RUNWAY TO REALITY

Street Style is a specific concept which comes originally from British fashion culture. It is a comprehensive approach to fashion industry and producing styles which intersect and differ from mainstream fashion considerations. The “street” approach to style and fashion is oftentimes based upon individualism, not simply current fashion trends. Using street style methods, individuals demonstrate their multiple, negotiated identities, in addition to utilizing subcultural and intersecting styles or trends. This, in itself, is a performance, as it creates a space where identities can be explored through the act(ion) of dress. 

Many people said that Bill Cunningham was the first democratic street-style photographer. Starting in 1978 in the New York Times , he snapped candid photographs of people on the street and found trends among them. Old and young, thin and fat, rich and poor… his subjects were as diverse as the city he shot them in, and truly representative of the fashions of the time (even if the people in his photos wouldn’t be considered particularly fashionable). More photojournalist than portraitist, Cunningham’s work was incredibly important in documenting the oeuvre of a time. Concurrently, photographers like Jamel Shabazz and Shosuke Ishizu were capturing hip-hop style in the mid-’70s and Ivy League style in the mid-’60s, photographing their subjects in both posed and candid shots that let tribes of individuals showcase trends like Cazal eyeglasses and varsity jackets. Street style is an incredibly viral, incredibly instant, incredibly addictive facet of fashion that’s changed lots of the ways in which fashion gets made and consumed. Though “street style” as a term — and blogger-making, bill-paying phenomenon — came into consciousness in the age of the Internet, the concept has been around for as long as people have been, well, wearing clothes and walking on streets. Since so much of fashion (and fashion photography) is cyclical, we thought we’d take a look back at the womenswear street style. Very stylish were the collegiate sweaters and pleated skirts which didn’t debut last fall — they were around in the ‘20s! Many fashion bloggers and influencers follow the rule ‘’Let’s bring back that perfect fourth position — toggle coats and midi dress like in ‘50s’’, and the lady bags are definitely “back,” but they looked just as good back in the early ‘50s. We can see on the street style nowadays also brightly colored thoughtfulness, jumpsuit glistens, stripe coats, heers and feathers and sometimes little bit of fur drama which always goes a long way (for catching attention and camera snaps) like in ‘60s and so long. 

Street Style nowadays is present even in hot extreme weather conditions for the Spring Summer season. The industry is resilient and it rallied to beat the conditions and offer creative — if bundled — solutions to spring style. The outerwear inspiration is abundant, as were all the ways to layer over and under dresses, pants, and the like. Ahead, see the best street style looks captured by Ancira Adeon. If you didn’t think puffer coats, snow boots, or sweaters upon sweaters could look good, allow these women to convince you otherwise.