Where runway meets the street, according to Highsnobiety

Highsnobiety has been one of the leading street fashion and culture platforms since the beginning of street fashion and culture platforms. With well over two million followers on Instragram, and a bi-annual magazine, its reach is beyond compare. Now they made a book. Or maybe it’s a guide? Either way, it seems to be “incomplete”. We had a talk with its Editorial Director, Jian DeLeon, about the book and how it came into being.

Who is this book for?
We like to think part of our role is converting outsiders of our world into insiders. Many of us grew up as avid fans of sneakers, fashion, and street culture, but there are even more people—young and old—that are coming around to it for the first time.

So that developing audience is one side of the equation, and the other would be the ride-or-dies that have been there from day one. We couldn’t begin to pay homage to everyone, but think what we’ve made is a good snapshot of how something niche managed to slowly seep into the mainstream.

Thousands of articles have been written for the website and print edition. How did you guys make a selection for the book, content wise?
A lot of inspiration came from our network of contributors and nearly a decade’s worth of magazine articles. We’ve done a lot of definitive pieces rooted in the history of everything from Japan’s Ura-Harajuku shopping scene to interviewing the first store manager of Supreme’s Lafayette store. A lot of what made the final cut just came from meeting with the publisher and having them weigh in on what would be the strongest inclusions.

You had to kill a lot of darlings putting together the final version of the book. Which one hurt the most?
We had a section of the book revolving around several garment archetypes throughout the years—think a Jansport backpack next to a Raf Simons Eastpak collaboration and then the visvim Ballistic backpack.

The idea was to show how certain pieces and items are improved and reinterpreted over time—through the lens of designers who are known for signature pieces. We also had the designer explain why he or she keeps revisiting a certain item. Super bummed that got cut.

In which way(s) does the book relate to the website and print edition?
It’s all part of the same ecosystem. The narrative is consistent with what we cover on all of our platforms, not just the website and magazine, but even on Instagram and in our videos. What we want to do is tell great stories, and today there are so many ways to do that. It was cool that we got to do it in the form of a book. As a Seinfeld fan, one of my favorite episodes is the one where Kramer makes The Coffee Table Book About Coffee Tables, so it’s a bit surreal to be involved in one now.

We heard that a special kind of material is used for the cover. Can you tell us more?
We used a Napura textile from Winter & Company. From my understanding—they’re to book covers what Loro Piana is to clothing. That particular label is known for materials that have a very natural-looking texture to them, lending itself well to the tactile nature of a hardcover book. The matte finish contrasts really nicely with the bright azure cover and takes embossing really well. The end result is a product that’s super striking on any shelf.