With my confinement to six weeks of bed rest, I have seen my fair share of films. One which stands out is Dogtown and Z-Boys, a 2001 documentary directed by Stacy Peralta recommended to me by fellow mending friend Gerry (as many of my viewing choices are). The film traces the roots of skateboarding and its mastery as we see it today back to an area of Santa Monica called Dogtown, where a group of kids formed the Zephyr skate team (aka Z-Boys). Starting out primarily as surfers, they translated their passion onto the streets each day once the waves subsided and eventually took to illegally skating empty swimming pools in upmarket LA neighbourhoods. This spawned the style, outlook and techniques of skateboarding that we see today.
As the director was part of the original crew, he combines footage and photographs from the late 60s/70s with conversations with his fellow team members 25 years later, as they explain the seismic effects their simple hunger to ride had on the action sport. They created cutting-edge moves, travelled the world, and sparked an entire cultural craze which is palpable in the vibrant footage and evident passion of this motley crew of street mavericks. It has a raw, infectious sense of attitude and innovation that bursts through the grainy but vivid photographs taken at the poolside, with boards and bodies twisted into elaborate shapes reminiscent of their surfing predecessors. Dogtown and Z-Boys presents the birthplace of a relentless urge to skate and create, and its transformation from subculture to lifestyle.
"The greatest thing about it was that we were not the valedictorians of the school, we were the guys who would have been chosen last to succeed. For some reason, by doing something that everyone said was a waste of time we ended up influencing kids all around the world." - Stacy Peralta
Stills from Dogtown and Z-Boys
From these stills you can see that not only is their trailblazing obvious in the sport as it appears today, but also that the popularity and cultural clout of skateboarding continues to resonate in other areas - particularly fashion. Oversized tees, denim (ripped or otherwise), snapbacks, tube socks and trainers bring a little Californian culture from their streets to our shores to influence our style pretty much all year round.
We even see it in the less obvious details and hints of the grungy street vibe, including my go-to combination of sailor stripes, knee holes and kicks.
Seeing this skater influence in both candid street style and more subtle sartorial nods, it's also repeatedly relevant all the way through to ads and editorial.
Daria Werbowy in Céline's Spring 2011 campaign by Juergen Teller
Aymeline Valade for the Icons Issue of Antidote by Jan Welters, 2012
Barbara Fialho for The Wild Magazine by Jeffery Jones, 2013
Kate Kondas for Elle Hungary by Zoltan Tombor, 2013
Miranda Kerr for Vogue Korea by Eric Guilleman, 2013
Photos via fashiongonerogue.com
From the humble beginnings of a few street punks to the feature pages of high fashion magazines, the style sparked by the Z-Boys' unwittingly powerful cultural influence reverberates in one way or another throughout many a discerning publication, wardrobe and fashion week photo op - whether you own a skateboard or simply a pair of tube socks.
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