Cannabis High Fashion
By Amanda (Ama) Scriver (@amascriver)
With the growing popularity of cannabis across North America, many apparel brands and fashion designers are tapping into the market. We don’t just mean the typical green pot leaf motif or stoner tie-dye shirts from years past; luxury brands are also attempting to makeover and create sophisticated designs inspired by cannabis.
Read on to see how cannabis has made its way into high fashion.
Robust
Size-Inclusive Athleisure
Lesley Hampton, an Indigenous women’s designer, recently released her size-inclusive athleisure line, ROBUST. The inspiration behind the collection? Showing the positive effects of cannabis and how it’s helping people’s mental health. The 24-piece line (which includes crop tops, sports bras, t-shirts, leggings, and a bodysuit) uses macro photography of cannabis buds as the main inspiration, using a close up of the cannabis bud: the complex knotting including the fiery orange and yellow hairs, the sugary crystals, and the rotund nugs. Upon first glance, you’d have no idea any idea it was cannabis-inspired. But in Hampton’s mind, that’s the point: she wanted people to browse through her garments, focus on the plant, and draw a connection to it.
Viktor and Rolf
“Amsterdam” collection
In January 2019, Haute couture designers Viktor and Rolf included a cannabis-inspired dress in their recent Fashion Statements couture runway show in Paris. The A-line gown of colorful, layered neon green tulle with a giant pot leaf and the word, “AMSTERDAM” made its way down the runway and of course, immediately went viral online. In an interview, the design team told VOGUE backstage that it was meant to beg the question, “to what extent can you say something with clothing, literally.”
Barneys
The High End - cannabis lifestyle and wellness concept
As the plant becomes more mainstream, retailers have been able to find their footing in the market. Specifically, high-end luxury retails and how it fits into the cannabis retail business space. Our first example of this was Barneys New York, the luxury retailer, who opened their own luxury cannabis lifestyle and wellness concept shop in New York and Los Angeles in March called, The High End. In an exclusive partnership with cannabis company Beboe, guests could purchase custom blown glass pipes, luxury rolling papers, one-of-a-kind vintage ashtrays, accessories including sterling silver grinders, and CBD-infused beauty.
Similarly in Canada, Tokyo Smoke announced last November that they had teamed up with the luxury retailer, Holt Renfrew, for a collaboration for the holiday season. Developing a capsule collection of cannabis accessories including the Catch-All rolling Tray and the Storage Jar. Wrapped in the Holt Renfrew’s Toile print for the holidays, the two special edition products will be perfect for any smoker, from beginners to connoisseurs. These accessories are being sold at 19+ pop-up shops inside Holt Renfrew locations in Toronto and Vancouver.
Sundae School
High-end streetwear
But if it isn’t high-end or athleisure that floats your boat, Seoul-born co-founders Mia Park and Dae Lim of the line Sundae School recently combined high-end fashion with streetwear to create a line for cannabis enthusiasts. The line which originally launched on April 20, 2017, and gained a huge following. Celebrities like Lil’ Nas X, Sza and John Legend wearing the collection, comprised of hoodies, jackets, hats, and other streetwear items and accessories designed with subtly accommodating one’s cannabis-smoking necessities in mind.
Designers have been using their voice to showcase the beautiful integrated pot leaf patterns, the humor in the culture and how sustainable fabrics such as hemp can be used. What an exciting time to watch designers make a bold yet tasteful statement about cannabis fashion. We have to wonder just how influential cannabis fashion can and will be on the rest of the world, in the years to come.
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