Is street style dead? We explore its evolution, and why its absence might not be a bad thing

Fashion Week has brought us endless street style photos with endless arrays of bold choices and colours, but despite what we’re seeing, Marc Jacobs thinks street style is on its way out.

“What I see in the street now, doesn’t interest me,” the designer told reports in London last week. “I am so tired of street style looks.”

But without street style, who are our new fashion leaders? Since exploding in 2007, street style has been considered the new school of trendsetting, acting as proof that it’s not just possible to incorporate runway with mall brands, but that abandoning the runway altogether can still make for an interesting look. As such, street style began to stand for rebellion. It represented an alternative to high fashion, and championed self-expression over trends or rules. Street style reflected personal tastes over designers’, symbolizing a fight against the elitism that divided the runway and sidewalk.

So of course, like all good things, it caught on. And as the relevance of street style increased, so did a new kind of hierarchy. Thanks to social media, brand handouts, and armies of photogs, “cool kids” of street style began springing up, creating a dynamic similar to that of a high school cafeteria (only with much more flattering photos). Suddenly, the movement had turned into just another extension of elitism. Which is a concept that not even high fashion wants to align itself.

At least that’s what we can take from Kanye West, a man whose flair for expensive eccentricities has given way to an appreciation for normcore and fashion equality. Recently, the rapper designed for Adidas and has been vying for the Gap. Which is a feat, considering he once name-dropped Maison Martin Margiela with relish.

“I think high fashion is about elitism and separation, and I am completely opposed to that,” he told The Telegraph. “I hate the concept of separatism. Elitism. Classicism. We’re all equal.”

So if one of high fashion’s princes is singing that tune, street style — the sector meant to rebel against runway-driven elitism — should be singing the same. And this could be difficult, considering street style now seems like an extension of elitism, which means it really should die out. . . . Right?

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