The global fashion phenomenon of dressing for the streets and turning casual weekend wardrobes into tastefully curated fits has spread like wildfire throughout mainstream culture. Streetwear’s juggernauts, from Supreme and Fear Of God, to Off-White and Kith, have taken the movement from the streets to the proper fashion system, demanding not only respect but collaboration from brands like Louis Vuitton, Versace, and Ralph Lauren. While there are plenty of new streetwear brands popping up worldwide every day, it’s the most popular streetwear brands, those with a storied reputation and history who have brought the phenomenon to its popularity and relevance. These are the brands leading the industry today.
From 20+ year old brands like Supreme and BAPE to newer-yet-still-significant brands like Off-White and Yeezy, these are the Most Popular Streetwear Brands on StockX:
Supreme
Supreme is likely the single most popular streetwear brand of all time and was founded in 1994 in New York’s SoHo neighborhood. The brand’s logo is infamously inspired by Barbara Kruger’s eponymous pop-art style and has come to be known worldwide as the Box Logo. Aside from their logo, Supreme is popular for their frequent collaborations with brands like The North Face, Nike, Vans, and others. In 2018, Supreme was valued at $1 Billion after 50% of the company was purchased by the Carlyle Group. Supreme’s popularity is due, in large part, to its weekly drop business model where they release new items every week in very limited quantities. Over their 26-year history, the brand has been endorsed by the likes of Mike Tyson, Kanye West, and most recently and frequently, Travis Scott. As streetwear’s undisputed kingpin, it’s only right that they lead our list of most popular streetwear brands.
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Off-White
As one of the newer brands on our list, Off-White has quickly taken over the worlds of streetwear and popular culture. One of the most popular streetwear brands in the world, Off-White has a different story than that of a Supreme or BAPE. Off-White was founded in 2013 by multihyphenate designer, Virgil Abloh who got his start as a part of Kanye West’s team in the late aughts (he famously designed the album cover for Yeezus). Off-White was the third of Abloh’s streetwear endeavors, following his participation in the DJ collective, Been Trill, and another brand, Pyrex Vision. Off-White caught fire immediately with endorsements from high-profile friends such as ASAP Rocky and Lil Uzi Vert. It wasn’t long until Abloh was showing Off-White at Paris Fashion Week and collaborating with Nike, acting as a catalyst for the blurring of lines between streetwear and proper fashion. In 2018, Virgil Abloh officially took over menswear at Louis Vuitton, proving once again the influence and power of the Off-White name.
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BAPE
Throughout the 2000’s, BAPE (short for A Bathing Ape) would’ve likely been considered the most popular streetwear brand in the world. Endorsements from hip hop community members like Soulja Boy and Pharrell Williams led to the brand’s massive popularity in the early to late 2000s, before the Supremes or Off-Whites of this list were really mainstream. BAPE was founded in Harajuku, Japan in 1993 by Nigo and has become popular for its Camo patterns and Shark Hoodie Designs. The brand led the way on the scarcity model that fuels the streetwear hype in Japan during the late 90’s and saw a massive rise in popularity afterwards. In 2011, Nigo sold the brand and moved on to work on new projects, taking over Uniqlo UT and starting Human Made. Since then, BAPE has maintained its reputation as a mainstay in the streetwear world despite becoming more available. Despite its continued relevance in the streetwear space, it’s undoubtedly the brand’s storied history that makes it one of the most popular streetwear brands in the world today.
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Fear Of God
Founded the same year as Virgil Abloh’s Off-White, Jerry Lorenzo’s Fear Of God rapidly moved up the ranks over the last seven years to become one of the most popular streetwear brands in the world. Filling the hole in the market for unmarked, logoless basics, Fear Of God has become the go-to for streetwear fans who enjoy an amazing pair of sweatpants. Shortly after founding the brand, Fear Of God was endorsed by Kanye West and Virgil Abloh, sending the hype into the stratosphere. Just a few years into the brand, to combat the forces of fast-fashion stealing his designs, Jerry Lorenzo created FOG Essentials. FOG Essentials is a diffusion line of Fear Of God that takes the same design elements and style to a lower price point. The brand’s high-quality spin on basics like crewnecks, hoodies, and sweatpants and their ability to sell to multiple price points has led to their well-deserved spot on our list of most popular streetwear brands.
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Palace
No list of the most popular streetwear brands would be complete without an appearance by London’s most popular skateshop, Palace Skateboards. Palace was founded in 2009 by a group of skateboarders in the Waterloo neighborhood of London who all lived in a rundown skatehouse they ironically called, “The Palace.” The brand got its start making t-shirts on the back of which founder, Lev Tanju, would print the brand’s infamous Tri-Ferg logo as large as he possibly could. Palace quickly gained popularity in London for their attitude and skate videos which caught the attention of other brands like Supreme. In 2011, when Supreme opened the doors to its London location, they cosigned Palace, making it the only other brand carried in-store. Palace blew up shortly after that, gaining popularity outside the UK as it was seen on the likes of Jonah Hill and ASAP Rocky. Today, the brand still maintains its fun, mischievous spirits, and pushes the boundaries of what’s possible. While Supreme is popular for their amount of collaborations, Palace is popular for the nuance of theirs. In 2018, Palace collaborated with adidas on tennis gear that was worn by Wimbledon Champion, Angelique Kerber that year. Later in 2018, the brand would collaborate with Ralph Lauren, a collaboration that had been rumored to come with Supreme for years. With high powered collaborations and an unmistakable logo, it’s no wonder that Palace is one of the most popular streetwear brands in the world.
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Kith
Kith, now one of the world’s most popular streetwear brands, actually got its start as a retail store. Founded by Ronnie Fieg, the shop opened in 2011 and carried no original product. Kith’s in-house apparel line launched in 2012 after Fieg wore a pair of tailored pants from Atrium that got more attention from customers than the product in the store. From that point, he figured he could recreate the pants and start something. The first run of the pants sold out in a single weekend and it was then that Kith, the streetwear brand, was born. Through collaborations and weekly drops dubbed “The Monday Program”, Kith has become a mainstay in the streetwear world. Undoubtedly one of streetwear’s most popular brands, Kith boasts a highlight reel of collaborators such as adidas, Off-White, Columbia, Versace, and Coca-Cola.
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Yeezy
Polarizing as he is, Kanye West’s Yeezy redefined the way a lot of people think about sweatpants. While the actual production and sale of Yeezy has been somewhat mixed since the brand’s inception, its popularity, along with the popularity of Kanye West, makes it something to marvel at. The brand was founded in 2013 and showed its first collection in early 2014, showcasing the dystopic, apocalyptic Yeezy aesthetic we’ve come to grow so familiar with. Originally released in collaboration with adidas, the two split off (for apparel only) after just a few seasons, and production and delivery of the brand since then have been spotty at best. Nevertheless, despite the brand’s lack of accessibility, its influence has been massive, leading Kanye’s Calabasas sweatpants with adidas to become some of the most resold streetwear items on StockX.
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Anti Social Social Club
“Accessible but limited” could be the slogan for most streetwear brands, but especially for Anti Social Social Club. The brand’s low price point and widely recognizable logo make for a perfect entry point to those interested in streetwear. But Anti Social Social Club became one of the most popular streetwear brands in the world almost overnight. It began shortly after the brand was founded during the height of Tumblr’s popularity. Not long after the brand began to pick up steam on the platform, Kim Kardashian was photographed wearing an Anti Social Social Club hat and Kanye West was photographed leaving the gym in a hoodie. With a Kardashian-West cosign, nothing is safe, and after that it was nothing but instant sellouts and extended shipping delays for the followers of the brand. Since then, the brand has taken to collaborating frequently, recently coming together with brands like Fragment Design, UNDEFEATED, Hello Kitty, and Hot Wheels. While it’s not always boasted the best reputation, the name and logo are unmistakable and their strong showings over the last few seasons solidify them as one of the most popular streetwear brands in the world.
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Artist Merch
Although not a streetwear brand, artist merch has quickly become one of the most popular trends in the streetwear world. While artist merchandise has been sold at concerts and online for years, something different began when Kanye West released merchandise for his 2016 album, The Life of Pablo. The merch was released at a series of popups around the world, all featuring location-specific designs. The pieces blew up on Instagram and the resale market, and since then, merchandise has become something of an artist’s own individual opportunity at running a streetwear brand. Most recently, Travis Scott has taken the spotlight, releasing an abundance of sold out and highly resold merchandise in the last year. Merchandise, like traditional streetwear, has created a limited edition opportunity to represent your favorite artists and superior tastes in music to the world, whether it’s Travis Scott or Kid Cudi. If Travis Scott or Kid Cudi were brands, though, they’d most certainly be some of the most popular streetwear brands in the game right now.
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