For a long time now, fashion week hasn’t just been about the people wearing the clothes on the catwalk, but it’s been just as much about the people off the runway too. Unless you’ve attended a fashion show, it’s really hard to grasp just how much of a circus whole street style thing is, and while the legendary Suzy Menkes might dislike it, I’ve come to accept that it is part of the fun of fashion week and a joy to see so many people enjoying fashion.
Arguably started with the likes of the late great Bill Cunningham and then continued by Scott Schuman’s Sartorialist, Tommy Ton and Phil Oh, it really kicked up a gear over the past 10 years, in part, thanks to Instagram. But that would be putting it too simply. While there are now scores of people posing outside fashion shows, there are the OG fashion bloggers who began in the late 00s or 10s are the ones who you now see on every fashion website. From Man Repeller’s Leandra Medine to Susie Buble (aka Susie Lau), street stylers have become stars in their own right and are now sat front row at the biggest shows—from Chanel to Versace to Louis Vuitton and every other big fashion show you can think of.
Instagram, however, has just ensured that street style stars are given even more coverage and even more of a platform, which means street style images, especially those of the past few years have become indelible. Speaking to Vogue in 2016 about street style, Ton revealed: “When you’re able to see fashion on a face that’s more relatable, it’s not manufactured, so it feels more accessible. I think that’s why street style blew up. Everybody loves beautiful models, but it’s when there’s a personality behind it, that’s when the look comes to life.”
With that in mind, and especially as we enter a very different kind of fashion week, here are some of the most memorable street style images from recent years…
Next up, the biggest autumn/winter 2020 fashion trends to know.
