Virgil Abloh: ‘Streetwear Is Dead’
Written by SOURCE on May 31, 2020
Virgil Abloh returned to Instagram to reiterate his previous sentiment that “Streetwear’ is dead” amid the flood of protests across the U.S.
On his story, Abloh expounded on his thoughts about the culture and cause behind streetwear. “Case & point # 81 why I said ‘streetwear’ is dead,” alongside a video of Sean Wotherspoon’s Round Two Vintage after it was broken into this weekend.
Abloh continued, “Streetwear is a community. It’s groups of friends that have a common bond. We hang out on street corners, fight with each other, fight for each other.”
“‘Streetwear’ is a detachment to the above. ‘Streetwear’ is yelling [at] shop staff, starting fights at lineups, defaming us cause we didn’t get enough pairs of shoes cause everyone can’t get a pair.”
“Streetwear is a culture. ‘Streetwear’ is a commodity,” Abloh wrote. “‘Streetwear’ is I need this t-shirt or pairs of shoes…. by any means necessary.”
It appears that Wotherspoon’s store—and Don C’s RSVP store in LA—were both broken into over the weekend, as protests took place across the country. Abloh also pointed out that he didn’t care about the merchandise itself. “In no instance of me using the word Streetwear did I mention a shoe, t-shirt, or hoodie.”
In another post on his IG Story, he wrote, “If me and my friends tried to loot Alife, Supreme, aNYthing, Prohibit, Union, etc. I would foresee a 40oz bottle hurling at my head along with it.”
Don C also showed images of the aftermath at RSVP on his IG Story, writing, “I understand people are hurt so if stealing merch will ease the pain I can sacrifice that.” He added, “But, if you are not sincerely protesting and using this as an opportunity you will be 3rd degree manslaughtered as soon as the glass is broken tonight!”
As fans may recall, Abloh expressed similar declarations about streetwear last year. “I would definitely say it’s gonna die, you know?” he told Dazed in December. “Like, its time will be up. In my mind, how many more t-shirts can we own, how many more hoodies, how many sneakers?”
He later clarified his comments, telling Vogue, “I didn’t say it to be polarizing.” He continued, “I think that in the context of this conversation with Nigo—if you speak to anyone that’s been in streetwear for the last 15 years, it’s always had this sort of nine lives, dying and coming back, and dying and coming back. There’s so many first-generation streetwear brands, stores, and retailers . . . Nigo has had projects before; he’s had many a brand, many identities within streetwear. Partially what I meant that ‘it will die’ is that new things like tailoring from guys like Nigo and me will be born from the regeneration of it.”
Abloh’s commentary comes after a weekend full of protests, as people in multiple states and cities across the U.S. took to the streets protesting the killing of George Floyd. The demonstrations have included rioting and looting in Georgia, New York, Chicago, Kentucky, Minnesota, California, Texas, South Carolina, North Carolina, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Missouri.
