Top 10 Vaporwave Fashion Brands
TOP 10 VAPORWAVE FASHION BRANDS
We believe the popular line “started from the bottom, now we’re here” applies best when discussing the progression of the Vaporfashion world. We cringe at remembering the early days when a search for "vaporwave clothing" turned up some unstylish dad tees and not much else.
Nowadays, everything from your heart’s purest desire to your deepest, darkest wishes can be found in print. If you’re in the market to add some high-quality Vaporwave pieces to your wardrobe, then look no further than our list of The Top Ten Vaporwave Fashion Brands!
1) Vapor95
The search results are in. Look for "the best vaporwave brand" and you’ll find Vapor95, a one-of-a-kind, custom-made shop with items you can't find anywhere else. It's the cutting edge of Vaporfashion, providing a huge array of different designs and products from the most talented Vaporwave designers today. The offering of limited edition, handmade, and hand-sewn products keep this shop at the top of the list. With styles from the '70s to the '90s, the high-quality apparel appeals to every Vaporwave enthusiast. If you are looking to add an all-time favorite to your closet, V95 is the place for you.
2) Palm Treat
Run by brilliant designers Jeff and Marie Nolan, this store promises to "ruin your life with vaporwave & pop art posters, t-shirts, hoodies, and more by Palm Treat." It's "a virtual store for fashion-forward, free-thinking individuals." It's a true artist-centric store. Their style is energized, fresh, and classically aesthetic. Yet, it's got a dash of a pop art flare to it. Highlights include their paintings, posters, and tapestries of a collection of Simpsons-inspired art. Vapor95 has collab'd with them before and also dove deep into their creative process in an interview here.
3) Neon Talk
This brand's products look like they have just popped out of an '80s movie. Based in Sweden and founded by Hilding B, their designs include '80s style art, music, and fashion items. Neon Talk is also the name of the very talented synthwave artist putting out modern classics in the niche.
4) Sugoi Shirts
Sugoi Shirts is a Japanese anime fashion and streetwear brand. Sugoi is a Japanese term meaning either terrific or terrible. While the word "sugoi" might be confusing in its meaning, Sugoi Shirts produce some terrific designs. Japanese imagery has always permeated Vaporwave and the accompanying aesthetics that surround it. There's just something special about Japan, all the way down to its written language. For the last half century, the country has been engaged in a love affair between the past and the future. Sugoi Shirts represents this union. The brand's product range will impress anime lovers, Japan-ophiles, Japanese language enthusiasts, Vaporwave fans, and more.
Virtual Plaza Co. is a brand named for its skilled designer, Virtua. A visual artist from Argentina, Virtua’s real name is Agustin Negrin. Most of his work includes photomanipulation and glitch artworks, which he incorporates into the shirts. All of the designs are custom made by him and mostly related to Japanese and Greek mythology. Items from this site are truly one of a kind!
6) Stay Cool
Stay Cool brings us retro inspired chill wear. It's simple, under-the-radar, subtle stuff for the subdued aesthetic fan. The shop is packed with apparel that's impossible to differentiate from actual vintage, retro gear. It's simple stuff but irresistibly '80s and '90s. It's just like the stuff we all wore throughout our childhoods. We didn't know it at the time but it was the coolest we'd ever be. Simpler times. Not a care in the world. Perhaps that's why we love vaporwave and the retro aesthetic. It helps us "stay cool" by returning us to a time when we didn't even know what "cool" meant.
7) Pink Dolphin
Pink Dolphin is one of the oldest brands on this list. Celebrating ten years in the streetwear space is an accomplishment and a testament to this aesthetic. Originally meant to be available in very limited collections, the brand has grown into a much bigger, wider look and feel. It's part hip-hop, part athletic, part retro aesthetic. It's not pure vaporwave but Pink Dolphin helps spread the vibes. They've collaborated with big brands like Champion and have a neat line of bags including this really cool sling bag.
While the rest of this list has been filled with mellower, dreamier, softer apparel brands with the occasional flash of attitude and spunk, Rucking Fotten gets right in your face. This brand is nostalgic in the sense that it brings you back to the adrenaline, fear, and excitement you felt as a kid watching the era's most iconic films. With pieces inspired by cinema classics like Predator, Dawn Of The Dead, The Crow, and Evil Dead 2, the apparel makes a statement. At times, sheer terror. At times, a cool reminder of a movie you forgot scared the bejeezus out of you. What's a good phrase to express that feeling? It's Rucking Fotten is what it is.
Much more a studio than it is a clothing store, KidSuper Studios is possibly the most ridiculous of the list. We mean that as a compliment. The brand calls itself "a creative factory located in Brooklyn, NY specializing in art, design, web development, video production, and all things." They also claim to mix childhood memories with a post Y2K point of view. Their clothes are truly unique and better reserved for the boldest of fashionistas among us. The outfits they create are a great way to tap into childhood memories while still rocking apparel that's fresher than ever.
10) YRU
Shoes, shoes, shoes. YRU is all about women's shoes. Shoe giant Payless Shoes just went under and is in the process of closing over two thousand of its store. Why? A number of reasons. But YRU and its crazy, retro, vaporwave style points to a very obvious reason why some big brands are failing. Now more than ever, we've broken from the mainstream. The niche is the mainstream now. Unique is becoming standard. YRU grants their customers the gift of true uniqueness. The shoes are undefinable. Cute, crazy, dangerous, head-turning, sexy, outlandish, impressive. Whatever you want to define them as, they are certainly at home in the retro and vaporwave aesthetic.
Gone are the days of basic clothes on our backs and in their place stands vaporfashion. People might swear by the fact that Vaporwave is dead, but one thing is clear: vaporwave fashion is enduring the test of time as it bleeds into countless different brands and creates a movement.
Want to fill your wardrobe with the very best of the vaporwave aesthetic? Visit the Vapor95 store here.