Stoner style and high fashion aren’t synonymous. One search of the term ‘420 fashion’ yields a swarm of t-shirts, hoodies, caps, and beanies with big green pot leaf graphics. There are psychedelic art-styled images printed on tanks, and shirts and plain tees with weed puns typed on the front.
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What there isn’t, are elevated looks that play on the emotion of being high in artful ways, but this does exist. Look to the cannabis industry and culture for style makers elevating how the world views 420 fashion.
Weed fashion? What’s that?
Weed Auntie Solonje Burnett is one of the more sartorial people in the space, and she shared her view of the current weed style with GreenState.
“When I hear the phrase ‘cannabis fashion’ I think of opportunity, creativity, and innovation,” Burnett said. “So much of the recent culture of fashion has been tethered to unsustainable fast fashion practices that harm our bodies and planet. Cannabis also tends to lean into wasteful tchotchke, gimmicky merch, and unconscious overproduction of items destined for a landfill.”
This is clear after viewing the aforementioned search results. Many products available from a quick query are imported tees made from synthetic materials. With a deeper look into the production processes, many may contribute to the toxic impact of fast fashion.
Leaving the puns behind for sustainable hemp pieces
Elise McRoberts, a.k.a. The Hashinista, would love to see fewer cartoons and puns promoting over-consumption in the 420 fashion sphere.
“Don’t get me wrong- I love weed puns. I will make weed puns till the day I die. And I do own a statement necklace that reads ‘High as Fuck’ in gold script,” McRoberts said. “I’d love to see more art, more thoughtful designs, and sustainable practices. Would LOVE to see more hemp high fashion, hemp streetwear, and more earth-friendly cannabis-inspired brands and collections.”
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Hemp fashion has evolved over the last few decades, sustainable textiles are softer and more accessible than ever. Quiet luxury brand Jungmaven has been perfecting buttery soft hemp clothing for decades.
Burnett recommends hemp pieces from Mara Hoffman. Eventually, the two-time entrepreneur plans to develop her own weed line with Stateless. Though the task is complicated with so little hemp textile infrastructure in the country.
“Not only is hemp three times stronger than cotton, but it also softens with age. It’s breathable and hypoallergenic, and super versatile. The production requires less land than cotton, and it releases less toxic substances into the soil and the wider ecosystem,” Burnett said.
Wearing hemp may offset the environmental harm of the fashion industry, but production must be more accessible to make it affordable for manufacturers and customers. Bringing production to the U.S. would create more jobs and offset the sustainability pain points of fast fashion, but that will require legwork and policy updates to pull off. In the meantime, many 420 fashionistas are chipping away at the other side of the coin.
Fashion beyond the fan leaf
Sustainability is just one piece of the puzzle. The other end lies in style. The prints and puns of current 420-friendly clothes are often juvenile and rarely high fashion. However, those who are paying attention to the space will know that cannabis fashion goes deeper than the usual Rastafarian colors, patchwork skirts, weed pun tees, and more. Since weed has existed for decades underground, other subcultures like skaters have long included the plant in their fashions.
Huf Plantlife socks feature a simple fan leaf print, but they took the weed world by storm. LRG has also accepted the culture forever, using puns like “hustle trees” on high-quality garments. Joey Brabo, co-founder of fashion brand turned culture website Respect My Region, wants to see these mainstream brands collaborate with 420 fashion brands.
“I’d love to see the space continue to evolve through collaborations,” Brabo said. “We need the largest brands like Cookies, Alien Labs, Puffco, Revelry, and Push Trees to collab with the likes of Adidas, LRG, Nike, Champion, and high-end designer companies too. It would be amazing to see a cannabis commercial or two during the Super Bowl, or NBA Finals, or March Madness.”
Mainstream clothing brands don’t often touch weed, that rings especially true on the runways. In response, cannabis brands have chosen to become high fashion themselves rather than wait to be invited to fashion week.
Edie Parker Flower crafts accessories and handbags with stoner flare that marry stoners and style. Founder and creative director Brett Heyman hopes the luxury products can bring the plant to the mainstream.
“When we first launched our Flower line, we were speaking to women, who we thought were wildly underrepresented in cannabis. But over the years, we realized there is a wide range of people who appreciate thoughtfully crafted products,” Heyman said. “We hope consumers continue to make space in their collections for design-forward objects with form and function that make people happy, that surprise and delight.
This isn’t the only brand setting the stage for heightened weed style. Sundae School, a Korean-inspired cannabis fashion brand with many celebrity fans, consistently innovates in new collections featuring on-trend classic stoner style.
Newer jewelry company High on Plants is also among these weed companies hoping to elevate the future of cannabis fashion. The line was created by two long-time cannabis entrepreneurs who wanted to make something they would wear.
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“My fashion style is more classic than graphic, and so, it’s definitely a challenge to find cannabis clothing that I would actually wear,” High on Plants founder Caroline Murphy said to GreenState. “I find myself always searching for clean, less-obvious minimal cannabis designs for clothing that make you take a second glance and say, “is that a cannabis leaf?”
The weed leaf graphic isn’t played out, but maybe it’s time that it’s played with. Murphy hopes to see more brands turn the concept on its head literally. Play with the image of the fan leaf by turning it upside down, warping it, adding a gradient, or something even more creative.
High on Plants has already collaborated with some of the most beloved women in weed, like Christina Wong and Jackie Bryant. The Jackie is a black and gold earring inspired by the journalist known for her own midnight style. She hopes that weed fashions will evolve from overtly girly accessories, garments fit for the rave, and Baja hoodies collectively referred to as “drug rugs.”
“That’s what I’m trying to do with my High on Plants collab, which I think is chic,” Bryant said as she expanded on her ideal future. “I love plant prints! Keeping them more anatomical or taking inspiration from modern prints, like Marimekko, might inform it.”
The future of cannabis style is up to us
Not everyone can rock an Ursula dress from Bad Binch Tong Tong, but brands like Marimekko, and Mara Hoffman harness that same abstract art moment in more ready-to-wear pieces.
When asked about how the current state of fashion made them feel, many who contributed to this article were lackluster. However, when pondering the future of cannabis style, they were greeted with an air of hope and excitement for what was to come.
As the plant moves into a more legal realm, there is more room for cannabis fashion houses to grow and play. There’s also a larger possibility that huge brands like Nike might consider working with scrappy weed fashion startups.
When pondering the future of weed, Burnett believes that sustainability is the next phase in weed style.
“Cannabis fashion has always been a part of cultural movements. Signaling freedom, love, and rebellion from Rastafarians to jazz artists and hippies to hip-hop. Now, I think much of the cultural expansion lies in sustainability. Taking the magic of hemp fiber to create eco-friendly clothing to reap both personal and environmental benefits,” Burnett concluded.
