- 9 years ago
On this episode of Style Out There, we follow our host Connie Wang on her journey to understand street style in Calabasas. This Californian suburb is a surprising hub for hip-hop inspired streetwear trends. Press play to decode with Connie how this style took California by storm!
ABOUT SERIES
In fashion, what's seen on the streets is just as important as what goes down the runway. R29's Style Out There takes a look at the drastically different subcultures around the world, examining the myriad influences that color what we wear — and why.
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TALENT
Follow Connie Wang on Instagram: https://instagram.com/conconwang/
ABOUT SERIES
In fashion, what's seen on the streets is just as important as what goes down the runway. R29's Style Out There takes a look at the drastically different subcultures around the world, examining the myriad influences that color what we wear — and why.
ABOUT REFINERY29
Refinery29 is a modern woman's destination for how to live a stylish, well-rounded life. http://refinery29.com/
RELATED CONTENT
What Harajuku Girls Really Look Like
https://youtube.com/watch?v=WblNctc3ys0
India's Transgender Community: The Hijra
https://youtube.com/watch?v=mgw7M-JABMg&t=1s
How Korean Couples Do PDA
https://youtube.com/watch?v=knYb8E9ohCw
SEE MORE REFINERY29 VIDEOS
http://refinery29.com/video
SUBSCRIBE TO REFINERY29
Subscribe to the Refinery29 channel: http://bit.ly/subscribe-to-r29
For the latest trends and videos, visit: http://refinery29.com
Like Refinery29 on Facebook: https://facebook.com/refinery29
Follow Refinery29 on Twitter: https://twitter.com/refinery29
Heart Refinery29 on Instagram: https://instagram.com/refinery29/
TALENT
Follow Connie Wang on Instagram: https://instagram.com/conconwang/
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00I might wear this hat. I'm having a really bad hair day.
00:03What? You're having a bad hair day?
00:04Yeah. It's been like, it's been three days since I go to blowout, so...
00:21Swap pants used to be the clothes you wore when no one was looking.
00:25So, how have they become the clothes you wear when you want to stand out?
00:346am, October 8th. Hypebeasts across the country from LA to New York are lining up the one thing.
00:41Yeezy's Calabasas track pants. It's the latest collab between Kanye West and Adidas.
00:46The last drop sold out in minutes.
00:48Everybody's entitled to one pair.
00:51I wanted to know why, and if any of these superfans even know what Calabasas is.
00:56I know that all the famous people live there, all the rich people.
00:59It's a laid back island here. It's chillin'.
01:02I don't know, Lewis knows.
01:03I don't know.
01:03If you have heard of Calabasas, it's probably because of its most famous residents.
01:07If you haven't, you should know that it is not an island.
01:10It is a suburb 30 miles outside of Los Angeles.
01:14Damn. Damn.
01:16So, how did hip-hop and streetwear become associated with Calabasas?
01:22If there is one person in this line who can help me understand the obsession, it's this guy.
01:30Meet Adam.
01:34A streetwear collector, Kanye's number one fan, and a Calabasas native.
01:41So, um, Calabasas is every other suburb that you've ever been in in America.
01:47It is full of strip malls and banks and parking lots.
01:51Um, very, very nice ones, don't get me wrong, but I'm actually a little bit underwhelmed.
01:56This is not really what I was expecting.
01:58TBH.
02:00Maybe I just need a little insider insight.
02:05This is awesome.
02:06You are officially on the Calabasas Gated Community Tour.
02:11Uh, I've lived here now for almost 29 years.
02:16Um, these are the streets that made me, me.
02:19Adam has seen Calabasas change from a conventional suburb to a celebrity haven.
02:24This is like a casino entrance.
02:27Yeah.
02:27With neighborhoods so exclusive, they're not exactly camera friendly.
02:32Casino, Chris.
02:33Okay.
02:33So, we have now entered Hidden Hills.
02:37And I know Hidden Hills.
02:38Yes, you do.
02:39Why do I know Hidden Hills?
02:41Well, you might have seen it while you were watching Keeping Up With The Kardashians.
02:45Uh, there's a little known artist named Drake who lives in here.
02:51I think I've heard of him too.
02:52But it's not just the Kardashians and Drake.
02:54It's like everyone.
02:56Justin Bieber, The Weeknd, bench players for the Lakers.
03:00If you live here, you've made it.
03:03Right.
03:03Is it a more diverse group of people who are moving in or is it more of the same?
03:07No, it is.
03:08I mean, it was definitely a very predominantly white community very early on.
03:15Over time, it's become a lot more diverse and I love it.
03:19Adam feels Calabasas has gotten more diverse.
03:22And it has.
03:24By 2%.
03:25But it's still less diverse than Beverly Hills.
03:28The only thing that's changed is the perception of Calabasas.
03:33If you Google Calabasas style, this is what you get, which is not exactly cool.
03:39So, how do we come to associate Calabasas with a style that looks like this?
03:55I'm hoping these girls can help explain this disconnect.
03:59I did not grow up in this lifestyle.
04:01You know, the big houses, the fancy cars, trying to keep up with the people around me.
04:07I think it's pretty good for me, actually.
04:09Bella is a force.
04:11She moved here three years ago when her mom got a job as a producer on, you guessed it, Keeping
04:17Up With The Kardashians.
04:19Bella works hard to maintain a luxury lifestyle.
04:21Gonna be all set.
04:22Unlike most of her friends, she has a job as a rep for a beauty and skincare line.
04:27She has started styling and hopes to turn it into a full-time career.
04:31And, oh yeah, she's still in high school.
04:35And you can wear this with anything.
04:36You can dress it up, you can dress it down.
04:38And have you always dressed in this kind of way where it's like,
04:40I mean, I always have.
04:42I remember I showed up to Picture Day in black sweatpants and a band t-shirt in fourth grade.
04:49And everyone was like, what's wrong with you?
04:52But if I did that now, it would be a really cute outfit.
04:55It doesn't feel Californian to me, though.
04:57No, it's not.
04:59But where did it come from?
05:00Did you just like it or were you reading magazines?
05:03I really liked it.
05:04I'd also walk around just downtown.
05:06I'm in Washington Heights.
05:08Yeah.
05:08My mom, especially when she was young, like you find pictures of her in like cut-off shorts
05:13and like little crop tops and was like, oh my God, like that's so cute.
05:16Bella's streetwear style actually comes from the streets, from her roots in New York.
05:22Her best friend Amanda's style comes from Instagram.
05:25A lot of my style inspiration comes from a lot of the celebrities.
05:29I saw celebrities wearing it all over social media.
05:32Social media is like a big part of my life.
05:34Even though Amanda has lived in Calabasas most of her life, like Bella, she felt like an outsider.
05:40Growing up here, it's kind of been difficult.
05:42I was the only African-American in my kindergarten class.
05:47Kids were bullying me because I was different.
05:50But the perception of Calabasas is changing and so is Amanda's place in it.
05:55She is now an insider with over 23,000 followers on Instagram.
05:59A few of my best friends, we're like bringing the street style to Calabasas.
06:04And then can I get the mango, banana, pineapple smoothie?
06:09Don't you find it weird that Calabasas style, it's streetwear too, but like this place doesn't really feel all that
06:15street to me.
06:17Nope.
06:17It's the older people.
06:18No, it is not.
06:19Well, how do you think that happened?
06:21A lot of the celebrities I feel like, whether it's like Kylie Jenner, like I don't know.
06:26I feel like yes, a lot of the girls in Calabasas look up to Kylie Jenner, but like that doesn't
06:32make, that doesn't mean all of us look up to Kylie Jenner to dress.
06:36Yeah.
06:36So a lot of the streetwear and like the style that Calabasas is known for comes from black culture, but
06:41you grew up predominantly surrounded by white people.
06:43How do you make sense of that?
06:44I think a lot of the controversy comes from culture appropriation.
06:50It's just like Kylie Jenner is going to wear a do-rag, like, and it's cool now, but if I
06:55wear a do-rag, it's going to be ghetto.
06:57The girls bring up an interesting point.
07:00The roots of this style are not in Hidden Hills, and we shouldn't ignore that.
07:05The style has been imported by Kanye West and people like him, and then adopted by his neighbors.
07:11Okay, we're going to get you into some street chic fashion.
07:15Okay.
07:15I decided in order to truly understand Calabasas' style, I had to walk a mile in see-through shoes, courtesy
07:21of Raimi Randall, a celebrity stylist who's worked with hip-hop greats, including Tyga, J-Lo, and Diddy.
07:29She puts together their outfits from major fashion moments, like music videos and red carpets.
07:34When we think of street wear, I don't go to Calabasas, you know what I mean?
07:39Calabasas is new money, but they're actually getting their visuals from the hood.
07:45Do this dress, but this is cute, right?
07:47But then we'll make a street throwing this on top.
07:50Super cute, super chic, super now.
07:53Watching Raimi pull pieces, I'm starting to get it.
07:55The Calabasas look is 90s hip-hop, sexy but comfortable, and full of hidden symbols that nod to how expensive
08:03or relevant the look actually is.
08:06And there's a lot of fabric, and yet I feel like I need more fabric.
08:09No, you don't, you won't.
08:10This is about comfort, style, and fit.
08:14I trust you.
08:15I trust you, I'm so scared.
08:17As I throw on this fur hoodie, I see that the style is a lot more calculated than I thought.
08:22Each element of this outfit feels new, but it comes from a throwback reference.
08:29But that reference seems to be getting lost through an Instagram filter.
08:32It's not a reinvention. Just because you throw on a Manolo with Adidas tracksuit does not mean that you have
08:40created a new style that is direct descent from Calabasas.
08:45But you think that people in Calabasas are doing it the most visibly?
08:49Visible is only based on where the cameras are.
08:53It is definitely always, always, always from the street.
08:57Okay, so Calabasas did not invent street wear.
08:59But maybe, by being in the spotlight, Calabasas has recontextualized what it means and who wears it.
09:07Kanye has branded that cultural shift and is capitalizing on it.
09:11But he's not the only one.
09:13It started as an inside joke between me and my friend group.
09:16One rapper that we really love who had merchandise that was bombed in and it was all based on super
09:22hood gang culture.
09:23It was just a little bit of satire.
09:25Good to see you again.
09:27Well, did it really start picking up after Kanye released his Calabasas Adidas line?
09:32Yeah. I mean, Calabasas kind of came onto the map because of that.
09:36Yeah, you're kind of riding the wave.
09:38That's right.
09:39Yeah. Some people might say that, like, you don't have to carry that burden of growing up in a violent,
09:44dangerous community.
09:45Did you get any sort of, like, criticism?
09:47I've had people comment to me that, like, they think it might be in bad taste me calling it Balabasas
09:52and appropriating gang culture.
09:54And, like, to me, it's, like, obviously the irony, the satire of it.
09:58I think a lot of fashion is irony.
10:14Those within Calabasas are redefining what luxury means.
10:17Luxury is no longer just about a price tag and looking like all you do is party.
10:22Now, it's about appearing like you have the means to access exclusive items, the time for self-care and indulgence,
10:28and the flexibility to look like you don't need a nine-to-five job.
10:32People want to dress like you. People want to live here. People are looking to Calabasas as, like, sort of
10:37epicenter style right now. Like, do you feel it?
10:40No, definitely not.
10:42The second that, like, I graduate high school, I want to move.
10:45And I think if you spend your whole life here, like, you're not really going to have a real, like,
10:49grasp on reality.
10:50I think, for me, it's just being independent and making boss moves just like my dad.
10:55By the way, her dad is Snoop Dogg.
10:58For the girls, it seems that Calabasas is not a final destination.
11:03It's a launch pad to set them up for a life they really want.
11:07No matter where you're from—a city, a suburb—we all have aspirations.
11:12But we also want to be comfortable in our own skin. That's what Calabasas style is.
11:17I would get teased because I love hoop earrings.
11:21And now I wear my hoops every single day. I love them, and they're part of who I am.
11:27Maybe it's not fair to call this Calabasas style, but I think the reason the look resonates here is because
11:33Calabasas is aspirational.
11:35After all, what are Kanye and Kim if not the embodiment of the American dream?
11:41If you were to ask me, is Calabasas as cool as Kanye says it is?
11:46To me, I would say yes.
11:48Maybe you have this preconceived notion of, like, what Calabasas is.
11:52Like, at the end of the day, Calabasas is a mindset.
12:08Like, what's the thickener, called Legitono C.
12:10They are the tactics that we don't patriotism in yourAKPG Earth.
12:10you want to %um pick me up for taker. Like,
12:11I'm assuming it is. Allebs