Urban culture has an edge, an integrity and a DIY aesthetic that can't be
recreated with any real credibility by the 'high end' and corporates - it's fast paced, constantly changing and whilst it may occasionally take
influences from past trends, but it's always got it's eyes firmly set on now and the future - either by reinventing old trends or finding new ones. You only
need to look at how in the music scene a tune that was brought out six months ago is labelled as 'old' or a style trend that's been over exposed
becomes considered 'played out'. This progressive energy has a certain appeal that brands and the industry as a whole can't ignore.

Yes, in fact it's interesting how things come full circle. Talk to anyone in
the 90s and the 80s was often referred to as 'a decade that style forgot' yet by the start of the millennium it was far enough away that it began to regain
a nostalgic level of coolness. By the time the 80s trend had hit it's peak, the 90s is now long enough ago the people are beginning to perhaps draw a
nostalgia from it too. It's a combination of 'the grass being greener on the other side' - people want what's different and out of reach and then people's
tendency to look at the past through 'rose tinted spectacles' and romanticise about the great times they had particularly when they were
growing up; whether it's 90s RnB/Hip Hop nights like 'Work It' or the re-emergence of old skool garage. We recently interviewed UK band Man Like
Me as an example who perform head to toe in designer labels such Moschino which were made popular in urban culture during the 90s, it was also
interesting to see a recent independent streetwear sale stocking 90s vintage clothing side by side with contemporary brands, not to mention a range of
90s influences which seem to be seeping through in some of this year's SS10 collections as you mention.

When you talk about 3 decades - the roots of 'urban' culture today all
arguably stem from the packaging of Hip Hop culture to the mainstream during the late 70s and early 80s. Hip Hop culture was always about experimentation
- it took cues from many other subcultures, whether it was sampling a James Brown riff, a Kraftwerk record or painting Cambells Soup tins on a NYC
subway car. This mentality, with the subculture's fear of looking dated has kept it organic and progressive and right now I think it's fair to say that
the UK is at the forefront of many of the world's trends, at least musically. This is most evident in the electronic music scene - the
development of the 'breakbeat' helping create hardcore and jungle and by the late 90s had already given birth to countless other genres of Drum & Bass
and distant relatives such as Dubstep, Grime and 2 Step. In fact, we're at a stage where electronic music has so many sub genres and sounds circulating
at underground level it's becoming increasingly hard to label them. The fact that the underground scene does have a life of it's own and is constantly
looking to challenge boundaries is part of the reason why I think it has continued to stay so relevant.

When we look back I definitely think we'll see the internet as being one of
the key things that has influenced this generation and the culture of now. The fact that people look to sites such as ours to keep up to date with
current trends is very exciting, there is more of a DIY attitude - many of the latest trends get picked up first on blogs and websites. The internet
has also opened up more creative opportunities for us, our generation is eclectic and it's not uncommon to see people from different subcultures,
backgrounds or parts of the globe collaborating artistically.

It really depends on personal taste. What's so exciting right now is the
cross over of cultures and styles emerging - people are taking their cues and drawing inspiration from different places and the divide between what
people label as 'urban', 'indie', 'high end' and 'trendy' is certainly lessening. Only a while ago the 'urban' scene was dominated by sportswear;
with the term chav becoming a dirty word and as many of the people who follow the scene now growing older we're starting to see this reflected in a more
mature approach to the streetwear aesthetic - the popularity of classic, traditional British brands such as Barbour and companies such as Garbstore
for example. In terms of independent streetwear there are a number of grass roots UK based independent labels like A.IN.T, Too Much Posse, Second Son
and Trapstar which you can now find stocked in places like Wholesome London, Donuts Bristol or The Candy Store Birmingham for example. The US still has a
strong hold over UK streetwear culture - brands such as Supreme, Ten Deep, The Hundreds and Mishka tend to be a staple with most streetwear followers
today. Whilst fashion is all about trends, people also want to look unique and it's not unusual to see people mixing up vintage clothing, 'cross over'
brands and streetwear. So there are a really diverse set of influences and trends out there which people are tapping into.

As cliche as it sounds the hub of the creative scene does tend to revolve
around East London today, with it's countless galleries and venues. Covent Garden and the west end will always be great places for shopping, places
like Magma Books in Seven Dials stocking a wide selection of art/design publications. The word 'urban' is misleading in a sense as great underground
music and art is coming from all over the place, whether it's produced in the inner city or the sticks - the cliche of troubled inner city youth
doesn't necessarily give a real reflection of what urban culture is today: it reflects a part of it, but not neccessarily the whole picture. Musically
what people sometimes term as 'Bass' or 'Bass Driven' music is very popular, nights like FWD, Hyp Hyp Hyp, Deadly Rhythm, Chew The Fat and Urban Nerds
just a few examples of people helping champion some of the sounds. We've also been very interested by some of the music coming from the US west coast
lately - LA's Low End Theory scene which seems to be taking influences from many of the bass driven music emerging from London as well as mixing in
their own unique sounds. Rinse FM will continue to be one of the prime stations pushing UK underground music and Fact Magazine tends to be very
forward thinking in terms of keeping one step ahead of musical trends.

It was initially started as a blog, teaming up with a couple of friends and
has now grown into a twenty strong collective of creatives and brands promoting their work and highlighting what they think's hot. We tend to be
very selective about who we have writing for us and have been lucky enough to work with a number of very talented individuals producing everything from
video features and interviews to podcasts and recently even throwing our own party at Corsica Studios.

Absolutely. I think we're reaching a time where mainstream and underground
cultures seem to be working more closely together, people on both sides of the fence are beginning to recognise the mutual benefits of this partnership
- brands want to know what's 'cool' and people involved in the underground scene need to generate an income and branch out of their world to progress
and keep things fresh. This cross over is definitely contributing to helping make the scene more eclectic and boundaries do seem to be blurring.