Z & A – GENERATIONAL FASHION

BY AHN CHAEYOON

 The fashion of the new generation is special. There is a new generation in any era. They were variously called with alphabets such as X- Generation, Y- Generation, V- Generation, and M- Generation. They had their own fashion trends.

Currently, middle and high school students are between Z- Generation and α- Generation. What fashion brands are we enthusiastic about?

If you look at the clothes of many middle and high school students, you can see the popular brand mark. There is a new expensive luxury brand, OFF- White, with a mark that looks like a construction site. Another brand is Adidas, a very old popular brand that even grandfathers to babies wear from celebrities to the general public.

OFF- White is an Italian fashion brand founded in 2012 by American fashion designer Virgil Ablo. In the first quarter of 2019, Off-White was selected as the world’s No. 1 fashion brand. Global brands such as Gucci, Balenciaga and Valentino are located under Off-White.

Off-White’s biggest background to the top is its collaboration with other brands. It will hold collaborations with fashion brands such as Nike, Levi’s, Jimmy Choo, and Moncler, as well as Ikea (furniture), Evian (bottled water), and Byredo (nostalgia).

In particular, for about two years from 2017 to January 2019, it was able to target the tastes of the new generation through cooperation with “Nike” and promotion through “Instagram”. As a result, Virgil Ablo has become a “cultural icon” representing a generation

Adidas is a German sports brand. It is the largest sportswear company in Europe and the second largest in the world after Nike. Dassler brothers Rudy and Adi were in business together and separated after World War II. At this time, his brother Rudy made Puma and his brother Adidas. Adi, a passionate athlete, still has a philosophy of the Adidas brand, which aims to offer the best products to athletes.

The first basketball shoe “superstar” made of leather won the U.S. market with great reviews from basketball players. Even Michael Jordan preferred “Adidas” basketball shoes to “Nike” when he was young.

The collaboration of the legendary hip-hop group “Run DMC” and “Adidas” has expanded the image of Adidas, which was limited to sports brands for players, into a popular brand.

Run DMC became an icon of underground culture and street fashion as he wore Adidas “Firebird” jerseys and “super star” sneakers. Run DMC loved Adidas so much that he wrote a song called “My Adidas”, which had a huge ripple effect on screen and radio. Since then, Adidas has become a symbol of hiphopers around the world and is still loved by our generation.

Sources: Wikipedia, Asian Economic Daily.