From Shred to Style : Metal's Dubious Influence on Streetwear

It's not difficult to draw parallels between metal music and streetwear. Both spawned from subcultural upbringings and eventually flourished into their own worlds, both have droves of loyal followers, and both at the core have countercultural values. So with that said, it might not come as any surprise that eventually, the two would collide. With the fashion industry's storied history of nitpicking tidbits of inspiration from subcultural sects, it was only a matter of time before we saw metal-born signatures find their way to fashion and eventually streetwear.

Baggy ripped jeans, ill-fitting hoodies, spikes, gothic and medieval typed fonts - nowadays, these features wouldn't look amiss in the latest Balenciaga collection, but once upon a time these signatures almost existed solely within the metal subculture, which kind of prompts the question of where the turning point was.

Society for many years was confused by the unkempt nature of these looks, but it wasn't until the early 2010s where fashion and, more specifically, streetwear would begin to adopt them for their own use.

Sure, you could argue that fast fashion's continual overexploitation of logos such as Nirvana's smiley face, Guns N' Roses' pistols emblem and Metallica's iconic font started way before 2010, but these were more an example of repurposing the logo more so than the actual motifs associated with the genre.

As is the case with many of fashion's fads, influential figures play a huge part, so it might not shock you to learn that the early origins of metal's emergence within streetwear can be traced back to none other than Mr influence himself - Kanye West. In 2013, Ye commissioned contemporary American artist Wes Lang to create a number of graphics for his merchandise on the Yeezus Tour.

The result was a range of reapers, skulls and skeletons set across faded and oversized silhouettes, with each bearing a heavy resemblance to metal band merch from the '80s and '90s eras. The collection also featured a direct rip of Metallic's famed logo font, so it was crystal clear just exactly where Wes Lang drew inspiration from.

Within a few years, the metal trend had simply exploded across the fashion world. By 2016, celebs and followers everywhere had begun wearing band tees, with Kendall Jenner's Slayer look prompting the famed "Kill The Kardashians" response from the band's guitarist, Gary Holt.

Disagreements aside, this was likely the first time those with influence within the mainstream fashion sphere had embraced metal looks, and people were starting to notice. The same year, both Pusha T and Justin Bieber tapped Mark Riddick, a famed American illustrator known for his extreme metal graphics, for tour merchandise. As a result, Mark produced a skull playing card style design for Pusha T's Darkest Before Dawn tour and a menacing logo for Bieber's world-renowned Purpose tour.

Fear of God founder Jerry Lorenzo was also commissioned to style Bieber for the tour, essentially choosing to dress the pop star in nothing but Axl-Rose style kilts, oversized plaid shirts and a Marilyn Manson "Bigger Than Satan" T-Shirt complete with cut off sleeves.

While mainstream fashion was at the peak of its fascination with metal, streetwear brands elsewhere looked to collaborate directly with the bands themselves. Balenciaga's current Creative Director and founder of Vetements Demna Gvasalia went full throttle for the Vetements AW16, as he sent his models down the runway draped in Cradle of Filth inspired items with the band Sisters of Mercy blasting for all in attendance to hear.

One of the pieces featured the extreme metal band's gothic style logo on the front complete with a screaming skele-person in a purple hue. The rear of the piece sported a large pentagram with a "TOTAL FUCKING DARKNESS" spell out. Elsewhere, another item replicated the band's famed Cruelty And The Beast album, complete with a woman bathing in a bath of blood.

Around the same time, New York streetwear imprint Supreme embraced the shared rebellious roots between streetwear and metal with a Slayer collaboration.

The collaboration itself featured an M-65 jacket, a coach jacket, sweaters, a thermal, hoodies, and a range of T-Shirts sporting Slayer's logo from their 1990 album Seasons in the Abyss. Other pieces sport the skull design from the South of Heaven album and the band's signature "Reign in Blood" slogan.

Prior to the Slayer collaboration, Supreme also honoured the inventors of metal music as we know it with its Black Sabbath collab. Arriving in the spring of 2016, Supreme x Black Sabbath sported a range of collaborative goods including two denim jackets, a hooded parka, a hockey jersey, hoodies, tees and a signature rug.

Graphic motifs and various typography is featured throughout the collection with nods to the classic projects from the band including, War Pigs, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Paranoid and more. Oddly enough, the collection also sported a colour blocked hockey jersey, complete with a bright purple version of the band's Vol.4 album cover. While the collection at the time prompted a mixed feeling of both hype and criticism for fans of streetwear and the brand, is it now a grail for many and commands extortionate prices on the likes of both Grailed and StockX.

Following 16/17, the metal trend seemed to drop off, but in reality, it just became somewhat part of the norm. Those gothic fonts, loud frontal prints and aged details all became staples found within the modern streetwear enthusiast's wardrobe, with one brand seemingly standing out above the rest here in 2022.

England's own Represent took the metal trend in its stride and ran with it. The result was a range of oversized vintage tees complete with skulls, grim reapers, snakes and much more. At the start of 2021, the brand even collaborated with legendary American heavy metal band Megadeth for a trio of T-Shirts.

These tees individually focused on three separate era's of the band's history, with each sporting a classic skull-styled print on the front. Given Vetements', Supreme's and Represent's efforts to actually draw attention to the bands with their clothing, one could argue these labels are instead empowering the music as opposed to just borrowing signatures for their own gain.

So in general, it seems like metal's influence within the fashion industry will always be here to stay, however, that's not to say all fans of the music will be happy about it. Naturally, given the subcultural prestige of a genre like metal, gatekeeping runs rife both within the communities as well as mainstream media.

While some will argue that while it's harmless to pay homage to metal's aesthetic, few of those who commandeer the culture will actually understand that for many, metal runs far deeper than the clothes on your back or the logo on your shirt. As we all know, the world of fashion constantly walks a fine line between inspiration and exploitation and in this case, it's no different.

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