The streetwear industry has experienced changes over the last few years, as luxury brands have shifted away from the market and the streetwear customer has matured and sought out more elevated offerings.
Nevertheless, streetwear’s influence on the broader fashion industry continues as new and established brands aim to carve a niche in the market and home in on their heritage to appeal to a larger customer base.
Here, WWD looks at five streetwear brands to keep an eye on in 2025.
Palmes
Founded: 2021
Styles from Palmes and Diadora’s collaboration
Courtesy of Palmes
Palmes founder Nikolaj Hansson grew up in the skateboarding world, but when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, he “fell into this YouTube hole of tennis videos,” he said, which inspired him to take a new look at the beloved sport and the fashion around it.
“I felt like there were a lot of stories from the world of tennis that had never been told and a lot of the clothing in the tennis space was either very performance, both in the product and quality, or very retro nostalgic — more about what tennis was in the past rather than what it could be in the future,” he said. “So, the idea for Palmes basically came from this desire to show new ideas of tennis and new feelings and new sentiments around it.”
Palmes brings a new take to tennis culture by leveraging streetwear-inspired graphics and artwork and merging them with elevated fabrics and menswear silhouettes.
Last year, Palmes opened its first flagship, a 1,400-square-foot storefront in Copenhagen, and it has distribution partnerships with Nordstrom in the U.S. and Selfridges in the U.K. The brand has collaborated with Sperry and Italian sports brand Diadora, which recently named Hansson creative director.
Hansson’s next initiative is showcasing his first co-branded Palmes and Diodora collection during men’s fashion week in Milan.
Metalwood
Founded: 2020
Styles from Metalwood’s recent collection.
Courtesy of Metalwood
Golf and fashion have always been big parts of Metalwood founder Cole Young’s life. He played the sport from a young age and currently competes and he’s also worked at brands including Revolve, Fwrd and Malbon Golf.
In 2020, he was inspired to take a “retro-futuristic, post-Internet era and all things vintage golf” view on the sport to launch Metalwood, which gives a nod to traditional golf fashion.
“Metalwood romanticizes what some would call the least fashionable era of golf: pleated pants and the oversized polos of the ’90’s and early 2000s,” he said. “We aim to preserve this iconic look and feeling by offering a shoppable experience and engaging with our audience by creating a nostalgic wormhole via a collection of products with luxury, high-fashion and sometimes skateboarding tendencies.”
Young said in 2024 the brand doubled in size and showed collections twice during Paris Fashion Week and it also embarked on banner collaborations with Adidas, FootJoy and Maxfli.
The brand operates out of a flagship in Los Angeles, and has plans in 2025 to move to a larger location, as well as open more stores and establish distribution in Asia. Metalwood also has more collaborations and collections slated for this year.
Axel Arigato
Founded: 2014
Styles from Axel Arigato.
Courtesy of Axel Arigato
While Axel Arigato has been a player in the streetwear space for over a decade now, the brand experienced a banner anniversary year in 2024 that set it up for more success this year.
Last year, Axel Arigato opened two flagships in New York City and London; collaborated with the likes of GmbH, Kenny Scharf and Bloody Osiris; and promoted Jens Werner, its previous head of ready-to-wear, to the role of creative director.
“2025 is all about building on the momentum we started last year through our new creative direction, continuing to amplify our brand’s originality and desirability,” said Albin Johansson, chief executive officer of the brand. “We’ll remain focused on our core pillar of music, with key activations in London, New York and Paris, while delivering products and campaigns designed to visually inspire and spark curiosity. Additionally, we’re excited to re-energize our womenswear audience, introducing new products and campaigns tailored specifically for them. It’s set to be another huge year for us, and we can’t wait to bring our vision to life.”
In 2025, Axel Arigato is releasing a new campaign in collaboration with its artistic partner John Buck, debuting its fall 2025 collection during Paris Fashion Week and introducing new sneaker silhouettes.
Vowels
Founded: 2024
Styles from Vowels
Courtesy of Vowels
Japanese streetwear label Vowels’ debut in the U.S. was met with success and interest among the fashion world, with designer Yuki Yagi’s slow approach to fashion and his respect for traditional Japanese craft resonating with many.
Vowels’ U.S. debut also coincided with the opening of its hybrid showroom, retail store and research library in New York City that has been reconfigured for new collections. The brand is coming off showcasing its first fall collection that offered a range of elevated basics, outerwear and accessories.
“Vowels will continue to develop its language through seasonal collections, exhibitions and collaborations, including the upcoming presentation of fall 2025 at Men’s Paris Fashion Week in January,” Yagi said. “Titled ‘Everyday Life,’ the intention behind the presentation is to reimagine luxury through the lens of daily ritual. Combining various elements from Vowels’ New York City location, the Paris space is an interactive, multipurpose environment functioning as showroom, performance space, library and café. Following the week in Paris, we’re excited to release our spring 2025 ready-to-wear collection, with launch events to be announced throughout Japan and in New York.”
Fugazi
Founded: 2020
Styles from Fugazi.
Courtesy of Fugazi
Streetwear brand Fugazi had a banner year in 2024, opening its first flagship and accompanying café in New York’s Lower East Side. The brand has quickly grown its following since founder Trevor Gorji launched the label in 2020 thanks to its classic Americana take on traditional streetwear.
“When looking at our products, I think it can be boiled down to a combination of three things: interesting design, high quality and fair price point,” Gorji said. “I think many brands have two of these, but few offer all three. Building upon our product selection, we are able to create a world for the brand through our campaigns, stores, etc. I’m obsessed with constructing a cohesive environment for the brand to exist in away from the noise. It’s fun to build something with my friends and not take ourselves too seriously.”
2024 was about establishing Fugazi’s foundation through its physical storefront and Gorji stated Fugazi is focused on international expansion this year.
