Fashion, as many people know, is a revolving door. It’s constantly evolving, and there’s never a dull moment regarding what people wear.
Philadelphia is a city with a unique identity and very specific trends. Some of the more common clothing you might spot on the streets include Dickies pants, Nike tracksuits and other activewear brands, DC skate brand apparel, local restaurant apparel and the timeless classic Hanes white t-shirt.
People are stylish in Philadelphia. You can catch people sporting almost any look, but where is Philadelphia heading in terms of fashion and clothing? Can Philly establish itself as a fashion-forward city? It seems as though Philadelphia is a city whose fashion identity is still somewhat unknown.
Challenges
In the city, getting luxury brands can be challenging—one will most likely have to go to vintage boutiques or second hand shops. And according to Saeed Ferguson, founder and owner of AllCaps Studio in Philadelphia, there are not enough bigger brands collaborating with smaller, native brands or the community. He says there’s an intimidation factor, that people in Philadelphia need to take the risks in starting a clothing brand.
“There’s a lot of talented people here, but a lot of people are afraid to take risks, people tend to hop on what’s trending,” said Ferguson. “There needs to be a mindset shift. Having that shift will be a game changer for the city.”
Community connection
Adam Netburn, Mario Hietman and Ben Hodge have just opened Sidewalk Store on South Street, where all the clothing and garments are handmade in Philadelphia. The goal of the store is to produce clothes that are well made. This means quality construction from sustainable sources, being as transparent as possible about their materials and mindful designs. Additionally, the young trio acquired this space to connect with the community as well, and to invite people to come hangout and create a sense of community.
“One thing that I’ve learned is that Philly appreciates quality,” said Netburn. “I’ve noticed this across the board for every demographic—most people want quality, they all want their stuff to feel sturdy, they love colors and they want different stuff. Every single person across the board, whether they just moved here, or are someone who’s from here.”
Netburn also has his own small brand, Chalked Out Press, which he has been working on for the last 5 years. He screen prints, cuts and sews fabrics, works with embroidery, dyed clothing and various other garments.
Meanwhile, Hietman specializes in airbrushing with his brand Hieromarr. Hietman used to hand paint on canvas before he was introduced to airbrushing, and he says it was definitely the right change for him.
“It was super smooth and cut like butter,” he said. “The feeling of it and speed of it, I could never paint as fast as my brain was thinking,”
Hietman bought a car and airbrushed the whole vehicle with the intention of using the car as a canvas. It ended up becoming a viral branding tool, allowing him to be noticed throughout the city.
“There’s very few others in the world doing airbrush stuff like this, like Atticus for example—another well known airbrush artist located in New York City,” Hietman said. “The others are doing stuff like this, this type of vibe. It’s nice that through the Internet, I can meet some of the other artists like me doing this and connect the dots.”
Netburn, a Drexel University graduate, used to work for Totem Brand Co. as a buyer and manager of the shop. Totem has a storefront located on South Street with two sides, one providing outdoor gear and clothing and the other providing mainly Japanese denims and other semi-streetwear brand garments. Netburn noticed over time that the people attracted to the store would come in looking for certain fashion items and would leave disappointed because they expected things that weren’t there.
“People walk around Rittenhouse Square looking for people wearing Rick Owens but they can’t appreciate the old head wearing a Kangol hat and wearing a nice outfit,” Netburn said. “Half the time I’m walking around in baggy clothes and a newsboy outfit and I’m getting compliments. A lot of people like different types of fashion out here.”
In short, Netburn described his view on Philadelphia fashion identity as “casual and livable.” A lot of the time in these stores, there may not be upscale or luxury items that people are expecting. Through media and word of mouth, he and Hietman are hoping that people will feel welcome to their store and see their contribution to making Philadelphia a fashion-forward city.
“Philly often gets overshadowed by the bigger cities. There’s a lot of passion and talent in the city,” said Ferguson.
Sports town = sportswear
Ferguson created AllCaps Studio is a clothing brand that is focused on fostering community and positivity through its branding. AllCaps Studio has gained a lot of traction in a small amount of time. The brand has collaborated with Nike in a running club series “Forward Motion”, they teamed up with New Balance and have been featured in Hypebeast Magazine. Ferguson has spoken on panels, and with youth at Philadelphia schools. The brand also frequently collaborates with community businesses on hosting social events.
The AllCaps Studio founder believes the future of Philly fashion is going be heavily influenced by sportswear. Brands like NewBalance, Nike and Under Armour will lead the charge, along with the independent smaller clothing brands. Ferguson predicts the two together are going to heavily influence Philadelphians and are going to be shaping the identity of the fashion here.
“With more people moving to the city, there will be more small independent brands,” he said. “But the bigger mainstream brands will take a risk, which will eventually create more jobs and bring more money to the city. As of now I believe the Urban Outfitters company here is the largest creative platform doing that, but it’s limited. This can work but it’s going to take some time, but the city has a bright future in terms of what can be.”
