The Street Style Phenomenon

In the past couple of years, we have seen a distancing from runway style to Street Style.
The basic idea of Street Style makes perfect sense: photographers wait outside fashion shows all over the world to see what the models really wear when they're not on the runway. It helps the fashion fans to see who the fashionistas really are.

Photo by Tommy Ton

This idea harkens back to the world of fashion and supermodels of the late eighties and early nineties, where camera crews exposed the underbelly of the industry, giving a soul to the beautiful faces strutting down the runway. Street Style had that same idealistic notion in the beginning, but that's being lost quickly.

Versace Super Models, 1991

Bill Cunningham is hailed as the founder of Street Style, as he began taking unexpected photos of celebrities and fashion icons in New York City in 1948. The man is literally a living legend.

The man, the myth, the legend. Bill Cunningham.

But things have changed since Bill's hayday. It's no longer an alternative culture permeating the high gloss fashion scene, it's now a circus.

As independent bloggers and photographers continue to multiply, the whole Street Style scene continues to descend into a crazed madness that doesn't resemble anything it was like two or three years ago.

Dozens of photographers and bloggers surround models as they leave the catwalk.

Street Style's most famous photographers, Phil Oh and Tommy Ton, as well as fashion journalist Tim Blanks have scorned this new era. Blanks, talking about this seasons Street Style, said, "In a funny way, it's empowering, but it's empowering in the way reality TV is empowering: it makes monsters. It doesn't make Gods."

Photo by Phil Oh

It's not all negative, however. Part of the reason for this explosion of Street Style is that it gives visibility to these independent entities. It allows them to become apart of the dialogue that is emerging from fashion culture.

Photo by Tommy Ton

Only time will tell what the outcome of this will be. It may be a high cresting wave that will crash and recede, or it may continue to swell perpetually. For now it is an awesome way to get noticed in the fashion world, and despite the naysayers I think that's a really, really good thing.
It's an interesting phenomenon. Twenty years ago, models transcended the runway if they dipped into the entertainment industry (See: Cindy Crawford and Tyra.) Now, it's all about visibility in the public eye; doing the catwalk, just on the sidewalk.

Here's to looking forward to the next twenty years.

With Style,

Your MyDROBE Team