- 35 minutes 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.
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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.
00:06It's been like, it's been three days since I got a 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.
00:43It'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.
00:59That's a laid back island, you guys chilling.
01:02I don't know, Lewis knows...
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.
01:17So, 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.
01:52Very, 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, TBH.
02:00Maybe I just need a little insider insight.
02:05This is awesome.
02:06You are officially on the Calabasas Gated Community Tour.
02:11I've lived here now for almost 29 years.
02:16These 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.
02:27With neighborhoods so exclusive, they're not exactly camera friendly.
02:32Casino.
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.
02:46Uh, there's a little known artist named Drake who lives in here.
02:51I think you've heard of him, too.
02:52Yeah.
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, by 2%.
03:25But it's still less diverse than Beverly Hills.
03:29The 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 3 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.
04:50And 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.
04:58No, 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.
05:08My mom, especially when she was young, like you find pictures of her in like cut-off shorts
05:13and like little crop tops.
05:15And I was like, oh my God, like that's so cute.
05:17Bella'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.
05:53And 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.
06:05And then can I get the mango, banana, pineapple smoothie?
06:10Don'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.
06:17No.
06:17The older people.
06:18No, it is not.
06:19Well, how do you think that happens?
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.
06:43Right.
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.
07:21Courtesy of 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 streetwear, 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.
07:56The 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. I 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.
08:23Each 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.
08:34Just because you throw on a Manolo with Adidas tracksuit does not mean that you have created a new style
08:42that 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.
08:52It 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.
09:26Good 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.
10:35People are looking to Calabasas as, like, sort of epicenter style right now. Like, do you feel it?
10:40No.
10:41The 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.
10:51I 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.
11:16I 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.
11:36After all, what are Kanye and Kim if not the embodiment of the American dream?
11:40If 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.