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Highsnobiety Article –

One of the main trends that we have been witnessing in recent years is the steady move of high fashion brands into the streetwear market. Entire brand relaunches have been based on it, with Givenchy maybe being the most prominent one. When talking about streetwear, we do not mean denim or leather jackets, we mean bold graphic t-shirts and attention seeking sneakers. When a few years ago high fashion was exclusively known for premium materials and proper cuts, today things look a little different. Their graphics have become very interesting and their expertise in fabrics and special treatments is obviously also adding to the appeal  of their products. Givenchy, Christopher Kane, Paul Smith, Marc Jacobs producing all over print tees is nothing new anymore. Margiela and Louboutin making solid sneakers that might actually get more eye balls than the latest Nike Dunk is also routine at this point. Has the consumer changed, has streetwear not been able to defend its own territory or what else could have caused this change?

One thing is for sure, after we have seen extremely bold moves in streetwear from brands like The Hundreds, 10.Deep, A Bathing Ape and others in the 2005-2007 period, with the crash of the global economy, everybody focussed again on more timeless and quality garments. Maybe this recent trend is the follow-up to the extreme simplicity that we have witnessed in recent years.

Here below we have worked on 10 reasons that we believe make High Fashion beat streetwear at its own game at the moment.

1. Credibility – Because of their expertise and history in the high fashion industry anything that the High Fashion labels create can only be the best.
2. Quality – The High Fashion brands have a greater range of possibilities to work with the highest quality fabrics and the best manufacturing facilities.
3. Designers – Pulling great designers from everywhere with promising career possibilities for most reasonable payment the High Fashion brands have the best sources of fresh, skilled, best educated designers.
4. Innovations – Working with newest developements also in the scientific area High Fashion brands can afford to research and use new inventions to optimize fabrics and give their collection items new aspects.
5. Collaborations – Because everybody wants to work with the top designers, there are never ending options of collaborations with brands, labels and artists always creating new special editions.
6. Independence – Not having to rely on retailers because the High Fashion brands mostly have their own stores to sell the products they are independent to take their freedoms.
7. Difference – Sneakers have become so common and widely accepted in society that they are worn by the masses. Unique in this environment is who differentiates himself by wearing a sneaker that is not mass produced.
8. Communication – Having the resources to commission huge campaigns to advertise with testimonials that draw highest attention and have real credibility.
9. Exclusivity through availability – The demand for High Fashion is higher than the availability. Often the brands release less quantity that is exclusively to purchase in their own flagship stores.
10. Exclusivity through pricing – The high prices for those High Fashion brands are often higher than the usual customer can and regularly afford which creates an even higher desire for those items.

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