Sole Superior, Singapore’s premier sneaker and streetwear convention, returned for yet another banging event over the weekend. With sneaker culture and street fashion being increasingly trendy as of late, there’s no denying how pricey some apparels and shoes can get. Regardless, a large majority of people at the event were the youth, particularly students. Both sellers and buyers alike, there were many young people spotted at the event.
Akif, 20 (right), a first-timer at Sole Superior, jokes that although he is fan of both sneakers and street fashion, he cannot afford such an expensive interest. Despite that, he usually buys a lot shoes although he did not find an ideal pair that day. His biggest takeaway from this year’s event was probably the ambience which he enjoyed very much as he got to see many people with a wide variety of fashion and style.
Also present was shopper Irissa, 20 (left). Lugging a huge haul, Irissa was kind enough to share her interest in street fashion. Although it was her first time at a Sole Superior event, Irissa had been into street fashion ever since she was 14, when she started dancing hiphop.
Her loots for the day were a Tommy Hilfiger bomber and a Champion pullover. When asked to describe the atmosphere at the event, Irissa shares that she feels at home as everyone is jamming to the same music and that she felt that there was a “good vibe” there.
With many of today’s youth pursuing their interest in fashion and not limiting themselves to boundaries, we also have youth setting up their own businesses! Coming down from Indonesia specially for this year’s Sole Superior event, was the young team from “Portray”, which sold artwork, t-shirts and badges all designed by themselves.
“It is the biggest event in Southeast Asia,” shared Resty, 25, when asked about why they decided to fly to Singapore for the event. Currently in charge of marketing in her team, she had recently just graduated and is doing business full-time now.
Resty enjoys fashion in general and noticed that the sneaker and streetwear culture has been really hyped up lately. She notes that the prices for some shoes and apparels are “really ridiculous” but feels that is exactly why so many people appreciate and enjoy it.
From this year’s event, it was evident that the youth of today are self-driven with passion and nothing would stop them – not even price or distance! Although young blood floods the two-level arena at Zouk, there were a wide range of ages, with even young children selling sneakers! It was a heart-warming sight to see families and friends gathered together with one common interest.
Text and photos by Germaine Leow Ying Ying
