NEW YORK, United States — Long before it was a global industry, streetwear was a subculture, and the women in it composed their stylistic signatures from a blend of thrift, workwear, military, skate and sportswear with dashes of reggae, punk and hip-hop. I was part of this scene in the 1990s, and for me, that sartorial mix meant Dickies, a Canal Jeans M65 jacket, a Fuct T-shirt, deadstock Adidas Gazelles, a silver letter belt from the Slauson swapmeet in Los Angeles, a Kangol bucket hat and some gold "door knocker" earrings. Early female trailblazers like Neneh Cherry, Chloë Sevigny, Aaliyah, Rosie Perez and Luscious Jackson rocked streetwear before anyone called it that.

The history of women in streetwear is rich. During the early '90s, women in the culture gravitated to designer Patricia Field's store downtown, which dominated the New York club scene. Where else could you go downtown to buy a "Chanel" baseball hat, platform sneakers and leggings to pair with a big Dougie gold chain? Like Dapper Dan uptown, Field combined sport and luxury in a way that was sexy, affordable and fun for a street-savvy consumer.

The list of female leaders in streetwear goes on: Pauline Takahashi built the LA boutique Funkeessentials and later headed up the women's design team at Stussy, Leah McSweeney created Married to the Mob, Carri Munden launched Cassette Playa in London and the rarely acknowledged Mary Ann Fusco founded Union NYC with James Jebbia before he went on to create Supreme. Sarah Andelman's Paris-based boutique Colette, which closed in 2017, stands out as the most influential female-run store of the last decade and created a template for the curated luxury-streetwear mix you see at Dover Street Market, Maxfield, Ssense and GR8.

"The decision-makers at big sportswear brands are not women and this needs to shift faster than it currently is. I was one of a small group of female directors in the industry leading a multi-million dollar men's footwear business," says Rachel Muscat, who now works for Pharrell Williams's brand I Am Other and previously was category Director for collaborations at adidas, teaming up with creative partners like Palace, Williams and Kanye West for Yeezy.

At the same time, streetwear brands would be unwise to ignore the power of female consumers. According to Rachel Pashley, global board director for trend powerhouse J Walter Thompson Intelligence: "Brands have a vested interest in recognising women — there's a financial imperative. Ultimately, it will be the economic opportunity presented by women that will be the final arbiter in terms of achieving equality."

Brands have a vested interest in recognising women — there's a financial imperative.

Women represent formidable spending power. In a 2009 Harvard Business Review article titled "The Female Economy," Michael J Silverstein and Kate Sayre wrote, "Globally, women control about $20 trillion in annual consumer spending, and that figure could climb as high as $28 trillion in the next five years. Their $13 trillion in total yearly earnings could reach $18 trillion in the same period. In aggregate, women represent a growth market bigger than China and India combined." A 2017 Nielsen report found that African-American buying power will reach $1.5 trillion by 2021, with much of that growth driven by women. According to a second Nielsen report, "Latinas spend 43% more on athletic shoes over $500 than non-Hispanic white women." Long-time early adopters of streetwear, these women serve as a powerful demographic.

Seizing this opportunity involves a shift in mindset. Brands can succeed by leaning into the idea of unisex collections, a move that maximises sales by speaking to both male and female shoppers. In the sneaker world, new silhouettes traditionally came to market as men's products; after women started buying them, brands re-launched these styles in smaller sizes and different colour ways for a female audience. As trends have grown less gendered and more fluid, men are becoming equally unafraid to buy women's collections. In 2018, Nike launched the M2K sneaker for women, and male consumers started adopting them. When the Nike x Ambush collaboration came out — targeted at a female audience — male influencers bought the faux fur bomber jacket, which blew up on social media and resonated with sartorially minded rappers like Skepta.

“I’m still surprised the business of footwear is separated between the male and female managers when that actually caps the business. If you open that up to a unisex proposition for certain footwear models, you could generate so much more in sales,” says Muscat. “The unisex conversation is important in streetwear, as women’s product isn’t traditionally feminine.”

The unisex conversation is important in streetwear, as women's product isn't traditionally feminine.

At the same time, streetwear giants are evolving and offering better products and shopping experiences specifically for women. During Paris Fashion Week in February 2018, Nike opened an upscale women's sneaker boutique as part of its push to grow its $6.6 billion women's business to $11 billion by 2020. Bathing Ape delivered a strong women's collection in Spring/Summer 2019 that didn't feel like a so-called "shrink it and pink it" play. And female designers are generating a good deal of hype. Established players are eager to collaborate with nascent brands helmed by women — of which there are very few — especially ones steeped in 90s street, skate and hip hop culture, like Cynthia Lu's Cactus Plant Flea Market, Christelle Kocher's Koche and Erin Magee's Mademe.

Reggie Casagrande is a streetwear feminist and integrated brand marketing expert working in the culture to bring large scale global fashion and sneaker collaborations to market.

The views expressed in Op-Ed pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Business of Fashion.

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