朱丽安娜·皮斯科日

The founders of the trend-setting streetwear channel are using fashion to give young men a voice. 引領街头服饰潮流频道的创始人正借助时装为年轻男士发声。

It is 1am and a queue of 300 teenagers， clad in near identical tracksuits， snakes down a street in Soho， London. The occasional scuffle breaks out， but otherwise the air is quiet and heavy with anticipation. These kids have travelled from far and wide to camp outside the London Supreme store to get their hands on the brands weekly “drop”. For those who dont know， Supreme is the skateboarding brand which originated in 1990s New York and has amassed an almost deferential cult following.

“Its crazy， people are queuing up， camping in tents，” says Elias Riadi， co-founder of PAQ， the YouTube fashion channel for young men. “In New York the NYPD is shutting up roads because Supreme has a new collaboration; kids will blow a grand on a new Supreme T-shirt.”

Streetwear brands have monopolised male fashion for the past two years， but what originated as a subculture rooted in hip-hop music and skating circles is now the uniform de-rigueur for young men the world over. With demand for streetwear growing exponentially， Riadi was inspired to launch PAQ with three friends， Danny Lomas， Shaquille Keith and Dexter Black. Today theyve notched up more than 1m views and have more than 170，000 subscribers.

“PAQ is basically Top Gear， but with clothes instead of cars，” explains Elias， a model from Watford who came up with the concept after noticing a demand for an inclusive platform for young men to talk about clothes without judgement. “High fashion has always been very serious. People， especially young men， have always been intimidated by it. We want to ‘un-boujify2 fashion.” Elias doesnt look like he has ever been intimidated by fashion in his life. When we meet he is dressed like a Formula One driver in a scarlet Ferrari jacket with a matching bucket hat and a pair of Burberry tracksuit bottoms fresh from Christopher Baileys most recent catwalk.

Wallflower-dom3 is not something any of these four could be accused of—each has a distinctive take on streetwear style， peppered with musical and artistic references. Danny， a skater， could be a 60s mod with his vintage Harrington jacket nipped in at the waist and halo of blond curls. Shaq， an illustration student and aspiring poet， has a more whimsical take on streetwear. Wearing a signature black beret and thick gold hoops， he looks like the aesthetic love-child of rapper Tupac Shakur and artist Basquiat. Dex is perhaps the least overtly flamboyant， dressed in a black tracksuit and matching hat. “I have tried to wear colours， colours is not my thing，” he offers by way of explanation for his dark ensemble.

The four friends—all aged between 20 and 22—are representative of a larger movement that has seen young men becoming more experimental with fashion. Only a few years ago the tracksuit was the uniform of the disenfranchised， a hoodie the ultimate signifier of anti-social behaviour. But in the last two years youth culture has reclaimed and redefined sportswear as a fashion commodity. The rise in the popularity of skate brands such as Supreme， Stussy and Palace， not to mention the big conglomerates Adidas， Nike and Reebok， has given men more variety to choose from and subsequently ample room for experimentation.

“Internet culture has changed fashion，” explains Danny. “Instagram accounts like Poundland Bandit shine a light on stereotypes and no one wants to fit into those categories. Someone will tweet an outfit and youll be like ‘Oh God， Im literally wearing that outfit. No kid wants to look basic.”

Music， as in most youth movements， is one of the driving forces behind this latest fashion for sportswear. Grime and hip-hop artists have been pivotal in changing the culture around streetwear， not only by giving it a platform through their own growing popularity， but also redefining what is acceptable to wear as a young man. Skepta， in particular， has been vocal about wearing womenswear and eschewing branded clothes， while A$AP Rocky has been pictured wearing dresses at events and fashion shows. This blurring of boundaries between menswear and womenswear is something that the PAQ boys are particularly eloquent about， dedicating one of their episodes to finding and wearing an outfit consisting only of womens clothing.

“We want to show people that you dont have to go under the prescriptive stereotype of ‘This is how you have to dress as a guy; this is what the world wants you to look like as a man，” explains Danny. When I ask if they would feel confident wearing womens clothes on a normal day they all nod without hesitation. “Id definitely wear a kimono as long as it was black，” says Dex. “Although Id probably wear a skirt over a pair of jeans， and obviously my beret，” concedes Shaq.

Beneath the flamboyant outfits， the ambition is palpable in all of them. Some of their episodes have had more than 1m views， and they see fashion as a vehicle to shine a light on bigger issues. Dex is particularly passionate about demystifying mental health for young men. “As a kid I was quite introverted with my feelings and I didnt really know how to express myself，” he says. “There are so many young people who go through the same thing and， even though society is more open about these things， a lot of people still dont have a solution or know how to deal with these feelings. I just want to show people my age， younger or older， that if you believe in yourself you will start to find clarity.” This is also where his penchant for black takes on a more poignant significance. “Ive always loved the colour black， but as Ive gotten older and my life has been up and down， Ive noticed in uncomfortable situations it helps me feel like I can breathe.”

PAQ is a refreshing example of what “millennial snowflakes4” are capable of. At the age of 20， these guys are conscious of their position of influence and they want to use it to enact positive change. “Were the four musketeers，” says Elias. “The Avengers，” chimes in Shaq. “I would say were Jedis5，” says Dex. “But I wear black so I can be a Sith6.”

现在是凌晨一点，300名几乎身着清一色运动服的青少年在伦敦索霍区的一条街道上排起了长龙。他们偶尔会打闹，但是大多数时间都静静等待着，眼中充满期待。这些年轻人从各地赶到伦敦苏博瑞卖场前，露宿街头，只为参加该品牌的每周“发售”活动。也许有人不知，苏博瑞是起源于20世纪90年代纽约的滑板品牌，已经积累了一众狂热的粉丝。

“这太疯狂了，人们正在排队，在帐篷里露营。”优兔青年男性时尚穿搭频道PAQ的联合创始人伊莱亚斯·里亚迪说。“在纽约，警察正因苏博瑞发布新的联名产品而封闭道路，年轻人将为买一件新的苏博瑞T恤一掷千金。”

街頭服饰品牌在过去两年开始垄断男性时尚，而这一起源于嘻哈音乐和滑板界的亚文化如今已成为全球年轻男性的必备服饰。随着人们对街头服饰需求的激增，里亚迪受此启发，与丹尼·洛玛斯、沙奎尔·基思和德克斯特·布莱克三位好友一起推出了PAQ节目。如今，该节目观看次数已超过100万，订阅用户超过17万。

“PAQ实际上就是服装界的《疯狂汽车秀》。”伊莱亚斯解释道。他是来自沃特福德的一名模特，发现年轻男性需要一个可以畅聊服饰而不被指指点点的包容性平台，随后提出了这个想法。“高档品牌总是很严肃，所以人们，尤其是年轻男性，总是对其望而生畏。我们想让时尚‘大众化。”我们根本看不出伊莱亚斯曾对时尚心生畏惧。会面时，他看起来像一名一级方程式赛车手，身着猩红色法拉利夹克，搭配一顶渔夫帽和一条博柏利的运动裤，这条运动裤来自克里斯托弗·贝利最新的时装秀。

他们四人都不是街头时尚的局外人，相反，彼此风格独特，充满音乐和艺术元素。丹尼是一名滑板滑手，身穿哈林顿经典收腰夹克，一头金色卷发，俨然20世纪60年代的摩登青年。沙奎尔，一名插画专业学生，同时也是一位有抱负的诗人，对街头服饰有更加怪诞的想法。戴着标志性的黑色贝雷帽和厚实的金色耳环，他看起来就像是说唱歌手图帕克·沙库尔和艺术家巴斯奎特着装风格的完美混搭。德克斯特也许是最不张扬的，身穿黑色运动服、戴着运动帽。“我曾经尝试穿彩色衣服，但彩色不适合我。”他主动对其全套黑色搭配解释道。

这四个好朋友年龄在20到22岁之间，他们是一场更大规模运动的代表，而这一运动见证了年轻男性对时尚的不懈尝试。仅在几年前，运动服还只是弱势小民的标准行头，而连帽衫则是反社会行为的基本标志。但过去两年，青年文化重拾运动服饰，将其重新定义为一种时尚商品。滑板品牌诸如苏博瑞、斯图西和Palace的日益流行，更不必说阿迪达斯、耐克和锐步等大品牌，给男性提供了更多的选择余地和充足的尝试空间。

“互联网文化改变了时装业，”丹尼解释道，“像Poundland Bandit这样的照片墙账号会发布一些老套的着装，没人想被归入这些类别。哪天你看到别人发布的一套服饰搭配，就会惊呼‘天哪，我现在穿的正是这套衣服！。没有哪个年轻人想让自己看起来毫无个性。”

与大多数青年运动一样，音乐是这一最新运动装时尚背后的推动力之一。英式说唱和嘻哈音乐艺人对街头服饰文化的改变发挥了至关重要的作用，他们不仅通过自己日益增长的人气为其提供了平台，而且重新定义了可被年轻男性接受的服饰。尤其是斯库普塔，他一直倡导穿女装，避免品牌服装，而A$AP罗基甚至被拍到身穿连衣裙出席各种活动和时装秀。PAQ这四位男生尤其提倡模糊男装和女装之间的界限，其中一期节目就是只选用女装搭配出一套服饰。

“我们想向世人证明，你不必遵循此类刻板印象，如‘作为男生就应该这么穿;这就是世界希望你作为一个男人该有的模样。”丹尼解释道。当我问他们平时是否有勇气穿女装时，他们都毫不犹豫地点头。德克斯特说：“我肯定会穿和服，只要是黑色。”“不过我很可能会把裙子穿在牛仔裤外面，当然也会戴着我的贝雷帽。”沙奎尔承认。

在浮夸的外表下，四人的抱负显而易见。有些剧集的观看次数已超过100万，他们将时尚作为一种媒介以揭示更重大的问题。德克斯特特别热衷于揭开年轻男性心理健康的神秘面纱。他说：“小时候，我性格非常内向，不知道该如何表达自己。有太多年轻人经历着同样的事情，尽管社会对此更加开放，但很多人仍然不知道该如何克服或处理这些情绪。我只想让我的同龄人知道，无论年龄大小，如果你相信自己，就会逐渐理清思绪。”这也是他钟爱黑色的深刻意义所在。“我一直很喜欢黑色，但是随着年龄的增长，经历了生活的起起伏伏，我注意到在我感觉不自在的时候，黑色可以令我放松。”

PAQ别具一格地展示了“雪花一代”的力量。他们在20岁时就意识到自己的影响力，并希望借此促成积极的改变。“我们是四个火枪手，”伊莱亚斯说。“是复仇者联盟，”沙奎尔打断说。“要我说，我们是绝地武士，”德克斯特说道，“但是我穿的是黑色衣服，所以我可以做个西斯。”

（译者为“《英语世界》杯”翻译大赛获奖者）