Streetwear has grown from being a style distinctive to skate and hip hop culture to incorporating elements of haute couture and the mainstream. Most high-end brands now offer a street or sportswear line and many pair up with sneaker designers or celebrities to create clothing lines that appeal to the urban aesthetic. In 2016, we only expect streetwear to continue to evolve and we’ve seen a couple of surprising trends so far.

The comeback of tracksuits and sweatpants

Sportswear is alive and well in 2016, and yes, this means that even sweatpants and tracksuits are back in fashion! Designers have been giving a new spin to your everyday sportswear items and they’re finally no longer solely seen as comfort clothing. Wide, comfy sweatpants have replaced the skinny jeans and celebrities such as Justin Bieber and Kanye West have made ‘athleisure’ perfectly acceptable to wear in 2016. Rather than choosing for a plain tracksuit, check out the men’s tracksuits by GFN Clothing or Topman that come in loads of different patterns and styles.

Breaking the boundaries between masculine and feminine styles

For the last couple of years, gender-neutral fashion seems to have become the norm. Streetwear has always encompassed more masculine elements than feminine, but designers such as JW Anderson and Sebastiaan Pieter have finally been breaking with that tradition. Their recent collections show that baggy sweatpants can perfectly go together with tailored blazers and that it’s okay for men to flirt with wearing mini-skirts and dresses.

Distressed garments

Ripped jeans have been fashionable for years, but in 2016, the trend is taken to a whole new level. Earlier this year, Kanye West launched his third line of YEEZY clothing, a collection that consists of heavily distressed items with holes and garment-washed fabrics in shades like dark brown and nude. The collection resembles a wardrobe that hasn’t been touched since the nineties and has been eaten by moths in the meantime (in a good way). Urban streetwear is given a timeless, vintage look, proving that it’s here to stay for a long time!