The Rise of London’s Street Culture — Versace Editorial
2018 has seen the global rise, recognition and representation of British underground street culture within the mainstream. With the likes of luxury Italian powerhouse, Versace launching their new sneaker campaign based in the heart of London.
Created by LA-based footwear designer, Salehe Bembury who has previously worked with the likes of Kanye West to produce the Yeezy Season 3 and Season 4 collections, he is now the head of footwear design at Versace. Goes to show Donatella still has it when it comes to scouting talent.
The first instalment of the ‘Chain Reaction’ sneaker dropped earlier this year and with that type of nomenclature, it was only right that Versace called up rapper and luxury connoisseur, 2 Chainz to the paint assisting Bembury creatively with the design. Even the ‘Versace’ rappers, Migos received their very own personalised pair to commemorate the ‘Aubury and the three Migos’ tour alongside Drake back in August, which managed to sell over 670,000 tickets.
For this drop, Versace hooked up with the Bible of Gen Z, Hypebeast to curate a campaign that branches out into the streets of London. Shot by British photographer Holly Rae Jones around the Aldgate East area; this editorial aims to capture the authenticity of London’s urban scene.
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The use of extravagant designs and lavish materials always has been a key part of the Italian brand’s heritage, initiating the trend of eccentric silk shirts and fashionable bathrobes. The ‘Chain Reaction’ sneaker is no different, inspired by Versace’s iconic jewellery pieces, this silhouette is some-what street with a hint of boujee. Using calf leather trims and silk linings, Versace has pushed the boundaries of what a conventional sneaker should look like. Following the recent trend of running-style uppers placed on chunky soles, Bembury takes it one step further; adding Versace’s chain link design to the bottom of the sole, the midfoot showcasing the well known Greca print and not to forget the notorious floating Medusa head prominently plastered on both heels. A personal favourite touch is ‘Love’ in braille writing stamped on the toe, symbolising that love is blind. This proves that no design component has managed to escape Bembury’s eye for detail.
“KICKS FOR THE NEW GENERATION, THE CHAIN REACTIONS HAVE THAT INTRINSIC VERSACE ATTITUDE AND DESIRE FOR ATTENTION. A SHIFT TO THE STREETS WHERE THE CELEBRITY, HIP HOP AND SNEAKER AFICIONADO CULTURES BLEND” — Versace
In 2008, after a successful run of underground mixtapes and the video for the legendary single ‘Talking Da Hardest’ uploaded to YouTube, Giggs released his debut independent studio album, ‘Walk in Da Park’. This captured the real-life commentary of London’s streets; presented to you in the deep accent of a Londoner and was arguably the breakthrough of gritty-street hip-hop. Even after the success of his album and also winning the BET award for Best UK Hip-Hop Act for that year, British hip-hop was still, very much underground. Only found through online platforms such as DatPiff or the one channel on cable TV, Channel U that paved the way for artists such as N-Dubz, Lethal B and Chipmunk. Despite gaining popularity, the Metropolitan police were still shutting down urban acts using (the now scrapped) ‘Form 696’ that discriminated against minorities by falsely predicting a high risk of violence without having the need to provide evidence; other than that of the race of the fans and performers. Even going as far as instilling fear into interested record labels to discourage them not to sign emerging recording artists.
Fast-forward 10 years and British hip-hop is finally receiving the coverage within the mainstream that’s been long overdue. DigDat has replaced Girls Aloud in the charts, The Big Narstie Show replacing Friday Night with Jonathon Ross, Stormzy headlining next years Glastonbury festival and front row seats for Chanel’s show at Paris Fashion Week reserved for Skepta — and that is only the beginning!
Versace producing a sneaker, that states in its slogan it is influenced by hip-hop culture, meanwhile using London’s narrow roads as the backdrop for its editorial shows how far the British scene has come. From the days of pirate radio locked in to by a small number of listeners, to now being influencers for superstars such as Drake and for fashion trends like the waist bag. All in all, it’s clear to see that U.K. hip-hop has finally started to etch its way onto the map of global mainstream exposure.
Written by Ali Twice
