Fraser Cooke On His Journey From Hairdresser To UK Streetwear And Nike Titan

Streetwear in the early ’90s was a wide-open space for people to define an emerging culture. In the US, it spread organically across the East and West Coasts, while in Japan it took a more premium, curatorial form. In the UK, what happened was a synthesis of those two forms. Less connected to the hip-hop, surf, and skateboard subcultures of its American counterpart, and lacking the dedicated boutiques and premium manufacturing of Japan, the British embrace of streetwear involved a lot of traveling, bringing things back, and creating a culture fueled by fascination alone. This is where Fraser Cooke comes in. Having started as a hairdresser, Cooke’s encounters with fashion figures in London led him to a position as a buyer at a store, the launch of two of the city’s most important streetwear outlets, and finally a position at Nike, where he heads up most of the brand’s biggest collaborations. Put simply, if it’s hyped and has a Swoosh on it, it probably involved Cooke. Read more at Highsnobiety.