A$AP Rocky’s style has had many chapters. One of his first was part of a more general trend known as ‘Street Goth.’ It began in the early 2010s with all black outfits, layering avant garde designer fashion with snapbacks and sneakers, combining obscure designers with bigger brands in a unique aesthetic that defined an era of streetwear. With 2010s fashion reemerging, Rocky's take on Street Goth is one worth revisiting.

Street Goth as a style was defined by layering (mostly black and white) sportswear designs (tank tops, hoodies, basketball shorts and leggings) from high and avant garde fashion, complemented by niche streetwear brands and rounded out with designer sneakers or Jordans. The proportions were elongated, drapey, and skinny. Bold graphics meeting avant garde silhouettes was central to the aesthetic, as was mixing brands. There was not one individual brand you can wear head to toe to have it be considered Street Goth. (Maybe Givenchy, but this is debatable.)

The origin of Street goth as a fashion aesthetic is muddled. Online there is general consensus that Rocky was at this point in his career taking inspiration sonically and aesthetically from Spaceghostpurrp and his group Raider Klan, however Rocky's taste in fashion and persona has always been different from SGP, leading into a different way of developing the style. Here, we'll focus on Rocky's approach to the aesthetic.

The trend emerged in 2010/11 and lasted until 2014. While it had robust underground roots, it broke into popular culture with the Watch The Throne tour, where Givenchy, under the creative direction of Riccardo Tisci, provided outfits for Ye and Jay-Z. Ye mixed his with Yeezy 2’s, an early mix of streetwear and high fashion.

Street Goth’s melding of streetwear and avant garde fashion was innovative. The two entities had much less in common then than they do now. Streetwear was dominated by graphics and leaned on exclusivity and community. Those who even knew about it didn’t always agree on what it was, or what brands defined it. Avant garde fashion was also more niche than it is today. Even names like Rick Owens, while highly successful, were not as ingrained in the broader cultural spectrum as they have become.

Rocky’s wardrobe, being among the most versatile of any artist, was well equipped for the Street Goth look. His avid shopping habit, obsession with garments, and lyrical references to well known designers like Rick Owens and Givenchy quickly established him as a style icon. Fans took note of the smaller brands he would wear to complete looks, and in this way brands like BLVCK SCVLE and Hood by Air reached new mainstream audiences.

The first widely circulated Rocky Street Goth look came in the video for 'Purple Swag,' featuring all black outfits with bold white text from BLVCK SCVLE. Soon followed 'Peso,' where we see a more clear image of what the Street Goth style would become. Rocky raps about Rick Owens and Raf Simons, accompanied by a shot with him wearing an elongated white tank top, stacked black denim and Rick Owens Geobaskets.

Over time, the brands Rocky used to complete his looks shifted. In the beginning, he wore many smaller brands like Pigalle, BLVCK SCVLE (who A$AP MOB would later collaborate with), and SSUR, with only small doses of heavy hitters like A Bathing Ape and Supreme. This might have been due to a limited budget, which didn’t stay that way as his career took off.

The same time Rocky came up, Hood by Air emerged from New York. The brand’s bold graphics and sportswear inspired clothing fit, as well as a price tag and exclusivity that made it ‘luxury streetwear’, fit in perfectly with Rocky’s look. The HBA aesthetic found its way into Rocky’s wardrobe immediately and over the years both would thrive. Hood by Air was a brand that brought streetwear and high fashion together, and sparked a shift in high fashion to become inspired by streetwear.¹

Also emerging at that time were Pyrex Vision (by Virgil Abloh) and Been Trill (by Virgil, Heron Preston, Flo, YWP, Justin Saunders & Matthew Williams), and both became a part of the Street Goth aesthetic. Pyrex’s controversial success propelled Abloh to fame, and Rocky was the artist who could be seen wearing them the most. Been Trill was a side project, a DJ hustle, collective and a story of its own. It was never meant to be a big brand, just merch for recognisability. The brand was short-lived and sold out to Pac-Sun, after which the other two members would start their own brands as well.

Of course, Rocky was not the only one responsible for Street Goth. Even those who weren't tapped into the underground fashion scene were likely to be fans of another major voice in fashion: Kanye West. Ye wore more Givenchy and had an eclectic colour palette compared to Rocky at the time. Fans would take parts of both and combine them, wearing Geobaskets with skinny jeans and red flannels, or Yeezy’s with Damir Doma and Raf Simons.

Rocky departed from this aesthetic around 2014/2015, opting for more simple silhouettes from high fashion brands. The bold graphics and shorts over leggings were traded in for tasteful graphic T-shirts and ripped light wash jeans.

Not all of the designers that played a role in the Street Goth era stayed relevant. Kris van Assche, Linda Farrow, Ksubi and Damir Doma were beloved, but today have declined in popularity compared to others mentioned in this article; Rick Owens and Raf Simons are more popular than ever before.

Rocky’s Street Goth period coincided with a great change in the fashion industry. At the start of the 2010s fashion and streetwear catered to very different audiences and there was still a stigma about men interested in fashion. Rocky’s music found an audience quickly because it spoke to a new niche, while propelling the interest and inspiring a new generation. To be a fan of Rocky was to be introduced to fashion.

With the rise of early 2010’s nostalgia it would not be surprising to see a comeback of this aesthetic. Some of the most culturally impactful brands from the Street Goth era have ceased to exist, like Pyrex vision, Hood by Air, and Nike Yeezy’s. They have become artifacts that remind us of a time where bold graphics dominated social media before high fashion’s logomania and sneaker collaborations.

These brands were also beloved because they were not Street Goth brands by themselves. They have become iconic parts of the genre through the way people chose to style them. Street Goth was always a wearer-created style, not one brands actively marketed.

With the rising prices of archive fashion it might be hard to find the exact pieces, but seeing as Hood by Air already received a mention from Carti, it will only be a matter of time before nostalgia makes someone break out the Pyrex vision shorts again.

Written by Gijs Veening (@mohairblend)

Image Curation by Carly Mills (@carly_monoxide)