Skateboarding Is Not a Fashion: The Illustrated History of Skateboard Apparel

The way apparel has been worn and created by skateboarders over the past 50 years has had a tremendous impact on popular culture at large. In Skateboarding Is Not A Fashion, the authors have taken great effort to document all aspects of this aesthetic movement; from its roots in the 1950s as an offshoot of surfing culture, through the early 1980s when skateboarding "found itself" after a crucial underground period of soul searching and DIY expressions of individuality. Early generations of surfers and skaters wore coastal lifestyle brands such as Jantzen, Hang Ten, Jams, Vans and Hobie. As the culture progressed and developed its own distinct identity, brands core to the scene such as Vans, Santa Cruz, Powell-Peralta, Sims, Alva, Jimmy'Z and many more jumped into the fray with their own apparel. Nearly every area of garment design was touched by skate wear's aesthetic-- influencing the design and fashion of innumerable media from printed T-shirts to board shorts and denim to track suits along the way. Telling the inside story of skate couture in the words of those who lived it, Skateboarding Is Not A Fashion features original commentary from designers, company founders, and pro skateboarders who have defined skateboarding's look for entire generations. Skate personalities we meet include Stacy Peralta, Lance Mountain, Tony Alva, Brad Bowman, Steve Olson, Steve Caballero, Steve Van Doren, and many more. Skateboarding Is Not A Fashion even addresses the design influence of accessories and safety gear ranging from helmets to kneepads and gloves, not to mention accessories such as bags. Skateboarding's unique attitude and style have captured the imagination of millions over the decades--and Skateboarding Is Not A Fashion Vol 1. is the culture's magnum opus lookbook.