In _Vogue’_s September 2014 issue, we highlight street style’s new paradigm—a seismic shift, essentially, away from the look-at-me and take-my-picture vibes of yesteryear. 2014’s chicest city-strutters are now dressed in, well, all things normal—though before you cry “normcore,” think ultra-chic basics by the likes of A.P.C. and Common Projects, along with intelligent, original daywear from the kids at Public School, Hood By Air, and Marques’Almeida. “Fashion at large is readjusting,” writes Sarah Mower, “grounding itself in different sensibilities.” Case in point: the new street style marks a collectsive sartorial mindset that manages to be simultaneously chic and pragmatic.
In honor of the new street style, we’ve put together a list of the globe’s hippest neighborhoods, from Mexico City to Tokyo. And if you feel inspired for a last-minute early-fall getaway, just remember when packing: Reality trumps fantasy.
Photo: Courtesy of Sly T / @slytwenty1/15SHIMOKITAZAWA / TOKYO / JAPAN
As far as hangouts go, Shibuya gets most of Tokyo’s street style and hipster kudos–it is the land of Harajuku, after all. But it’s the more low-key Shimokitazawa that’s known for its casual-cool fashion and oddball boutiques. The area has all the nuance and niche of pop Japanese culture, without the neon and the frenzy. Keep an eye out for quirkily curated vintage shops, as well as Darwin Room, a storefront peddling natural curiosities like morpho butterflies and Yves Klein–blue fossils.
Photo: Courtesy of Carolyn Huang / @carolynhuang1
Mural by Uber50002/15WEST QUEEN WEST/ TORONTO / CANADA
Toronto is currently enjoying newfound prominence—and desirability—amongst globe-trotting tastemakers. Queen Street West is a verifiable artery of indie patisseries, homegrown labels, and hidden-from-view galleries—hallmarks of hipness, if ever they existed. It’s also the home of the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, well-established “art” hotels The Drake and the Gladstone, and the charming Bicyclette, a local clothing boutique and lifestyle brand whose owners love “glitter, DIY projects, treasure hunts and details.” Soho House Toronto is nearby, as is Graffiti Alley, a block where street art is both 100 percent legal and lauded.
Photo: Courtesy of Janine Sterenborg / @nordicvibes3/15SÖDERMALM / STOCKHOLM / SWEDEN
In this day and age, “Cool” and “Stockholm” are essentially synonymous. Think: Acne Studios, long-lit summer nights, minimalistic armchairs. Imagine, then, how hip its coolest neighborhood must be. Enter Södermalm, an island just to the south of the city’s center, where one can find top-notch vintage boutiques like Grandpa (which also sells Swedish labels including Rodebjer and Dagmar) to a comprehensive 'zine shop, cheekily named Papercut. Young parents: be sure to stop by the buzzy Mini Rodini outpost on Nytorgsgatan, famed for its funky children’s wear.
Photo: Courtesy of The Misshapes / @themisshapes4/15TIONG BAHRU / SINGAPORE
Singapore has made a splash of late in the fashion sphere: Chanel showed its well-received Resort 2014 collectsion in the city-state, as did Prabal Gurung with his most recent fall lineup. Nary a week goes by without an Instagram of a model-off-duty alongside the Marina Bay Sands’ jaw-dropping rooftop pool. Yet past the glitz, there’s a small nook of town dubbed Tiong Bahru that’s the artisanal, coffee shop–filled foil to Singapore’s endless skyscraper sparkle. Here, low-profile Art Deco-style buildings house eclectic boutiques like Strangelets, which sells quirky design objects, and Fleas & Trees, which offers baubles from emerging designers. Feeling jet-lagged? Tuck into Nimble/Knead, a concept massage parlor providing relaxation in a common Singaporean sight: corrugated shipping containers.
Photo: Courtesy of Daniel Tossato / @danieltossato5/15CENTRO / SÃO PAULO / BRAZIL
Though it’s long been a culturally significant checkpoint in the vast sprawl of São Paulo, Centro has witnessed a spike of late in, let’s say, artistic ordem e progresso. From PIVÔ, a non-profit community center-cum-kunsthalle located in the undulating Oscar Niemeyer-designed Edifício Copan, to the area’s vivid pixação, a form of graffiti endemic to southern Brazil, Centro is seething with creative energy, and it is increasingly attracting artists and designers from the world over.
Photo: Courtesy of Coralie Jouhier / @coraliekory6/15CANAL SAINT-MARTIN / PARIS / FRANCE
If Paris were a galaxy and hotspots were stars, you’d be able to trace a summer sky’s worth of constellations across the city: from Le Marais to Ménilmontant, there’s no shortage of hipness to be found. One corner of the metro, though, is particularly saturated with all things skinny-jeaned and Gauloises-packing, from Isabel Marant, who opened her first store in le 11eme, to Giambattista Valli, who moved to Saint-Martin a couple of years ago: Canal Saint-Martin.Take a break from strolling its quays to browse Medecine Douce on Rue de Marseille, a shop that sells locally produced and affordably priced bobo jewelry. Then, grab a bière at the longstanding neighborhood haunt, Chez Prune.
Photo: Courtesy of iO Tillett Wright / @iolovesyou7/15BUSHWICK / NEW YORK CITY / U.S.
As far as buzz goes, few neighborhoods garner as much attention—globally—as Bushwick. Believe the hype: this area, located in north Brooklyn, claims cutting-edge galleries (like an outpost of Luhring Augustine, which reps Christopher Wool, Joel Sternfeld, and the very much in demand Jeff Elrod) to Jay Z–approved restaurants (Enter: Roberta’s). Pop-up late-nights, an eatery in a defunct gas station—check out the recently opened Montana’s Trailhouse—and a vinyl-recycling jewelry label called Wrecords By Monkey are all within a few blocks. Time to hop on the L!
Photo: Courtesy of @y_savran8/15BRERA / MILAN / ITALY
A visit to Milano wouldn’t be complete without a dash through the city’s cultural nerve center, Brera. This particular area holds numerous major institutions—including Pinacoteca di Brera, home of the prestigious Brera Academy—alongside smartly realized modernist furniture stores on Via Statuto and Via Solferino (the town, after all, hosts Salone Internazionale del Mobile, the world’s most important home design fair). And, of course, there’s 10 Corso Como: This fashion mecca from Carla Sozzani stocks everyone from upstart Italian designers to globally recognized names, and it’s got a café and revolving exhibition space to boot. Pop in, pick up a souvenir from, say, the neophyte bag-maker Benedetta Bruzziches, and head out for an aperitivo at the famed Jamaica bar nearby.
Photo: Courtesy of Harry Beee/@HarryBeeeNYC9/15WYNWOOD / MIAMI / U.S.
Miami gets a lot of flack for its fluorescence and frivolity, yet past its touristic club-land lies a buzzing, young network of galleries, stores, cafés, and chic watering holes. They’re mostly concentrated in Wynwood, a neighborhood just off the city’s Midtown area, which rose to popularity thanks to its ample warehouse space and (previously) low rents. Here you’ll find Panther, a local coffee haunt favored by skater boys and art dealers (and sometimes, skater boys who are in fact also art dealers); Del Toro, famed for its motif-stitched slippers; and Joey’s, a popular Italian restaurant that was among the first commercial enterprises on the block. And though technically it stands for Our House West of Wynwood, OHWOW Gallery was born in the vicinity. Now based in Los Angeles, it reps everyone from Lucien Smith and Scott Campbell to the estate of Robert Mapplethorpe.
Photo: Courtesy of Jose Antonio T. (via Foursquare)10/15ZONA ROSA & LA CONDESA / MEXICO CITY / MEXICO
These abutting enclaves, set deep in the heart of Mexico City, hold all of the megalopolis’ old-world charm—smoky aromas, greenery-kissed avenues, grand rotundas filled with fountains and fretwork—yet they also lie at the core of Distrito Federal’s modern cultural renaissance. While the ritzier Polanco nearby boasts luxury shopping and new museums (such as Museo Jumex), Zona Rosa and La Condesa offer mom-and-pop taquerias, a mish-mash of open-air markets and Condesa DF, a boutique hotel favored by the fashion-flock with swank rooms and a canopy-kissing outdoor bar. Also worth noting: jewelry label Anndra Neen hand-produces all of its wares here. Pick up a cage metal clutch, head to the rooftop, order a Modelo, and watch as the city lights up while the sun goes down.
Photo: Courtesy of Hayley Hughes / @fashionhayley11/15FITZROY / MELBOURNE / AUSTRALIA
Though it may chagrin a Harboursider or two, it’s Melbourne—and not Sydney—that claims Australia’s coolest environ. Fitzroy is teeming with the personalities that often define such places: artists, jewelers, students, et al. Brunswick Street is its main vein, lined with dive bars, vegan cafes, and graffiti. Nearby, the Rose Street Artists’ Market offers handmade goods by local designers. And for something a bit more polished—though just as hip—there’s the Centre for Contemporary Photography, Oz’s premiere show space for the discipline.
Photo: Courtesy of @pingo_art12/15SILVER LAKE / LOS ANGELES / U.S.
Silver Lake is the chilled-out antidote to the over-the-top glamour of Beverly Hills and Hollywood. Far more baja than ball gown, it’s where L.A.’s trendiest convene—whether at longtime staple Cafe Stella, the nearby Chinoiserie-themed Good Luck Bar, or Gamine Salon, a local beauty stop founded by Julie Rosenberg. Increasingly resonant in the fashion-sphere (thank you, Hedi Slimane and the Rodarte sisters), Los Angeleno style has been further bolstered by Mohawk General Store, a boutique selling everything from Mansur Gavriel bags to Alexander Wang bomber jackets. Post-shopping, take a stroll down Sunset, Intelligentsia latte in hand.
Photo: Courtesy of Cat and Mutton / @catandmutton13/15HACKNEY / LONDON / U.K.
London’s cool crowd just keeps moving east. Our conclusion: Hackney is the new Dalston, which, until recently, was the new Shoreditch (and so on). Popular with everyone from eccentric E.U. expats to Central Saint Martins design students, it’s still relatively affordable compared with the rest of town, and it retains such popular destinations as the Broadway Market—a street that holds art-book stores and slow-food restaurants—and the London Fields, which, on the rare sunny day, has enough street style inspiration to rival any Fashion Week.
Photo: Courtesy of Jacob Julian / @jacobxjulian14/15KREUZBERG / BERLIN / GERMANY
Located on the south side of town—Kreuzberg is no doubt Berlin's coolest quarter, a zone overrun by swank retailers and much-heralded music halls. Regarding the former, there’s Voo Store—a sportily inclined boutique that stocks, among others, Nike, A.P.C., and Adidas by Rick Owens—and for the latter, there’s Hard Wax, a purist record emporium that specializes in techno (which was actually born in Detroit, not that you’d know it from the local nightlife scene). The legendary nightclub Berghain (named for its adjacency to both Kreuzberg and the nearby Friedrichshain) is worth checking out—that is, if you can get past its notoriously scrupulous doorman, Sven. (Tip: Don’t wear heels.)
Photo: Courtesy of @dearmoongchi15/15DASHANZI ART DISTRICT / BEIJING / CHINA
Also known as the 798 Art Zone, the Dashanzi Art District in northeastern Beijing sprung up around—what else?—decommissioned military factories. The area now boasts world-class galleries, loft-style apartments, and trendy bookstores (check out Timezone 8), its cool-kid influx no doubt emblematic of China’s growing presence in global contemporary culture. Case in point: Long March Space, a showroom that works with such artists as Lin Tianmiao and Xu Zhen (and exhibited this past June at the prestigious Art Basel fair in Switzerland) and the London-based Saatchi Gallery, which notes that it holds “what many consider the most provocative exhibition programs in Beijing.”
