and social status to the outside world, but rather within the skate community itself they are partaking in a ritualistic and specific form of signifying. They are sending cultural signifiers to people that can identify them. They are trying to indicate that they understand how this community works, what it respects and doesn’t respect, and that they are very much an insider.

There is a big irony that lies within luxury in skate fashion here. Speaking from experience, most skaters are often broke, and part of the charm of the culture is always looking for a cheap or free alternative. The community knows this and in fact thrives off this, it’s a central part of the aesthetic, from sharing cigarettes with friends, to getting the ends of zoots[5], calling ‘dibs’ on your friend’s food and so forth.

So interestingly in the skate community, luxury does not convey wealth per se. The people you skate with are people you’ve known a long time, almost a second family involved in the emotional and draining sport, and thus, they don’t care about wealth. More concern is placed upon your skating ability, and if you can walk the talk.

There are certain brands that fall into the tranche of cool skate-able wear, but not actually skated, due to the level of expense, namely Arcteryx, Gucci (loafers), Salomon, Stone Island, Burberry. Others fall into the bracket of skate clothes that are actually skated, and some that fall in-between the two, a key example being the grass-roots skate brand Palace. This highlights the symbiotic relationship between the skate community, global luxury and the fashion industry at large.

Largely the pandemic has completely shifted the range of peoples social activities. Outdoor activity has become highly coveted, this can be seen in the rising interest in Gorpcore. The very same mechanism applies to skateboarding, the uptake of new skateboarders,

Stylist- Tevin Muendo Photographer- Eugenie Sere Models- Charlotte Bailey & Camilla Mina

and skaters revisiting has been incredible. Also it is no longer young males rolling around on these four wheels, but an increasing number of females, and adults of all ages. Countless stores such as Slick Willies in the UK reporting stockout and unforeseen online demand. At high street level, brands are constantly observing who they perceive to be as trendy, on the streets, and through digital media, platforms such as Tiktok, Instagram have proliferated this idea of a ‘glamorous’ outdoor lifestyle. Thus, brands in their ever ongoing search for the “next big thing” have identified skating, amongst other things, as being “in vogue”.

What the fashion industry recognises in skating, in the sweaty mess of boys and girls, trying and failing, injuring and landing, fist bumping and swearing, is it’s, A) offline B) Communal and C) AUTHENTIC! The last point being particularly crucial to brands as increase awareness of the dearth of authenticity in their influencer marketing strategies becomes clear.

The symbiotic relationship becomes clear, as skaters have indeed moved into modelling in the high fashion industry, with Highxtar magazine stating that pro ‘skateboarders are taking the stage and are becoming the most sought-after models of the last decade’[4]. To the skaters, they gain an extra income that allows them to focus on developing their skating, (which for most can be very hard to sustain a living from solely), whilst for the fashion industry they get to tap into the current social capital that skating exudes for marketing purposes.

Notable appropriations of the culture include a Supreme and Louis Vuitton partnership in 2017, this collaboration according to Highsnobiety really ‘opened the flood gates’. This, unlike other Supreme collabs, was not available at ‘Supreme’s brick-and-mortar stores or online’.

The response has been varied from those firmly entrenched in the industry, with some welcoming the introduction of global luxury into the subculture, whilst some feel violated, by yet another capitalist venture trying to exploit a culture for its own gain, without returning dues to the community. Fashionista magazine cites a reason for this disdain for the merge being ‘models and bloggers poaching their style — and receiving praise for being on the cutting edge — when skaters have dressed like this for decades’ The more grass roots brands also benefit as they experience an influx of first time skaters purchasing merchandise. Naturally, their outlook is more positive. For example a KCDC skate shop employee in Brooklyn, called Nathan, when interview by Fashionista magazine claimed those in the community that are annoyed by the association with global luxury are people that are trying to ‘own skateboarding’, and that skateboarding is for everyone to enjoy, not for people to ‘claim as their own’. He does caveat this by saying that it is important for them to get the right people involved in the process, noting that it ‘sucks’, that actual skaters are cut from the conversation for most of the time. For those that do not have a financial stake in the popularity of skateboarding, the reaction has varied from indifferent to rather infuriated. A popular New York skate filmmaker, who had an interview with Vogue during their ‘Skate Week’, conveyed his frustrations during an interview with Fashionista, as they ‘did little more than ask bland, generic questions about skating, making him feel as if they were “brain dead’’ to skateboarding and its culture as a whole.’[8] It’s not hard to see why this group within the community are pissed off, when vogue published articles declaring Thrasher t-shirts ‘every cool models off duty staple’, with Complex magazine calling this ‘dumbfounding’, due to its ‘sheer tone deafness’. Vogue’s ‘Skate week’, an editorial dedicated to the intersection between skateboarding and high fashion, again incensed certain members of the community, articles included ‘2017 Looks and the Skateboards to Match’, and ‘An Ode to Great Skater Hair, From Stacy Peralta to Leticia Bufoni’, ignoring the myriad of ethnicities that constitute the skate community. The cherry on the cake of a great editorial was Vogue claiming that celebrities when clocking off from regular work, like to nail their ‘ollies’ and ‘flip kicks’, a butchering of the Rodney Mullen trick the ‘Kickflip’. It is clear that a strong

division exists within the community about the place of global luxury within the skate industry.

Needless to say, whatever the future holds for the symbiotic relationship between Skateboarding and Global luxury, some lucidity would not go amiss, on the part of the latter. And as the New York based skate filmmaker advised, the publication should ‘be careful, and not to go about its coverage in a corny way.