There is a heartwarming nostalgia that occurs when sifting and sorting through a decade of posts. More than once I gasped while reading about brands that have come and gone and fads that hit hard and fizzled.
Who can forget the slogan Homies (Hermes) tees or the final days of Scoop? How about when Decades used to have epic pop-up sales in NYC or when Target dropped Missoni and then later opened in Harlem?
In the same vein, it’s comforting to see how much has stayed the same. We still love Rimowa luggage as much as we did in 2010. A Cartier Love bracelet is as cherished as it was in 2012 even if it will cost you 75% more. How about the staying power of the Gucci loafer, which first appeared in a gift guide in 2014? The mini-designer bag was first mentioned on the blog in 2012 but only last year did Jacqumus really amplify the trend with the Chiquita.
Below is the second half listing the top 10 the most talked-about fashion moments of the decade. (Click here to read part I):
Off-White
Vetements was the first brand to introduce the fashion public to overpriced basic tees and sweatshirts but Virgil Abloh sealed the trend. Kanye West’s former stylist released his first collection for the Italian streetwear brand in 2014 but it wasn’t until Hershliefers and Barneys started carrying the merchandise did Americans really take notice. At warp speed, luxury streetwear enveloped the fashion dialogue. The $600 sweatshirt has since become ubiquitous and lead to an entire fashion genre. Women particularly were roped in with the Binder Clip bag. Where will streetwear go from here? It’s hard to say but there will have to be an evolution that expands than overpriced hoodies and sneakers to keep customers engaged.
Supreme
It was tempting to combine Supreme and Off-White but their fashion contributions are much different. Supreme grabbed the attention of the luxury audience with its Louis Vuitton collaboration but it’s the weekly fashion drops that really changed the fashion ecology. In 2017, Thursdays at 11am became a ceremonial fight to outsmart the bots and cop the latest drop. Those who succeeded were rewarded greatly by the resale economy. Some items immediately grew in value by several multiples. The Supreme brand may have started to fizzle but the drop strategy continues to transform into a fashion norm.
Slippers
The nicotine conversation has evolved since the advent of Juul but various styles of smoking slippers have dominated the decade. Charlotte Olympia’s spiderweb embroidery, Tom Ford’s plush velvet, Del Toro’s kitschy icons, and Stubbs & Wootton’s customized version gave us a great alternative to the standard ballet flat. This might also be a good time to throw in the advent of the Gucci fur slide, which arguably falls within the ‘smoking’ category of footwear. The fur-lined slipper was introduced as part of Alessandro Michele’s Fall 2015 Gucci collection. The shoe was also an early participant in the Instagram influencer gifting strategy. It proved to be a brilliant move for this Gucci bourgeois signature item that still seems mildly relevant today.
Collaborations
The concept of fusing two brands together started in the early ’00s with the likes of Steven Sprouse’s graffiti designs on Vuitton bags but it’s hard to look back into the 2010s and not remember some of the most exciting fashion combinations. Sonia Rykiel x H&M, Missoni x Target, M. Versace x H&M, Stella McCartney x Gap Kids, Supreme x Louis Vuitton, Balmain x H&M, Riccardo Tisci x Nike and DVF x Gap are some of my favorite collaborations of the decade. The hi-lo concept has fizzled but designers are still fusing together brands to create buzz. Moncler Genious and Nike are still able to attract huge collaboration attention and I don’t see that ending any time soon.
Influencers
Video killed the radio star and Instagram influencers killed the fashion magazine. Who could have ever imagined independent women creating and constructing fashion shoots ranging from the fantastical to the attainable? Women all over the world have hit a nerve with just about every fashion focused eyeball. From benign unboxings to outfit of the day shoots, Instagram influencers everywhere took control of the fashion visual. On any given day, you can spot a dozen photoshoots taking place throughout Soho. After almost a decade of hashtags, a pretty little picture won’t cut it. To maintain their position at the top, fashion influencers will need to do more than stike a pose and provide depth and authority to hold the attention of audiences.
