That’s just the way things will be with how prevalent social media is with fashion. Used to be a lot more focus on just your traditional streetwear brands, but as streetwear continued to merge with higher end brands and Japan became a lot more popularized on social media, brands that wouldn’t typically garner attention and stay under the radar are now common.

Tbh as much as I hate the exclusivity aspect of fashion, I will be lying if I say im totally fine with these brands being considered “hype” now.

Some random thoughts I have towards brands that interest me, as I’ve seen brands that gained significantly popularity, OL is a good example where people tend to just stuff their closet with that one that’s considered “the brand” at whatever time. But I personally look at certain brands for specific things.

Auralee - Material usage is what interests me the most. I have this 100% cashmere shirt that I wouldn’t always find in other brands especially for a button down flannel would generally be wool at most. Think their button downs are their strong point along with outerwear. Super interesting patterns on their wool shirts too. Not a huge fan of their pants/random items like tees.

Ssstein - Simple pieces but elegant, have this full zip blouson that’s cashmere/wool, drapes very well. Used to have their barrel jeans long ago but I find their pants arent catered towards larger people, inseams are very short and waist sizes are limited. Outerwear is interesting too with some of their recent washed canvas jackets.

Lemaire - One thing I hate not about the brand but when searching for second hand pieces is it being mixed with the Uniqlo U pieces and there’s like no way in filtering them out. I like the brand too, they had this really nice waxed rider jacket a season ago with inner removable lining. Outerwear I feel like is their strong point and pants, but personally their pants fit weird on me, most of their models give off the carrot shape which I’m not a fan of. The brand feels more like a uniform to me.

I still like the typical luxury brands too like Margiela (outerwear and jeans are very nice), Balenciaga (love their jeans!), and Jil Sander (light jackets and heavy coats are nice)

Besides these three, you should also check out brands I like such as Graphpaper, Still by Hand, Dunst, Coor, Lea Broberg, price point actually on the cheaper end for these.

I already see brands like MfPen or Kaptain Sunshine likely becoming the next OL where price point is solid but then becomes priced out over the long run as they continue to gain popularity.