Anybody with a tumblr or Shoreditch postcode this summer will have seen the rise of the Skateboard as a fashion accessory. The rest of the fashion minions will be sure to catch on next summer. Gone are the days where skateboards are exclusive to, well, Skateboarders. Skateboarders, albeit it being a sport, generally tend to be a subculture who smoke a lot of weed, listen to a lot of hip-hop and get in your way when you're shopping. These are not traits you'd generally associate with fashionitas. Maybe it has a lot to do with the rise of street-style; essentially Skateboarding is to street culture what pilates is to high fashion die-hards. Maybe it's a spin off from the grunge trend; theres nothing that screams 'Kurt Cobain' more than a chipped skateboard and unwashed hair.
A lot of my closest male friends happen to be Skateboarders, and let me tell you, they couldn't care less about fashion: they think Chanel is something you have to cross to get to France. I think they would be offended that a skateboard could become a desired fashion accessory; years and years of practice and many painful injuries is what it takes to call yourself a Skateboarder, not a board stolen from your brother and a checked shirt tied around your waist.
One thing i know is that if i sport one next summer, i will fully be expected to be 'ollying' and 'kick flipping' at the local skatepark, not posing for a fashion blog. However, it would a fashion revolution if skateboards began to mix with Louboutins - just imagine Bill Cunninghams glee if he snapped Anna Wintour whizzing through Manhattan on a skateboard, bob flowing behind her, sunglasses in place.
