Chav Chic
UK Tribes
Erase images of Brian Harvey from East 17 or Vicky Pollard in her Kappa tracksuit. The idea of being a Chav and the associated apparel is being picked up by some of the fashion industries most influential and emerging designers…
Chav/street wear is the combination of jersey fabrics and leisurewear, with a strong focus on sports brands. Their distinctive look is fast becoming a staple for many Hipsters, DIYers and Stylers (in their downtime), Blingers between gym sessions, Get Paid Crew – and of course Trackies, Chavers and Chavs. The big hooped, tracksuit, fresh trainer look originates from late 80s/90s hip hop culture, with white British working class kids developing their own hybrid over the years.
As the media and government oust hoodies and condemn benefit fraudsters – sadly yet unsurprisingly described by Daily Mail journalist Simon Heffer as the ‘feral underclass’ – Stella McCartney is teaming up with Adidas for her Barricade collection and Cheryl Cole, Rihanna, Madonna and Elton John are rocking Adidas three stripe in their downtime. Cue high end Max Mara’s Sportmax label and Alexander Wang’s SS13 collections that embraces sporty elements. These days it seems as if Chav culture is drip-drip-dripping its way into the psyche of fashion designers.
On the highstreet shops like ASOS, New Look and Topshop are dominated by the ‘sweatpant’ as an acceptable form of day and nightwear. Are they harems? Is it a tracksuit? Team it with heels and you’ve got an outfit fit for a West End club. In the workshops, leisurewear is fast becoming an inspiration for up and coming designers and musicians who hold a strong admiration and respect for street culture. Names like East Londoner Nasir Mazhar who’s loud and proud attitude towards street wear is turning heads – SS13 video: http://vimeo.com/56991535 or the Danish born Astrid Anderson with her bold print tracksuit and puffer jackets that are fearlessly saying, ‘It’s OK, this is our identity.’
Award winning fashion designer Cassette Playa creates luxury wear for Niki Minaj, A$AP Rocky, M.I.A and Kanye West explains how the 2011 riots provided inspiration:
Anything can end up as a reference or a digital print for example a burnt out car from the Hackney riots. I hope that my collection says something culturally, if not political.
Riots. The disaffected youth. The window smashing poster boys of Chav culture. Politically savvy designers are drawing on the social unrest to highlight the frustrations of youth culture, and as premium labels like Ralph Lauren and Burberry try to move away from being tarred with the ‘Chav’ brush.
Comments from MumsNetcom do nothing to scupper their rebellious identity, these statements are overly harsh and show the line brands need to tread in order to stay cutting edge:
I used to like Burberry then the chavs decided to embrace it, same with Louis Vuitton, now the bastards are wearing North Face, isn’t anything sacred?
Cassette Playa explains:
I am interested in how performance sportswear is subverted and worn on the street. I think British youth do this the best – the way they wear sports wear is smart and aspirational with an attitude that is both proud and intimidating. I think you can trace this from working class styles like the mods or teddy boys who were also masters of subversion.
With celeb royalty like Rihanna celebrating the Chav look and its unruly, outrageous connotations, expect to see the tide turning on Chav-as-we-know-it prejudice in the coming months – at least in fashion terms.
Undoubtedly The Daily Mail, Mumsnet and others are far from accepting Chav chic – but cutting edge brands will benefit from being as open minded as the designers, celebrities and young people making this distinctively British street style big news for 2013.
http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/1232176-Chavs-taking-over-fashion/AllOnOnePage
