Stussy – say what you will about Stussy now but Shawn's namesake brand was what started it all. People will argue for and against this but the fact remains
that no one had the impact of Stussy in the early 90s.
Freshjive – Freshjive was one of the first of the new bread that came along in the mid 90s however they has a unique flavour and made alot of the relatively established brands look stale almost instantly
Supreme – I have to admit to not knowing alot about Supreme from firsthand experience as their stuff has never been available in my country. However from what i have read and seen they seem to have taken the ball that Stussy started rolling and become the evolution of what Stussy should have been.
Zeal – this is a very geographical reference. In New Zealand in the mid 90s Zeal was born (new ZEALand) and they were big....bigger than big....then they were gone. I think the reason they died was also what made them initially. I learnt some years after their demise that they would go to all of the trade shows in the states and just rip the designs and styles they liked...the reason that worked for them was in part due to the fact that there was no internet and there were very few brands being imported here. Basically they could get away with it. This also ment that they had no creative direction of their own. When our tastes as a nation changed they were very suddenly completely out of favour.
Dickies and Carhart – Hands up who owned a pair of Dickies chinos? If you're over about 25 and you don't have your hand up you may be lying to yourself! Lol I don't think Dickies or Carhart had any idea that their basic workwear was going to blow up like it did. Ill bet they owe alot of that success to MTV and every urban movie. I actually never had a pair of Dickies pants, thanks to my rugby player's legs, but I had several Dickies work shirts and ironed my chinos so that they had a nice crease like Dickies did.
Mossimo – Mossimo came to the scene really soon after Stussy. Their logo was kinda Stussy derivative and they were never really inventive but they did do alot of nice stuff and were really the first to produce some nice understated Streetwear.
Fuct – Fuct was the first hardcore skatewear brand to hit Streetwear big. I believe that Natas had something to do with its inception.....don't quote me on that one tho. Fuct was relaunched recently and they are doing some cool things.
Vision Street Wear – You could actually argue that Vision started it all....they wernt the first or the best but no one could argue the importance or the classic Vision Street Wear box logo white tee. Oh and if you have still got yours and it's in good condish post it on ebay japan and make some serious $. Its kinda funny that their boards were crappy and their shoes were dope only if you were a skater but it was their clothes and bumbags that were important in the longrun.
Etnies – this one is a bit of a stretch. Etnies was the first skate shoe designed and owned by skaters. I can hear people saying: what about Vans, Airwalk, Vision etc? Well they were all owned by corporations and had very little to do with Streetwear as a culture. Etnies were really the first sneaker to be accepted in early Streetwear history. Cons, Nike, Fila etc were all there but they had been there for years...they weren't designed in and for that period of time. I don't like Etnies personally....even less so now that they have dropped one of their first pro skaters Mike V.
Volcome – ewww surfwear! Actually Volcome was the first surf label (actually Stussy was a surf brand initially too) to get the Streetwear thing. For better or worse they were probably a big part of establishing Streetwear to the masses.
Also worth of mention: 555soul, 26red, SMP, Boylondon (we didn't know it was gay club wear...honest), Mooks, Mambo, Starter, Split.....
