Once, I thought the hoodie, a simple hooded sweater, was a boring item of clothing, differing only by the patterns and letters on it. However, sometime along the way, I suddenly realized that the hoodie had been transformed into a variety of styles. With the rise of youth culture, the hoodie has been infused with design elements, becoming a high-street fashionable item.
Undoubtedly, the hoodie originated in the very “street” United States. In the 1920s and 1930s, many clothing manufacturers began using underwear fabrics to make sportswear, with Russell Athletics and Knickerbocker being the most representative companies. Their design intent was to keep athletes and workers warm.
By the 1970s, street culture began to take off, and those “marginalized” youth passionate about hip-hop culture and street graffiti found that the hoodie could perfectly conceal their identities when they were up to “no good,” giving the hoodie an indelible rebellious attribute.
If things had continued along this original path, the hoodie might have remained a favorite only among a small group of people, or perhaps it would have been too ordinary to make a big splash. However, in recent years, as subculture has become a formidable force on the catwalk, the hoodie, with its rich story to tell, has ushered in a new era.