Since the early 2010s, skateboarding and fashion have become inseparable, influencing major brands like Supreme, Palace, and Stüssy, and hyping sneakers such as the Nike Dunk SB. The top 10 skate clothing brands curate items for all budgets that prioritize performance, durability, and the perfect skate aesthetic.
Skateboarders have likely worn casual staples like hoodies, cargo pants, chunky sneakers, and logo tees that first found home in skate parks of the 80s and 90s. Palace, the skate brand Tanju founded with friends in 2009, was on the brink of a momentous collaboration with the legendary American fashion company on a co-branded collection.
The term “streetwear” was first used by skateboarding company Vans in 1996 when they released a line of skate shoes called “Off The Wall”. Despite Stussy making a name for itself in the skateboarding sphere, the first company providing clothing directly for skaters was Vision Street.
Brands have been instrumental in shaping the trajectory of skateboard clothing, from early pioneers like Hobie and Makaha to modern giants like Nike SB and Supreme. As skateboarding gained in popularity, skateboard clothing began to evolve, with brands like Vans, Thrasher, and Element emerging as leaders in the industry. Thrasher, a magazine and brand previously known mainly by skaters, has become one of the best examples of skate fashion becoming popular among skaters.
The first Skateboarding brand in America was Roller Derby, which began producing skateboards in the late 1950s. Supreme is the most popular brand for skateboarding, crossover, and mass culture, and Palace, a DIY-spirited label started by skater Lev Tanju, has just opened its flagship store in London.
📹 50 Skateboard Logos Explained – The Story Behind the Brands
What skateboarding logo was thought up in a dream? What company had to change their logo 3 times? Who’s logo was inspired …
Who invented skating?
The history of roller skates dates back to 1743, with the first recorded use in a London stage performance in 1743. The invention of roller skates was made by John Joseph Merlin in 1760, who created a primitive inline skate with small metal wheels. Roller skates appeared on the ballet stage in Berlin in 1818 and were first patented in France in 1819. These early skates were similar to today’s inline skates but were not very maneuverable.
In the 19th century, inventors continued to work on improving skate design. In 1823, Robert John Tyers of London patented a skate called the Rolito, which had five wheels in a single row on the bottom of a shoe or boot. The hobby gained momentum enough to warrant the opening of the first public skating rinks in 1857.
In 1863, James Leonard Plimpton designed the four-wheeled turning roller skate, or quad skate, with four wheels set in two side-by-side pairs (front and rear). This design allowed easier turns and maneuverability, dominating the industry for over a century. The first public roller skating rinks were opened in 1866 in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island.
In 1875, the first roller skating rink in Plymouth, England held its first competition. William Brown in Birmingham, England, patented a design for the wheels of roller skates in 1876, which included all the elements of an adjustable system. This was arguably the most important advance in the realistic use of roller skates as a pleasurable pastime.
In 1876, the toe stop was first patented, providing skaters with the ability to stop promptly upon tipping the skate onto the toe. Today, toe stops are still used on most quad skates and some types of inline skates.
In the 1880s, roller skates were being mass-produced in America, with Micajah C. Henley producing thousands of skates every week during peak sales. Levant M. Richardson received a patent for the use of steel ball bearings in skate wheels to reduce friction, allowing skaters to increase speed with minimum effort.
Who developed skate?
Skate is a series of extreme sports games developed and published by Electronic Arts, featuring the unique “Flick-it” control system. Players play as customizable skaters, exploring a fictional city in an open world setting. They complete diverse challenges while being filmed by cameraman Giovanni Reda. Along the way, they can encounter and compete with famous real-life skaters, such as Danny Way, Terry Kennedy, and Rob Dyrdek. Players must choose from several licensed skateboard gear firms to endorse for exclusive parts and gear.
Session markers allow players to quickly travel to or return to a location of their choice. A special injury system called the “Hall of Meat” tracks injuries sustained during wipeouts, particularly broken bones, which is key to completing certain challenges. The Skate series is a unique and engaging way to experience extreme sports games.
What did skaters wear in the 90s?
In the 1990s, skate culture and style were at the height of their popularity, characterised by the wearing of overalls, cargo pants, baggy fits, bucket hats, and bum-bags.
Who was the Russian ice skater doped?
Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva was administered a total of 56 medications, nutritional supplements, and dietary aids over a two-year period between January 2020 and December 2021, during which time she was between the ages of 13 and 15. The substances in question are not included on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of prohibited substances.
What is the oldest skate shop in the world?
In 1962, Hollywood’s surf shop “Val-Surf” became the first skate shop, carrying the first self-produced skateboards. These boards, sold complete, featured a surfboard shape and roller skate trucks. Skateshops, which sell skateboard parts and apparel, often sponsor local riders and promote skateboarding through videos and demonstrations. Professional skateboarder Jeff Grosso referred to skate shops as ” Jedi temples for skateboarding”.
What is skater fashion style?
Skater Style is a blend of classic and modern fashion, inspired by old-school vintage clothing and accessories like denim jackets, Vans footwear, and skateboard graphic tops. These pieces can be paired with contemporary skatewear like shirts, oversized hoodies, and loose-fit pants, creating a unique and stylish look that reflects the skater’s passion for the sport and appreciation of its history. Skater and vintage are made for each other, and being a skater is about belonging to a tribe that welcomes individuality. Key components of a skater style outfit include a relaxed and casual silhouette, a mix of classic and modern elements, and a focus on individuality and history.
What was the first skateboarding brand?
The development of skateboarding began in the 1950s w
ith the Bun Board, a steel-wheeled skateboard, created by Alf Jensen in 1957. The first skateboard was mass-produced by Roller Derby in 1959. In 1963, lifeguard Larry Stevenson founded Makaha, a skateboard company featuring clay wheels, branding them as “surf-skates”. In 1963, Mahaka sponsored a “Skateboard Contest” and founded the first professional skateboarding team. By the mid-1960s, skateboarding had a unique identity, with attention in the press and popular culture.
The Quarterly Skateboarder, later rebranded as Skateboarder, was founded in 1964. The first International Skateboard Championships was held in 1965, and the first film on skateboarding, Skaterdater, was nominated for an Academy Award and won the Palme d’Or for Best Short Film at the 1966 Cannes Film Festival.
Where did skater fashion come from?
Skateboarding emerged in the 1950s and 60s as a pastime for surfers, with skate fashion resembling surf culture. As the sport gained popularity, so did the need for clothing that could withstand the rigors of skating. In the 1970s, skateboarding transformed into a bona fide subculture, with skate parks popping up worldwide and a new wave of skate fashion featuring a DIY ethos. T-shirts with homemade graphics, ripped jeans, and high-top sneakers became staples of skate style.
In the 1980s, skateboarding became mainstream due to the rise of vert skating and the emergence of iconic pros like Tony Hawk and Stacy Peralta. Skate fashion took on a more vibrant and flamboyant aesthetic, with neon colors, bold graphics, and flashy accessories. Brands like Vision Street Wear and Powell Peralta became synonymous with skate culture, producing clothing and gear that reflected the high-energy spirit of the sport.
What were the skater brands in the 80s?
In the 1980s, skateboard brands such as Powell-Peralta, Santa Cruz, and Vision were the dominant players in the industry, due to the superior quality of their products and the distinctive graphics that they employed. Powell-Peralta, with a team of highly skilled professionals, was a significant contributor to the industry.
What is the oldest skate brand?
Santa Cruz Skateboards, founded in 1973 by surfer friends Richard Novak, Doug Haut, and Jay Shuirman, is the oldest continuously running skateboard company in the sport. Despite initial struggles, the company was able to survive when a Hawaiian company ordered 500 skateboards, using a surplus of fibreglass and few customers. The first Santa Cruz Skateboard was produced in 1973, and the brand quickly expanded. Santa Cruz also played a significant role in the innovation and development of skateboarding, such as their Road Rider wheels.
Initially made of metal or clay, these wheels were not strong and would not last long. Santa Cruz developed their own urethane wheels with precision bearings, which changed the wheel market and by the end of 1975, they had sold over a million sets of wheels worldwide.
What brands were skater clothes in the 2000s?
In the early 2000s, skateboarders became massive celebrities, leading to the rise of brands like DC Shoes, Etnies, Supra, Hurley, and Quicksilver. These brands became mainstays in youth culture, with Supreme and Palace becoming popular apparel brands. However, footwear brands like DC and Etnies have not caught on with the current generation.
Brands like Hurley were bought by Nike and sold off to a private equity firm, while Quicksilver bought up competitors like DC Shoes, Billabong, Element, and RVCA before going bankrupt in 2015. These brands failed to capitalize in the modern day because they couldn’t keep up with bigger brands that jumped into the skateboarding market, which had more money, resources, and innovative retail strategies.
Nike applied its hype model to the Nike Dunk SB, a skateboarding shoe that released new models periodically in limited quantities and sold at independent skate shops. This scarcity model brought in the attention of sneakerheads, making skate shops happy and giving Nike the leverage it needed to permeate the skate shop retail ecosystem. Nike SB became the fastest-growing category within Nike.
📹 WHATS HAPPENING TO THE SKATE CLOTHING BRANDS?
▻ SUPPORT INLINE SKATING CLOTHING BRANDS. drop a comment with the clothing options you know and they website, …
I used to wear aggressive in-line clothing all the time but not as much anymore because the local skate shops are all gone. I should start looking at what’s available online. I used to buy shirts and hats made by Scribe, Fiction, Realm, Rise Above, Medium, Cozmo, Birth, Pawn, Heavy, 3rd World and Legacy just to name a few. Anyone remember Hangers jeans? I was all about reppin’ the gear back in the day. I also used to wear the super baggy, wide leg Grind Inc pants lol. Those were the days
At the end of the day there so many skate brands that dont do xxl (tees) any more more like refuse to do xxl. Plus paying almost 50+ pounds for clothes . If many brands to brought back the xxl (tees) then maybe it would be a different story. Just not down with having to buy skinny tees that dont fit.
Like someone else said, that bladelife gear honestly screams ‘I’m a barber’ rather than ‘I like to inline skate’. All of the clothes you showed, as well as most of the clothes I have seen looking around skate shops online, really don’t look like skate clothing to the average person. The average person isn’t going to be looking at the tiny skates on the cartoon character and think its relevant to inline skating, or see the Kaltik logo on a shirt and know thats skating etc. I don’t think it’s fair for you to pass the buck to skaters to make these brands survive and thrive without talking about what the brands can do to improve their product and what (if you think anything) is wrong with the product that is causing it to fail. Most of the clothing I have seen has been pretty expensive (like someone else mentioned 50-60 euros for a non-zip hoodie, like the adapt, bladeclub, blader gang hoodies and so on). On top of that, a lot of the designs don’t really make it feel like it’s even skate clothing, and if I’m being totally honest, most of the designs actually suck. Of course you can say that is just my taste, but I think a lot of people probably feel a similar way, and I think it gets to the heart of the issue (at least for me); Skate clothing is expensive, and the designs don’t justify the price. When I want some skate clothing, I want the design to obviously look good, but at the same time I want it to represent skating. Most of it simply doesn’t do this. For example, blader gang’s stuff, designs are alright, obvious relevance to skating, but way too overpriced to justify the mediocre designs on things like their hoodies; on the other end, something like the Kaltik varsity jacket; it looks really nice and is priced decently, but has no obvious relevance to skating to the average person.
Hey Ricardo. I’ve never heard of the brands, you were talking about,tbh. Even back in the late 90’s, I did not buy that much from inline specific brands. The reason why, was the the fact, that the designs were so childish. And when I take a look at the robot – battle-mech thingy… 🤔… it’s all the same. Looking at the clothing from skateboard specific brands, it’s a different world. Nearly every manufacture has his own huge merch section. It might be sad, but in my opinion, they are going to die. Anyway, good job on this article…as usual.
Man Lino do you remember brand back in the day a brand call Super Computer Robot? They sponsored Matt Salerno and other pros. That was brand back then was what inspired me to want to make a skate brand! Thank you for this article man . I feel the same . Thats why I started Just Chill Rolling because I feel we should be proud to show everyone that we inline skate . I always wanted to make a company for bladders that the clothing shows we are skaters . Not just a word or phrase that skates would understand, but designs that show ” Hey Im a skater, Because I love it and btw skating is cool ” Its a way to promote what we love to do and help others see it from a fashion sense. I’ve also supported all these years other brands and skates shops from around the word to help continue our sport in my own small way. So thanks again for doing this and when you can please check us out too : Face Book :facebook.com/skatestyle/ Online Store: teespring.com/stores/just-chill-rolling-inc IG : just_chill_rolling_inc And we are just starting our Youtube content soon . Keep it up man ! Your content is always on point ! JCR – Never Stop Rolling
In a way, I appreciate that there are fewer products that are indirectly associated with blading, like cothes. When you see inline articles, you see people with their own style, a variety of music, people of different backgrounds. There is less of a message that you should be wearing this, listening to this, or acting like this to be a legitimate blader- unlike other activities that are heavily influenced by product marketing. But I also appreciate the sentiment that we can foster the culture of rollerblading by supporting people who make blading brands, like you said. It’s not a corporation, it’s people that love blading and must like making stuff.
I have been supporting inline clothing brands for over 10 years. Over half of all my clothes in the last 10years have been inline companies, I support brands, products and industries that I want to see continue, it’s a shame that the inline clothing industry isn’t quite as diverse in previous years and I agree with the comment above that alot of it isn’t to my taste, and none of it is cheap. But if you want to support something you believe in then paying Abit more for it should not stop you. I will continue to buy clothing and support the inline industry for as long as I can, hopefully one day I can possibly work within the industry but if not I will still support it because the people putting the effort in to create this scene and keep it alive more than deserve it. It doesn’t matter what clothes you wear, we should support industries we respect in any way possible, you don’t have to buy clothes, anything is better than nothing.
I’ve always loved skating brands. Every time I go to my local shop I usually go rooting through all the old bins just to find something from a skate brand. I still have a bunch of Senate, 4×4, Ground Control clothing. My all time favorite hoodie is a Mindgame hoodie that is in great shape even today. But… inline brands, and our clothing brands in general have a lot of work to do. (Take it from a guy who’s worked with a lot of brands.) These clothing runs are often very limited. Many times my struggle is just to find a shirt bigger than a medium. When I do, I’m lucky if it’s a color or design I like. I’m 6’3″ and 195 lbs. Not all skaters are tiny… – Brands need to cross promote more. Stuff like this article is great! But it shouldn’t have been you that did all the work. Brands should be reaching out to content creators and promoting their stuff when it’s NEW and WIDELY available. – Expand beyond the core group. Why are skateboard brands doing so well? Because half the people that wear them have never ridden a skateboard… Try to sell your merch through more established websites. Amazon, Etsy, Shopify, etc. It’s ok if they don’t rollerblade. Take their money, re-invest it in the industry. – Be strategic and consistent with your brand. Create strong logos and keep them relatively consistent across all websites. E-commerce, social, ads, etc. – Recognize your strengths. Invest in your weaknesses. Some skaters are great skaters, but horrible designers, marketers, and managers. Get others involved that are good in the areas you are week.
Lino, I am happy to say I do also get skate clothing when my funds allow. More importantly, I’ve been inspired by a couple art exhibits in the area and talking to a few key people I’ve started doing some skate inspired artwork. I have yet to fully complete a piece just yet (very close to finishing one) but I think I will share it out to the community for their use. Use it for stickers, shirts, etc. I think of it as my way of giving back to those who taught me, like yourself, and those who have yet got skates on their feet.