Triple 3 Clothing’s 20 Favourite Street Labels in 2024
Triple 3 Clothing loves Skate and Streetwear, it’s our thing. Each year we’ll be compiling a list of our current Top 20 Street and Skatewear clothing companies who are dropping some serious freshness.
Streetwear is an ever-changing and progressing concept. From its origins in Hip Hop, Skateboard and Surf culture through to recent adaption by the mainstream “high street” and its recent explosion into high fashion.
Here at Triple 3 Skatewear, we love the Old School aesthetic, look and vibe of streetwear, boxy tees and bright big graphics. But we’re a sucker for a modern twist too, small front prints and big back prints alongside a new focus on sustainability.
Based around the iconic sticker that Shephard Fairey made in 89, whose work has gone on to become established in the art world. The clothing label was formed in 2001 and is inspired by a military and workwear aesthetic. His take on popular culture, mixed with a skate and punk counterculture vibe has created a range that has rapidly spread across the world.
19 DC Shoes
DC was founded in 94 by Damon Way, Ken Block and Clayton Blehm in California. Brought by Quicksilver in 2010 it may have lost some of its original underground status, but its trainers are still everywhere and are firmly bedded into the streetwear and skate worlds.
18 Vans
The Van Doren Rubber Company opened the first Vans shop way back in 1966 in California, manufacturing and selling shoes. The Vans logo every skater and streetwear freak knows was designed in the 70s by Mark Van Doren when he was 13. After some rapid expansion, a bankruptcy and a buyout, Vans took off internationally in the nineties and went public in 2004. They now have shops and Vans skateparks around the world.
17 Etnies
Established by skater Pierre Andre Senizergues in 1986, Etnies represents the more adventurous extreme side of streetwear. They have also been at the forefront of sustainable fashion and shoe design for decades now and live by the ethos – Ride, Create, Inspire.
Founded in 2003 by musician Pharell Williams and fashion designer Nigo in New York. The brand has used all-over print motifs and bold designs along with Ice Cream graphics, dollar signs and diamonds to create its unique look. With sub-labels and collaborations with artists like Jay Z, they are synonymous with the now common trend of collaborations with high-end fashion. BBC opened an American Diner style shop in Paris in 2023, to add to their global empire in New York, London and Tokyo.
15 Kith
Kieth was started in 2011 by Ronnie Fieg and has spearheaded the transition of streetwear into the mainstream. With its sleek minimal look and seasonal drops, is it streetwear? Who knows, but its impact is undeniable.
Named after the coldest and hardest side of a mountain, North Face has been pushing its core message of sustainability and exploration since Doug Tompkis opened his first shop in San Francisco in 1966. Climbers and iconic counterculture bands like The Grateful Dead would mingle side by side with beatniks and hippies. A truly iconic brand that ebbs and flows over the decades and seems to be having a renaissance in the last decade.
13 Maharishi
Maharishi was founded in 1994 by Hardy Blechman to create environmentally conscious, durable, utilitarian clothing. They always drop hemp and organic cotton in their collections and have embraced new production methods to help establish their brand within the sustainable fashion industry.
12 Undercover
Undercover was founded by Jun Takashi in Japan in 1993. It takes its influence from street culture and punk and is a high-end streetwear label that has expanded across the world and is massively popular with streetwear heads and freaks.
11 Bape
The iconic A Bathing Ape (BAPE) label was founded by Nigo in Japan in 1993. They have stores across the world and have become one of the best-known global high-end streetwear labels. Their take on popular culture iconography would make Andy Warhol a happy man. They have collaborated with everyone from Marvel, DC Comics, Coca Cola and Nintendo. They are the high-end Japanese streetwear label that the country has become synonymous with and after teaming up officially with Disney this doesn’t seem to be slowing down.
10 Brain Dead
Founded in Los Angeles by designer Kyle NG and Ed Davis, Brain Dead referenced underground comics, skateboarders and punks as sources of inspiration. Its loud and “wacky” graphics are as recognisable as the stars they collaborate with. From Seth Rogan to Geoff Goldberg. They are part of the fight back against the high-end takeover of streetwear and for that we love them.
9 Thrasher
Thrasher magazine, zine – Bible of the skate world since 1981 soon developed their merch into a reputable clothing label. Founded by Kevin Thatcher, Eric Swenson and Fausto Vitello the monthly skate magazine has become the stuff of legend, entering the Skateboarding Hall of Fame in 2017. Their Skater of the Year feature which began in 1990 has become one of the most respected awards with winners including Tony Hawk, Danny Way, Chris Cole, Jamie Foy and many more.
8 Supreme
Supreme’s iconic logo is everywhere in the streetwear and fashion world. It’s unavoidable. Started in 1994 in New York, opening its first store in Lower Manhattan, which soon became the centre of the city's skate community. They became famous for limited edition, sell-out drops and weird accessories. They have flagship stores across the world and part of the company was sold to a private equity group for about 500 million dollars in 2017. A monster in the streetwear industry.
Despite preferring dogs to cats (and they do love cats), Rip N Dip won us over with their strange and wonderful accessories. Everything from and probably by now including a limited edition Kitchen Sink. Started in 2009 by Ryan O’Connor in Florida but is currently located in LA (what self-respecting Streetwear brand would stay in Florida).
6 Huf
Pro Skater Keith Hufnel (who sadly passed away in 2020) opened his first Huf store in Los Angeles in 2002 with his wife. They sold rare sneakers and streetwear and expanded into Texas, New York and Japan. Slowly progressing into a clothing and lifestyle brand over the next few years. He sold the brand in 2017 but continued to skate for the HUF worldwide team. They reference counterculture and have pioneered the punk street skate vibe that we love.
Created by Bobby Hundreds (Bobby Kim) and Ben Hundreds (Ben Shenassafar) in Los Angeles in 2003 with an aesthetic of nineties workwear and Californian subculture tribes. They opened their retail stores in 2007 having cemented their place in streetwear history with their super iconic bomb logo.
Created in 1994 as the sister company to Girl Skateboards and a vehicle for Chico Brenes, Chocolate Skateboards is all about skating. With a crazy roster including Keenan, Kenny Anderson and MJ. There main thing is of course decks and wheels. But they do some often overlooked tees and accessories. Their Chocolate Ashtray a while back got us hooked on their look.
Andy Mueller’s label The Quiet Life just gets better and better recently. Started in 1993 while working for Girl Skateboards and Chocolate Skateboards, heavily influenced by the 80’s BMX and Skateboarding scene. He also runs OhioGold Records and runs a freelance photography agency called OhioGirl. Their latest drops have been off the chart.
A rare thing. A British-based Streetwear brand that is taking over the world. Since Lev Taju and Gareth Skewis created the brand just over a decade ago, it’s grown into a monster. With Formula 1 and Gucci collaborations and heavy hitters like Dua Lipa, Jay Z and Rihanna all wearing Palace, it seems unstoppable. With their weekly Friday micro-collection drops have become the stuff of streetwear legends. The Willem Defoe shoot or the Ralph Lauren horseback drop are a couple that stood out.
1 Stussy
The undisputed heavyweight, original King. You can’t mess with the King. Started in 1980 by Shawn Stussy in California as a surfboard producer. He scrawled his surname on the boards. His signature soon moved onto Tees and Shorts and the rest is history. Always striving to keep current, Stussy is as strong now as it’s peak.
If we were that way inclined we would have included ourselves. From our range of Triple 3 T-Shirts to our Hoodies and Triple 3 Long Sleeve Tees we hope you will soon be putting us in your Top 20 Streetwear brands.