Shoreditch (London)
There are companies that are dedicated to browsing in certain areas in which fashion trends are triggered among young english , these companies hire those known as coolhunters so that they investigate neighborhoods, which historically used to be marginal areas, and extract interesting elements from there for later offer ideas to major textile brands.
The work of these “trend hunters” consists of traveling, contemplating and evaluating, through the analysis of the information compiled and their own intuition, what consumers will want to wear in the coming months and years . Are everyday ethnographers dedicated to capturing the ingenuity of others on the street to create their own style, appropriate it and turn it into fashion long before the competition does.
This inspiration could arise in any street of a big city, but if there is a place where fashions and trends have great weight, that is England , birthplace of important urban tribes that have changed the direction of aesthetics several times throughout history. And snooping through the less favored neighborhoods of their cities is where these ideas appear as if it were a déjà vu of new concepts.
Currently this pursuit of individual genius and modernity has managed to give a new life to these neighborhoods, traditionally poor, and have gone from being gray areas and where it was scary to walk to being the most sought after by who are interested in fashion and novelty.
Following the trend in England
**SHOREDITCH (LONDON) **
London fascinates us, energetic and carefree, it has always decided how we should dress, what music to listen to, or in which neighborhoods the hottest part is, and the rest have no choice but to accept it. Shoreditch is a good example of this, it was a depressed and dirty area and now it is full of really alternative options.
What happens there is something that goes beyond being fashionable, it is a place where trends are born that the world will later accept as its own. This change began in the late 1990s, when some artists became interested in this part of the East End , transforming it completely and in a short time into an area for the avant-garde.
Although it is now considered the most fashionable neighborhood in the city, it was for a long time a symbol of working class culture, the residence of the most proletarian classes and a large part of the Bengali community. This essence of disadvantaged suburb continues to endure, despite the weight of modernity, in its graffiti and in the aspect of its many oriental food restaurants.
Outdoor concerts and recitals
**NORTHERN QUARTER (MANCHESTER) **
the city in which Marx and Engels perfected their doctrine was also the cradle of the Industrial Revolution and where it broke out with more intensity, Manchester experienced a golden age until the middle of the 20th century, after which the city began to suffer a gradual decline of which vestiges still remain.
This industrial legacy is still written in its streets, but few cities have been able to reinvent themselves like Manchester and many of the buildings that once belonged to factories and warehouses , are now transformed into apartments or bars.
The Northern Quarter is one of these areas that grew immensely due to the Industrial Revolution, being the epicenter of the cotton exploitation of the country, and that ended up being converted into a poor and dirty neighborhood where the proletariat was displaced.
A place that no more than two decades ago was full of pet shops and business of wholesale , but which, however, has been transfigured into the archetype of the evolution that the city has experienced.
Today, the streets of the Northern Quarter, brimming with youth and a unique atmosphere , are the cultural nucleus of the city and their old buildings are occupied, today, by second-hand clothing and record stores, cafes and bars where there is usually live music.
Northern Quarter (Manchester)
**HACKNEY (LONDON) **
Also located in the working area of the East End , Hackney is another one of those neighborhoods that has drastically changed its image . Today, it is an important focus of urban trends, one of those places where culture vibrates and that welcomes the middle class, artists and designers.
A demonstration of the change in Hackney lies in the fact that not more than ten years ago the residents themselves avoided walking through certain areas at certain times of the night, but now they are no longer afraid of its streets.
Where before there was an old-fashioned supply center, now there is a true sample of street food stalls . The same happens with the traditional squares where fruit and vegetables were sold, which have become a paradise where the most avant-garde gastronomy and organic products are the protagonists.
And around these markets, as expected, modern barbershops, bookstores, coworking spaces and specialized cereal cafes have been appearing , all of them a symbol of this new Hackney and that share the sidewalk with restaurants and premises that still remind us of that working-class neighborhood that was once there.
Sunbathing in Hackney (London)
**BOLD STREET (LIVERPOOL) **
Liverpool is a miracle city , and not only because of the legacy left by those four young people who came into the world to revolutionize the history of music. It has gone from being a sad city, with moldy facades, dingy alleys , and with extremely high unemployment rates due to the decline of its shipyards and industries from the 1970s, to becoming a city with rhythm and that has recovered at cruising speed.
But if Liverpool is wonderful, what happens in Bold Street it is something unheard of. We talk about a cheerful avenue with bohemian airs and where vintage clothing stores and second-hand records triumph , and that can be crossed by going from bar to bar. In this street, ropes were once made, but the most fascinating thing about this place is that it is said to be a portal in time.
urban legends or not , there are stories about people who, walking through this touristy part of the city, have experienced momentary trips to other times and, suddenly, they have found themselves surrounded by vintage cars and people dressed in clothes from the past, entering shops that no longer exist and where They don't know what a credit card is.
It is worth visiting Bold Street, not only for its modernity and for being the perfect place to observe curious outfits, but also because, perhaps, the next step could take us to a bygone era.
Crowd on Bold Street (Liverpool)
**HEADINGLEY (LEEDS)**
Little remains of that industrial city which, with a melancholy atmosphere, did not recover from that lost splendor it once had when it was one of the cores of the country's economy yes Leeds has left all that behind. Now it boasts its streets that alternate fascinating Victorian-style buildings converted into offices, restaurants or hotels , and interesting typically English red brick facades.
It is currently the second city in England with the most points of architectural interest and, with its fully rehabilitated historic center, it has become a wonderful space in which to find captivating cultural and nightlife.
Headingley is a north-west suburb of Leeds that has been the ideal place for university students for generations. The area has student residences and typical houses with gardens, green spaces and a huge number of Independent shops and trendy restaurants, cafes, and bars.
It is another of those neighborhoods that are suffering from gentrification and that are being conquered, for some time now, by all kinds of artists, hipsters and young creatives willing to change the aesthetics of the world.
These are some examples of cities and neighborhoods that have learned, or have been forced, to shed their skin, to stop being what they were and evolve into a destination full of music, fashion and color with the aim of becoming key places where be inspired and like.