It seems like we can’t escape coming face to face with the hipster trend, and today’s streetwear fashion goes hand in hand with it. Streetwear, however, can be slippery to define, and what looks street chic on one person might look sloppy on another.
Karl Oskar Olsen, co-founder of Wood Wood.
Karl Oskar Olsen, creative director of Copenhagen-based streetwear brand Wood Wood, said streetwear isn’t just what you wear, but how you wear it.
“I think at the end of the day, everything can be streetwear. It’s who you are, and how you style it. I’ve seen women wearing Celine and it looks like streetwear because they wear it with sneakers. It’s what you do with it. You can style it up or down,” said Olsen.
Wood Wood was established 12 years ago, starting as a small brand selling T-shirts. According to Olsen, he got the name Wood Wood from the walls of the brand’s first store.
“Our first store in Copenhagen was an old wine cellar, with wooden walls all over. We didn’t know what to call the brand, so we called it Wood. I’d just seen a movie called Goodfellas, and there was a character called Jimmy Two Times who always says the last sentence two times. I liked that, and I think you remember the name more easily if you say it twice,” said the creative director.
Streetwear in the past was seen as something easy and inexpensive, but today, it’s interesting to see how streetwear has reached the luxury level — luxury brands are embracing streetwear elements, and streetwear brands have stepped up their game to add luxury to their design. Another rising trend which has been interwoven into both streetwear and luxury fashion is sportswear.
“Our style is sophisticated sportswear. We like to build the bridge between sportswear and high fashion. It becomes some kind of crossover between the two,” explained Olsen. “Sportswear has been a huge trend in the last five years, and I think you have to combine it with something else so you don’t get tired of it.”
Wood Wood offers both men’s and women’s products, targeting the hip and cool crowds between the ages of 18 and 35. However, there is no rule that older or younger people can’t enjoy its offerings. Olsen’s mother is a good example. She wears it. She loves it. She’s obsessed with it.
Olsen said he uses a lot of personal preferences, and believes that they are the most natural source of ideas.
“My creativity comes from subculture. I skated when I was young, and when you’re in that culture, it’s all about styling and putting things together to make your own outfit. I also like to see what’s going on in other cities, and I like to travel. I travel every month. Paris is my favourite place — it has a special place in my heart,” said Olsen, who at first wanted to be an architect, but later swerved into the world of fashion and never looked back.
The spring/summer 2015 collection is called “Class of Now”. Olsen explained that the idea was to make Wood Wood a college, with sport, art and design departments. Inspired by academia, sports and youth culture, the theme of the collection revolves around a fictional boarding school. The style and attitude of the students combined with the different aspects of campus life and educational institutions in general form the foundation for the collection.
“We tone down the print expression because we think it’s too much. We make a clean collection with sport references. We tried to work a little bit with the season’s trend — 70s references. We want to be casual and generic, and have small bits of trends in our design.”
It has been 12 exciting years for Wood Wood, and the company has organically grown from a small store into a fashion company with worldwide presence.
Recently, Wood Wood joined hands with UnCENSORED, a Thai multibrand store, to open its first shop-in-shop in Thailand at The EmQuartier. Olsen said it’s something he’d always wanted to do, and is happy that Wood Wood is now in Thailand.
“We have a long relationship with these guys at UnCENSORED. When they asked me to be a part of this project, I was so happy, because I’d always felt that we want to be a part of something that’s growing. I see that the scene here is emerging, and I want to be a part of it,” he said.
Olsen has designed countless creative pieces, but when it comes to dressing himself, he said he doesn’t really think about it.
“I don’t dress well all the time. I am who I am. I dress the way I feel like in the morning. I don’t think about it. Sometimes I do, but most of the time, I don’t have the time to think about it and I just grab something,” he confessed.
Wood Wood is now available at UnCENSORED at The EmQuartier.
Streetwear brands in the Thai market
Beams
Beams, a Japanese fashion brand, recently opened its first store in Southeast Asia in Bangkok. Established in 1976 as a men’s casualwear brand, the brand’s offerings gradually grew to embrace a wider group of consumers, including Ray Beams, which is the brand’s women’s collection label founded in 1984.
The concept of Beams’ women’s collection is “The Way of Chic”, and in the spring/summer 2015 collection, Beams is beaming with carefree spirit, like wearing your boyfriend’s shirt in the morning. The boyish style is given a feminine feel with summer warmth, like wearing a summery dress with brogues. This season sees imagery from the 70s reworked for women, creating an image of Jane Fonda. Cable-knit sweaters, wider-legged trousers and thick-soled shoes give a relaxing yet empowered feel, and comfort is queen in this sweaty season.
The pieces are clean, simple and easy, but can be dressed up or down to suit various occasions and styles. After all, streetwear is all about how you style it. In this collection’s style book, Beams girl Rola wears denim on denim and looks striking. It’s an updated version of one of the classic looks, a simple style with attitude that will gather attention for all the right reasons. The same goes with wearing white on white. Most of the pieces in this collection can be worn in any season and will still look relevant thanks to the classic silhouette and plain colours.
Maison Scotch
Scotch & Soda has been around since the 80s, but the Amsterdam-based fashion brand took a brave new start in 2001 to shake things up a bit. After Scotch & Soda was re-launched for spring/summer 2002, the success was soon followed by the launch of a women’s collection. Maison Scotch entered the market with a spring/summer 2010 collection, celebrating classic French style and adding a touch of tough street wear elements.
This season, the collection has three main looks. Pioneer Spirit gives a cowboy but feminine feel. Miami Deco is inspired by the seaside city, geographic shapes, nature and 50s fashion, with a touch of sportswear design. Sahara Social is all about fun prints in warm colours and lightweight fabrics, perfect for summer.
Cotton tank tops and T-shirts, as well as soft summer sweaters and classic chinos are the sexiest summer staples, but that doesn’t mean they don’t fit into more formal occasions. A basic sweater can be paired with jacquard skirt to create a relaxing but not too relaxed look that makes your casual Friday more fun. Bomber jacket and coated skinny pants can also make a baseball tank top look more interesting, fusing fun, comfort and semi-formality together.
Superdry
Superdry is a brand which focuses on vintage Americana and Japanese-inspired graphics with a British style. Its original store is in Cheltenham, England, but the brand now has a strong presence in 46 countries, including Thailand.
While the brand offers mainly masculine items, there are a few offerings for the quirky and cool ladies who love the casual, carefree style. In the spring/summer 2015 collection, the brand continues to offer easy pieces that make a statement. One of the summer must-haves from Superdry is the navy espadrille with doodled stars to add a fun touch. Another eye-catching piece is the Standard Skinny jeans in Selvedge Dark Minor Worn, which is made with selvedge denim used for men’s jeans.
There are also basic summer staples such as meadow-printed dresses and T-shirts with the brand’s name emblazoned on them. Add a bohemian edge to the look with Super Eagle cape, a sleeveless cape that takes its design inspiration from classic Native American patterns. Featuring a large eagle emblem on the back and Superdry knitted into the design, the Super Eagle cape is finished with tassels along its lower edge.
Thanachai Sachathep, managing director of Superdry Thailand, said: “Streetwear has grown rapidly over the past few years. In Japan, you can see a lot of 90s influences in the fashion scene, as well as sportswear elements. In Thailand, people are also more comfortable expressing themselves through what they wear, and they like to mix and match various styles — denim, workwear and sportswear to create something that represents their character.
“There is no right or wrong when it comes to streetwear, because it’s all about freedom of choice. I think Superdry shares the same belief as streetwear.”
