A new book This Is Not Fashion explores how the streetwear aesthetic was created.

In his influential 1979 book Subculture: The Meaning of Style, Mr Dick Hebdige writes, “The word “subculture” is loaded down with mystery. It suggests secrecy, masonic oaths, an underworld. It also invokes the larger and no less difficult concept ‘culture’”.

These words still ring true today. The world of streetwear – the delta into which all subcultural tributaries flow – often feels cultish, rife with in-jokes (did you know Deliveroo jackets are the new DHL T-shirts on the resale market?) and arcane anti-cultural references.

Mr Adam Stone (aka “King Adz”) – perhaps a contemporary descendant of Mr Hebdige – is well-placed to understand both culture and subculture. An ex-advertising executive, his new book: This Is Not Fashion: Streetwear, Past Present And Future, co-written with fashion graduate Ms Wilma Stone, connects the dots between various subcultures and highlights their relationship with streetwear.

You may already know the headline moments in the streetwear story (Mr Shawn Stussy’s eponymous label, Nigo’s A Bathing Ape, Nike, adidas, Palace, Supreme, Off-White…), not to mention the influence of major subcultures like punk, hip-hop, rave and skateboarding. But the evolution of streetwear also has a few less-obvious influences. Here are five we learnt after reading Mr Stone’s book, which is published today.