Urban Wear is often looked down on by the fashion set. Many fashionistas would rather have a small LV printed discreetly on a blouse that a huge black cat printed across the entire front. Many of the urban brands have faithfully produced tacky, cheap and overdone pieces, aimed at the mainstream audience. Accordingly, many consumers have picked up on this trend and steered clear of the urban fashion market. This season, however, it seems that many of the urban brands have stepped up the stylistic quality of their designs, producing pieces that emulate a more high-end aesthetic.
While it remains hard to love most of the urban-wear collections in their entirety, there are definitely a few pieces that, if worn properly, are fashion forward enough to mesh well in an outfit composed of the most respected designers in the industry. Here is a short compilation of looks and specific pieces that will make you wonder whether urban wear brands are becoming contenders in the finicky world of fashion.
Baby Phat
This fashion empire headed by the queen of “fabulosity” herself, Kimora Lee, can very often seem overdone. The trademark cat is almost too recognizable, as it always appears front and center on this brands’ items. But the Baby Phat ’09 collection boasts a more refined look, with pieces that can be worn by both the young hipsters and the urban sophisticate glamazons marching down 5th avenue in NYC at any given time. Layering, fabulous textures and practicality are all very present in the new collection, while the cat with the really long tail is less so.
Rocawear
The Rocawear 10th anniversary is upon us and so are the ads. Apparently Rocawear is celebrating its tenth birthday in style, too. The advertisements, featuring supermodel Jessica White and actress Joy Bryant (among others), showcase chic looks that speak to a more grown up sophisticated audience. If this is what Rocawear has in store, then this is not just a simple tenth birthday; it’s a total rebirth of the iconic brand.
Dereon
I have struggled to like Dereon since its recent emergence as an urban wear brand. While Beyonce is a glamorous style maven, her collection is often quite the opposite. I decided to dig a little deeper into the brand, and managed to find a few pieces that were not just passable, but actually quite fly. The new Dereon ad campaign shows Beyonce in many looks, but in particular she’s rocking an awesome leather jacket as well as a haute black dress that just screams chic.
These brands are very much at the forefront of urbanwear so it is definitely refreshing to see them coming up with clothes that are more diverse and wearable than they have been in the past. Perhaps I could even go so far as to say that its making a comeback.
Pop the gallery to see what I mean:
