Streetwear is a subculture that has been around for past 2 decades, though it is widely an underground community there are a handful of largely successful streetwear brands in the game today. look at brands like Ecko, LRG, Stussy, who have had success with their brand for quite some time, and then there are the more recent brands who are making a huge splash in streetwear such as The Hundreds, Crooks & Castles and Famous Stars and Straps.

With the current rise in popularity of the street brand culture there seem to be tons of “brands” polluting the community, with exception of a certain few who seem to keep raising the bar:

5. IM KING

a refreshingly creative brand started in 2006 by two friends residing in L.A. IM-KING meaning becoming the king of your own “Imaginary Kingdom”. These guys are putting in work releasing hot t-shirts, denim, outerwear, and accessories every season.

4. Rocksmith Tokyo

In the 2002 Tokyo club circuit Rocksmith was created to combine Japanese street couture with New York Swagger. Rocksmith constantly pays homage to hip-hop roots with a nice combination of retro and futuristic streetwear style.

3. 10 DEEP

10 DEEP is a brand from NY that started as a design firm and creative collective. they have been around since 1995 and were on the front line of streetwear booms in NY during the 90’s. Though finding success on the East Coast 10 DEEP’s original and creative ideas have more recently began to span out to the west coast, expanding their line and motto, ”forget everyone and listen to yourself. Strength lies in the hands of an individual (10 fingers), not in the approval of one’s peers. “

2. REBEL 8

REBEL 8 is a San Fransisco based clothing company specializing almost exclusively in t-shirts, hats, and other small accessories. With co-owner and graffiti artist/designer/tattoo artist Mike Giant hand drawing all the shirt graphics, he makes it a stand out brand. Pulling influence from traditional tattoos and Latino gang culture it is very telling of living a west coast lifestyle. Rebel 8 doesn’t seem to want to blow up big anytime soon, they keep a humble attitude about themselves and their brand, and just do what they love.

1. Mighty Healthy

Some of my favorite t-shirt and clothing designs have came way of these guys: Mighty Healthy. This New York based brand is not afraid to break the mold, with simple and bold designs accompanied by large typographic elements, Mighty Healthy is in a league of their own. They couldn’t have said it better themselves when they describe, “In an age of “look-a-likes” and music video inspired uniforms, today’s young man seeks distinction. Mighty Healthy is the answer.” Who else could pull of a t-shirt with Rhianna’s leaked nude photo and at the same time pull off designs that are miles away from what most brands are doing today?

Honorable mentions: Triumvir, Mishka, The Freshnes, Diamond,