When quizzed about the must-wear item for SS14, Topshop Unique's Head of Design Emma Farrow stated simply, 'skate shoes.' If there's a breakout star of the footwear scene this season, it's definitely the Vans-alike, along with the ubiquitous pool slide, of course. From Celine - who've embraced skating since their 2011 campaign image of Daria Werbowy with a board over her boobies - to Givenchy, Whistles, Topshop and new flatform skate shoe brand, Eytys, there is a skate shoe for mood - and pricepoint.
Fashion's love affair with the skate aesthetic extends from the ankle up, too - and some pieces are seriously high-end. SHUT skateboards in New York recently produced the world's most expensive gold electroplated skateboard with an RRP of £9,000. Which is all a little weird, given that skating's appeal comes from a hip, easy-breezy attitude and a sunny Cali lifestyle. Selfridges paid possibly the biggest fashion homage to skateboarding in recent times, with its hugely popular Skate park, which opened in collaboration with HTC and runs until the end of the month.
A 18,500 square foot bespoke park which welcomes both hardcore skaters and total novices (though possibly not at the same time) it cosies up to a surf and skate concept store, Board Games - selling 50 limited edition designer skateboards for pretty reasonable price of £75 a pop. Meanwhile, high fashion pieces are given a surf/skate twist - like Stella McCartney's iconic Fallabella handbag, rendered in sporty neoprene rather than its standard lux leather. Designers such as Erdem, Dries Van Noten, Stella McCartney, Sophia Webster, Christian Louboutin have all designed dreamy skateboards - a good investment buy if you're that way inclined, but we say it's more fun to scratch it to oblivion out on the street.
With a skate park takeover in central London, it's abundantly clear that skateboarding is no longer a niche activity. 'The energy, authenticity and freedom of skate culture' of board sports is what inspired Selfridges, says Buying Director Sebastian Manes. Brand consultant and PR manager of the watchmakers Larsson & Jennings, Alicia Waite agrees.
'I've identified with the laidback aesthetic of street, surf and skate wear since I was a kid' she says. 'It was the 90s, my older sister was in her teens wearing O'Neill and reading The Face and I just soaked that whole scruffy street look in. The first shoes I ever bought were a pair of DCs! Nowadays my obsession manifests itself through watching freestyle skater Kilian Martin's videos by Brett Novak over and over, pinning old pictures of the Zephyr Team in Venice Beach and buying new skate shoes from Vans, Celine-inspired skate boards from US blogger Jayne Min and sweatshirts and tees from Palace and Only NY. My friend is about to launch a skate brand called Copson, too, which I am excited about.'
We caught up with that friend, 27-year-old Maria Falbo of Copson, who is launching her 'skate inspired menswear, infused with classic 50s references' in the next few weeks. 'The current skate hype is pretty mad,' she laughs. 'And totally un-authentic. On the plus side, at least it makes doing my normal thing more acceptable....' By 'normal thing', Maria means being a (now ex) pro skateboarder. 'I started skating when I was 14 and turned pro at 19,' explains Maria. 'I am no longer competing - it's no fun - but I still have sponsors and enjoy cruising on my three skateboards: two cruisers and a bruiser.'
Whilst the fashion scene may be rife with skate influences - expect a stampede of cute girls in Stüssy crop tops and Vans plimsolls with shiny new penny boards propped under their arms - people still have issues with a girl actually skating, Maria says. 'People are usually pretty shocked that I skateboard; although skateboarders are down with it and supportive. London's terrain isn't built for it, so I do get odd looks! I've got homies in every city though, which is the best thing about the skate scene.'
Photographic assistant 26-year-old Steph Jed, agrees that skateboarding is a 'male world', but says people are generally supportive. 'I skate pretty much everywhere I can - I have a longboard and a cruiser - including to work, where visitors often assume the skateboard belongs to my male colleagues! It is a very 'male' world, undoubtedly - it would be nice to see another girl down the skatepark, but at the end of the day we are all in the same boat. And it's so handy to run errands quickly...' Although she's only been skating for a year, Steph's a fanatic, practising at night and weekends on boards from Globe or her long board by Mindless. 'I push myself really hard - I get really annoyed with myself if I don't get a trick right away.' Steph doesn't find it weird that the fashion world's arbitrarily embracing the world of skate; in fact, she's thrilled. 'The Selfridges skate park has a girl's night on a Thursday, which I am pretty excited about!'
Like most extreme sports, skateboarding is intoxicating to watch. I can't be the only visitor to LA to instagram a slew of black and white snaps of the skaters on Venice Beach's boardwalk. And hot pro-skaters like 25-year-old pro Dylan Riedier don't do the scene any harm. Whilst most of us will never get further than a wobbly little session on a penny board (before boredom and ineptitude takes over) it's hardly surprising that skate's having a moment. This summer, every girl can get her skate on - whether she's tricking on a board all night along, or wearing a pair of £400 shoes.
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Pictures: Getty, Hannah Bailey
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.