Streetwear has become very popular over recent years. Streetwear was promoted as skateboard clothing. It was understood that you could only wear streetwear if you skated. Eventually, people began noticing these “cool” brands, and started wearing them daily. This type of clothing turned into a booming business. People are spending loads of money, for example, on a shirt that says “Supreme”, “Bape” or shoes that have the Nike swoosh backwards.
Omnes is a store in Hamilton, Ont., that resells “hype beast” clothing, also known as a type of streetwear. Omnes sells vintage clothing as well. Steven Olds, the co-owner of Omnes, started collecting and reselling vintage clothing in high school. Steven and Mario (co-owners of Omnes), realized that the reselling business was very successful, so thought – why not open up a store? So, they did. “Mario had the idea of leaving his work and opening up a store. It sounded crazy to me. It was a big risk but it’s been history ever since.”
Usually, most people do not spend over $100 on a shirt. However, if their idols do, people might take that into consideration when shopping for a shirt. “I think with streetwear and vintage clothing, it ties in together for sure. I think the reason it’s so popular is because of hip-hop culture, that’s definitely one of the leading factors. It basically starts with the youth and how affected they are by it in a positive way,” says Olds.
Cody McKee is someone who spends tons of money on streetwear. A lot of streetwear items are very rare and that’s what makes them go up in value. “There are limited releases and small collections… because the collections are so limited, the price ends up spiraling up really heavily,” but that’s what the reselling game is for. “Yeah some of these costs can be high, but at the same time I can always sell the item if I get tired of it or I could buy something at retail price to continuing purchasing stuff in the future,” explains McKee.
It’s not all about the money but more about how the clothes make you feel. McKee says in an interview with Spoke; “to me, it’s like any other hobby, it’s more like a passion. It’s a way of expression. A lot of people want to have their own identity, so being able to separate yourself from other people is something you can do with streetwear.”
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