Formal Streetwear is Taking Over
Europe, grandpa’s closet, Marlboro Reds, and matcha lattes have all made their resurgence in the fashion community as of late. While at face value, they may seem to have nothing in common, they are united by a certain je ne sais quoi they exude. Responsible is a genre of fashion on the upturn: Formal Streetwear.
Commonly identified through baggy, pleated suit trousers, blank knit sweaters, trench coats, loafers and derbies, and quiet timepieces, formal streetwear in its essence is about looking put together without trying. But before taking a deeper delve into its identifying characteristics, let's look into the history of the genre.
The streetwear scene in the mid to late 2010s was dominated by brands and logos, known as the “Hypebeast Era” by most. The frontrunners during this time included brands among the likes of Supreme, Fear of God, and Off-White. On top was the Supreme x Louis Vuitton Box Logo Hoodie, the skinny Fear of God Zipper Denim, and of course you couldn’t forget your Jordan 1s. Sneakers were the only footwear acceptable in this era of fashion. One’s metric of how stylish they were was determined by the pieces, logos, and money they had.
There were two people largely responsible for a shift away from logo-mania: A$AP Nast and Tyler, the Creator. In May of 2019, Tyler, the Creator released IGOR, and with this rollout came a preppy look defined by loafers, sweater vests, cardigans, and suit pants. This was most people’s first introduction to more formal footwear. While Tyler’s luxury brand, Golf Le Fleur, had a collaboration with Solovair’s Tassel Loafer, it was actually Solovair’s sister company, Dr. Martens, who saw a surge in sales with their Adrian Tassel Loafer. A$AP Nast, rapper in the A$AP collective, including the likes of A$AP Rocky and late A$AP Yams, can be the one accredited to the revival of the Adidas Samba. Nast could be seen wearing Sambas as far back as 2017, most times paired with classic 501s, a trench coat, a tight fitting vintage shirt, or some funky headwear. Now 7 years later, Sambas have solidified themselves in the streetwear zeitgeist.
Brands who can be accredited to the rise of formal streetwear include Aimé Leon Dore (ALD) and JJJJound. ALD is a clothing and lifestyle brand originating from Queens, NY, focusing on the heritage and essence of New York. One specific collaboration which blew up was their sneaker with New Balance, the NB 550. Many saw it as a more sophisticated alternative to the Air Force 1 or Nike Dunk, just different enough to be the next “it” shoe. While the ALD pairs would sell out and resell for up to $500, countless general release colorways were made, making it virtually impossible to go anywhere without seeing a pair. JJJJound started off as a moodboard by Justin R. Saunders in 2006. The moodboard was characterized by its quiet, simple, and clean images, akin to Apple’s design language. In 2013, JJJJound released their first item, a tote bag, and have been releasing elevated basics ever since. Their shoe collaborations can also be seen as a driving factor in formal streetwear’s rise, especially the JJJJound Reebok Club C, with pairs reselling for up to $1000 deadstock at its peak.
Bigger streetwear brands are starting to take notice of the trend as well. Stussy’s Fall/Autumn ‘24 collection has a black leather trench coat, styled with a hoodie, baggy blue jeans, and derbies. They did a collaboration with Japanese designer Our Legacy in 2024, which includes a unisex everyday purse, and a casual oversized blazer. Stussy also did a collaboration with Clarks, releasing a black Wallabee Low pair with playing card suits on the toe box. Supreme has also dipped its feet into the trend as well, with this two-piece oversized pinstripe pant and blazer combo in their Spring/Summer ‘22 lookbook, as well as a patterned knit cardigan in their Fall/Winter ‘22 collection.
I’d like to suggest some brands, creators, and pages to follow if you’d like to partake in this formal streetwear trend. However, I’d first like to preface by emphasizing that second hand clothing is the best way to partake in any trend, even more so with this one. Since formal streetwear is rooted in the idea of having a timeless, classy, effortless wardrobe, things like trench coats, oversized pleated trousers, and loafers can all be easily bought second hand.
With that out of the way, SWEATS Collective has a beautiful pair of pleated trousers and pleated shorts that fit perfectly within this trend. Fugazi is a brand based in LA that combines elements of skatewear, workwear, and formal streetwear into one. New Balance and Adidas are the main players in terms of sneakers, with models like the NB 990, NB 991, Samba, and Gazelle defining this trend. Instagram pages you should follow include nobiases, fvckingandrew, and vjintagemales.
Formal streetwear has a respectable footing in mainstream fashion as of today, and while there are still some remnants of the piece-centered attitude of the 2010s, I’d argue it’s carried out in a different manner. To elaborate, many parallels can be drawn between the notion shoes like Jordan’s, Yeezy’s, and Dunks had in the 2010s to shoes like sambas, 550s, Adrian Loafers, Margiela GATs, and Tabi’s today. These shoes still have that “specific pieces mean I have style” energy. However, while outfits in the 2010s did not care about outfit cohesion, pairing long scoop tees with skinny jeans and chunky sneakers, the footwear frontrunners of today are quietly styled with much more taste, in my opinion. The shoes don’t make the outfit, but compliment it. However, even though the surface level brand culture of the 2010s is no longer a prominent problem, another one arises.
There is an argument to be made about how formal streetwear can lead to an imitation of culture, as opposed to a natural curation of it. The same way that skaters were upset about brands like Supreme, Thrasher, and Stussy falling into the hands of the mainstream, formal streetwear produces a lot of posers as well. I believe that the shift towards more “sophisticated” pieces of clothing has generated a yearning for more sophisticated taste. As I mentioned before, things like matcha, cigarettes, jazz, wine, soccer, and even Yankee Hats are all defining features of formal streetwear as well. One might question the authenticity behind the surge of these interests. Do you really like soccer? Or do you want to validate the sambas you have on your feet? Are you really enjoying that wine and charcuterie, or is the beer and pizza calling your name? Fashion trends have always straddled the line between true enjoyment and inauthenticity, and formal streetwear is no different. So like with any trend, I urge you not to copy the looks you see exactly, but instead take a look at your wardrobe, and integrate the aspects you genuinely like of formal streetwear piece by piece, for the sake of fighting overconsumption as well as creating a wardrobe that more accurately represents you and your interests.
