Is streetwear dead?

Virgil Abloh was right. He wasn’t just predicting the death of streetwear, he was warning us.

Streetwear didn’t break into luxury. Luxury swallowed it whole. The moment Supreme hit Louis Vuitton’s runway, it was clear: streetwear had become everything it was never meant to be: polished, corporate, predictable.

But streetwear was never about luxury. It was about attitude. Counterculture. Owning something real, not mass-marketed.

Then it started slipping. The underground energy, the exclusivity, the rawness—it all got repackaged for the masses. And the second something rebellious becomes establishment? It’s not streetwear anymore.

Now, the shift is happening. The kids who built this culture don’t care about hyped collabs. They’re not spending on overpriced hoodies made for people who don’t get it.

The new wave isn’t about flexing. It’s about keeping it real.

But not everyone sold out. Some kept it real and never switched up.

Look at Corteiz. Clint Ogbenna isn’t playing by the old rules. No high-fashion validation, no watered-down designs. Just raw energy, real community, and exclusivity that isn’t about price tags but about meaning.

If you know, you know. That’s why his guerrilla marketing, trading designer puffers for Corteiz jackets, sending fans on city-wide hunts, brings back the chaos that made streetwear exciting.

Streetwear isn’t dead. It’s just going back underground, where it belongs.

The hype cycle moved on, but the culture never left. It’s waiting for the next generation to rebuild it on their own terms.

Streetwear was never about clout. It was hip-hop. It was rebellion and boldness. It was art. A movement of self-expression built on authenticity.

We’re going back to the roots. In a world drowning in fast trends, fake personas, and brands fighting for attention, Authenticity has never been more in demand.

And that’s the best thing that could’ve happened to it—exactly what streetwear needed: a reset.