We had the great pleasure of attending culinary collective Ghetto Gastro’s pop up event this past week, which in addition to amazing food, music and vibes was like a living petri dish of all that is happening with street style culture at the moment, an intermingling of past trends that elevates style above all else.
The trend was reflected in the party’s theme: a tribute to inner-hood ’90s (aka the days before suburban flight took place and hip city living became the thing to do) and celebrated Uptown culture, food and drink, including a cooler full of “nutcrackers,” a frozen alcohol drink traditionally vended on the street.
Uptown culture, yes, with the twist being the party’s location in a Downtown currently empty storefront. Which is by no means a first–Uptown cross-pollination with Downtown has history. Back in their nascent days, New York hiphop and punk bands often played at each other’s clubs and together supported the creative movements that grew out of what was a revolutionary time for music.
Twenty or so years later, the current gen is reaching back into the decades and paying fashion tribute to not only some of the periods’ most iconic pieces and color themes as shown here, but also the original intermingling spirit of hiphop and punk. Bolstered by the wall-free social media forums that raised them, today’s youth have ignored the who-is-supposed-to-wear-what demographics once dictated by geography. While economics still dictate a cold world otherwise, at least among the style-obsessed there is no more urban, suburban, skate or surf, just a desire to connect with the solid feeling of street movement.
