Gentrification Through The Lens of Streetwear on Fairfax
California was the home of nearly 350,000 Native Americans before European settlers arrived and displaced them. The Gabrillino-Tongva people settled in Los Angeles (L.A.) where the 405 freeway meets the Sepulveda Basin. The largest village was known as Hahamog'na, now a park located at the southeast corner of Oak Grove Drive and Foothill Boulevard. The Spaniards “discovery” of the west coast forced the Tongva people to construct the Spanish Missions to produce and cultivate crops for the Spanish. Tongva Tribal council member Mark Acuña explained to KCET's Departures: "In order to accomplish all that mission work it was on the backs of Indians. There's no other way to talk about it. We built the 21 missions. We worked the fields." Additionally, downtown L.A. was home to a large Tongva village called Yaanga. That area was just far enough out of reach from the nearby Mission San Gabriel that fewer Tongva people were enslaved for the padres. Unfortunately, close enough to the original location of the Los Angeles Pueblo that its people were forced to uproot and leave. California's statehood and the gold rush reduced the Tongva population even more.
In the 1920's most of L.A.was segregated and only white people could own homes. The Jewish population in LA resided on the east side in neighborhoods like City Terrace and Boyle Heights. Jewish owned businesses moved to the area around Fairfax Ave pre-World War II, they opened up delis, kosher bakeries/butchers, fish markets, and restaurants. In 1934, The A.F. Gilmore Oil Company opened an 18,000 seat football stadium for the first professional football team in L.A. The Gilmore family owned a large portion of land near Fairfax that was mostly vacant. After World War II, Holocaust survivors moved into the neighborhood and the Jewish presence in the area increased tenfold. The number of synagogues increased from only four in 1935 to twelve. The famous Canter's deli moved to Fairfax Avenue in 1948. The original location opened at 439 North Fairfax Ave and went up the block to fill up the space that used to be the Esquire Theater which would show Yiddish-language films. The Deli expanded in 1959 and the Kibitz Room, a cocktail lounge, opened up in 1961. Canter's hosted celebrities like President Obama, Frank Zappa, Guns 'N' Roses, Slash, and Mick Jagger. Marc Canter, the current owner of the deli, recalled the heyday of Canter's in an interview by saying: "Frank Zappa would come in and have a table and it would draw a crowd. Frank would go home and the table would still be hopping and when Zappa would come back a day or so later it was always funny because the table would still be packed." The Diamond Bakery was another Jewish business on Fairfax and has stood on the street since the 1960s. 9 synagogues remain in Fairfax, but the current presence of streetwear is undeniable.
Today there are kosher markets, delis, and Judaica-centered bookstores that line Fairfax blending in with the bold T-shirt stores and shops. In a 2005 report by the L.A.Times, it was noted that many of the people who were dug into the history of Fairfax were being forced out. Simon Rutenberg who was the owner of Hatikvah Music, a Jewish record shop said in the article " This is the end of the road. I'm out of here. I'd have to triple my business to pay the rent," Simon had been on 436 N Fairfax Ave since 1954. Another business owner 77-year-old Nori Zdida who operated the Picanty Kosher Market at 443 N Fairfax Ave said his rent jumped from $2,921 a month to $3,771. Supreme, a cult streetwear brand from the early 1990s, was looking to open a west coast flagship store. Company founder James Jebbia wanted to mimic the essential aspects of Supreme when it first opened in New York in 1994. He wanted a New York vibe, and the closest thing to that was in Hollywood was Fairfax. L.A. was the skateboarding capital, and they wanted to offer them goods unavailable at other local skate shops in LA. Supreme opened on Fairfax mainly due to the low cost in rent. "[Supreme] established that block. Then all the streetwear brands started to follow their lead", Chris Gibbs said in an interview with Complex Magazine. As the number of stores like Diamond Supply Co., Huf, the and Hundreds and Flight Club moved in, skyrocketed traffic due to streetwear. Over a few years, Fairfax became a spot where you could see people from all over LA. Young people at the time had a place where they felt a connection to the people around them, people who were also connected to the area. Anwar Carrots said in Complex's history of supreme "For a majority of the kids kicking it on Fairfax... that was an escape for us. It wasn't just coming here to hangout. It was the shit we liked, and it was where we wanted to Escape our situation. We were getting out of South Central and finding a better space". Musician Tyler The Creator stated in an interview with GQ about his time on Fairfax when he was a kid: "We would always skate around the area it's [in L.A.]... I just gradually became friends with the guys who were working there. They would always just look out for us - me and my friends - when we were over there and about. They were like our big brothers over there". Fairfax was now in the early 2000s a staple for youth culture in Los Angeles. During the recession, Fairfax was no longer an L.A. thing, the notoriety of the stores and the location became global and everything became saturated. It was the first time that those independent brands were looked at like they were the new wave of fashion and culture, and as a result, it was the beginning of Fairfax becoming commercialized. With the rise of Odd Future, a former rap collective notably featuring: Frank Ocean and Tyler the creator, Fairfax began to lose its luster. Today the current Fairfax is more similar to Melrose than the Fairfax of the early 2000s.
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-aug-18-me-fairfax18-story.htmlhttps://thehundreds.com/blogs/content/fairfax-before-streetwear
To what extent can the integration of many streetwear brands on Fairfax be considered gentrification?
Does gentrification require people to be displaced for white people to move in?
Where does the story of Fairfax's transformation play into the story of Los Angele's gentrification issue overall?
Is the story of Fairfax's rapid commercialization represent a cautionary tale for the future "up and coming" neighborhoods of Los Angeles today?
What do you know about Fairfax's history as a cultural hub for young people and has it really lost its significance?
The integration of many streetwear brands on Fairfax reflects gentrification. With more high-end companies like L.A. Supreme moving in along with exclusive food restaurants, Fairfax is becoming more attractive to middle-class taste. I do not think gentrification requires people to be displaced for white people to move in. Fairfax metamorphosing from a predominantly Jewish community to a trendy, Melrose doppelganger displays the decreasing racial and economic diversification. However, living off of Melrose and being able to walk to Fairfax from my old house, I have observed that there still is a large number of the population that is Jewish including my next-door neighbor and some of the pedestrians walking around to their local church. Fairfax’s story of rapid commercialization does foreshadow the gentrification of other “up and coming” neighborhoods of Los Angeles today. I don’t really know that much about Fairfax’s history, but I doubt it has lost its significance by that much.
ReplyDeleteI think the opening of many trendy and exclusive streetwear brands on Fairfax (perhaps in addition to the still-present Jewish diaspora that exists there) represents the commercialization of Los Angeles and Los Angeles’s rise as a fashion and style capital more than anything. Although Los Angeles has always been central to the entertainment industry, the 80’s and 90’s marked a huge rise in demand for entertainment and production, and with it Los Angeles became trendier and more well known specifically for its presence in the industry. I don’t think this transition was necessarily gentrification at first; I’d imagine that streetwear brands and designer brands alike only made their home bases in LA because of the fashion industry’s overlap with entertainment. Today, actors are asked ‘who’ they’re wearing at the Oscars, which represents how central fashion is to the whole entertainment industry. However, I think a wave of gentrification started when more streetwear brands started to follow the originals in moving to Fairfax and took the places of older businesses that existed there. Looking at the gentrification on Fairfax is interesting since the street has become central to LA culture today; however, it is important to remember those who lived there before Fairfax was known as a place one goes to blow $300 on a T-shirt.
ReplyDeleteThe integration of many streetwear brands on Fairfax are examples of gentrification. These trendy, expensive stores took the place of many Jewish owned stores. As stated in the prompt, people like Simon Rutenberg, the owner of a Jewish record shop called Hatikvah Music, was unable to pay their rent. This increase in rent can be attributed to gentrification. I don't think gentrification requires people to be displaced for white people to move in. Fairfax's transformation is just one example of gentrification in Los Angeles. In Fairfax and many other neighborhoods in Los Angeles, people have been forced to leave their homes due to higher rents caused by an influx of wealthy people and businesses like Supreme, for example. Fairfax’s rapid commercialization reflects what has happened and continues to happen in many “up and coming” neighborhoods in Los Angeles today. I do not know that much about Fairfax’s history; however, I assume Fairfax is still making a lot of money off young people.
ReplyDeleteThe integration of many streetwear brands can certainly be considered gentrification, but I do not see it as the case on Fairfax. Gentrification is defined as, “the process of renovating and improving a house or district so that it conforms to middle-class taste.” Recently, its been more apparent that the middle class is conforming to what Fairfax has to offer. For example, I don’t think Fairfax was tailored to attracted students from Poly but my brother and his friends made countless trips to Fairfax throughout middle school. In Los Angeles, gentrification seemingly comes with a side of minorities getting cleared out for white people to move in. Moreover, this phenomenon has occurred in multiple places such as San Francisco. Although it is a common occurrence, I do not believe it is always necessary for gentrification. I think Fairfax is an exceptional example of the cultural change Los Angeles has gone through from the 20th to 21st. I think Angeleons have become more open to exploring other cultures which is apparent with the addition of the grove to the Fairfax area in 2002. I think Fairfax represents a cautionary tale for those who do not want to pay for overpriced rent, but other than that I think it serves as an example for real estate investors who are looking for the next neighborhood to produce copious amounts of money. My father attended Fairfax high school, so I have heard stories of Fairfax before my time and have been there many times throughout my life. When my father attended Fairfax, it was not close to what it was today and most of my father's friends were Jewish. By the time my brother started buying Diamond and Supreme in middle school, Fairfax as Tyler the Creator once saw it was fading away. Currently, Fairfax is mainstream and has certainly lost the significance it once held for people such as Tyler.
ReplyDeleteI don’t think you can reasonably equate a streetwear brand opening up a shop with immediate gentrification; however, I do believe that you can equate the two if you are talking about gentrification through a more long-term lens because, at least how I see it, gentrification is a process and not a singular event. We have heard a lot of different things in City of Angels so far about the so-called “first signs of gentrification” (like cupcake shops, coffee shops, high-end retail stores, etc.), but most areas that are deemed as “gentrified” in LA have more widespread patterns of change and development. For example, my neighborhood, Silver Lake, is on any list of gentrified LA neighborhoods because people aren’t just referring to one store or one block but an entire money-fueled conglomerate of change and development such as Starbucks Reserve, Sweetgreen, Alfred Coffee, and APC (to name just a few). I don’t think that to call an area “gentrified” there must be a trend of longterm residents (typically people of color) getting kicked out by wealthier, white people, but, as we have read about and probably witnessed in our own communities, this is usually the case based on larger societal and institutional issues that need to be tackled by people with more power than neighborhood council members. I had never heard of Fairfax’s transformation story until reading Nick’s post, but none of it surprised me or shocked me in any way. Yes, there were nuances to this story relative to the transformation stories of other areas in LA, but Fairfax’s story fit the LA-gentrification-mold of “area discovered —> potential seen —> profit wanted” quite well. I want to say that Fairfax’s transformation story should act as a waving red flag to other “untouched” neighborhoods, but I am not sure I could confidently say that the people of these “untouched” neighborhoods have considerable power over the invading, profit-hungry corporations. I don’t know much about Fairfax’s “history as a cultural hub for young people” other than the fact that my older brother and his middle school friend would frequent Fairfax almost every weekend to buy clothes at the same stores mentioned in Nick’s post. When analyzing whether or not Fairfax “really lost its significance” I think we have to look at who gets to reap the benefits of Fairfax today. Right now, the only people that are really benefiting off of Fairfax are the companies and corporations that are making boatloads of money on the daily, the customers who can afford what the companies are selling, and that small percentage of people who can actually afford Fairfax’s rent. So, yes, I think that Fairfax has lost its significance because it’s lost the things that make its special. In my opinion, there’s nothing warm and welcoming about an area lined with expensive clothing stores and unattainable housing.
ReplyDeletecorrection: So, yes, I think that fairfax has lost its significance because **it has** lost the things that make **it** special.
DeleteI believe that the integration of many streetwear brands on Fairfax is a form of gentrification. The integration of the popular streetwear brands on Fairfax changed the dynamic of that section of Los Angeles from a place where kosher markets, popular family restaurants, and neighborhood delis to yet another commercialized section of Los Angeles. As Nick mentioned, “Fairfax was no longer an L.A. thing… and everything became saturated,” by introducing these big-name brands in Fairfax, it lost its individuality and its uniqueness in Los Angeles. And now that it is booming, more developers will look to Fairfax to build their buildings and add their chain stores. I do not think gentrification requires people to be displaced for white people to move in, but I do think that many developers will find a place more attractive if that is the case. In the podcasts we listened to last week, the developer, David, kept urging/trying to force the residents of his newly bought apartment building to move out so that he could remodel the building, raise the rent, and sell it to whoever can pay the rent. Fairfax’s rapid commercialization reflects many of the “up and coming” neighborhoods and it is a perfect example of what will happen if we do not do anything about it. I do not know much about Fairfax, even though I wish I did. I would not say it has completely lost its cultural significance, but I do believe it has lost a large piece of its cultural significance. I would think that many people who saw what Fairfax was before it became commercialized would feel that it is missing something important.
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ReplyDeleteThe rise and decline of Fairfax represents a cautionary tale for new neighborhoods that are “on the rise”. In a matter of years, Fairfax went from being void of gentrification to one of the most popular spots for popular brands and businesses in the world. Due to the popularity of these businesses, minority owned companies and often times minority owned homes would be bought out by wealthier people, predominantly of the white white. While I do not believe that every neighborhood affected by gentrification will follow the path of Fairfax, I do think that many of these up and coming neighborhoods will see a sudden boom in appeal, which can result in permanent destruction for the previous owners and families who can not afford to live there anymore.
I think new streetwear on Fairfax is a type of gentrification, but not necessarily specific to the streetwear itself. I think if any "thing" had overtaken that area, whether it be coffee shops or record stores or dog washers, anything that amassed popularity with not only the surrounding population but with outsiders, thus drawing in more visitors and business in a touristy way, it would constitute a form of gentrification. I don't think gentrification always requires displacement - gentrification in my eyes is more an overtaking or redoing of an area, not necessarily kicking people out, just bringing in new, different "things" and people to an area and giving them power, whether it be economic or social. I think Fairfax is just one specific example out of hundreds in LA where an established, old street or neighborhood is changed to appease pop culture, the masses, or economic booms. The issue isn't Fairfax-specific or streetwear-specific, but more an issue of assumed power, in terms of gentrifiers using their power to their advantage, whether they're aware of it or not, to change the landscape of their surroundings.
ReplyDeleteI think the integration of streetwear brands on Fairfax Ave can be considered a catalyst to gentrification. In and of itself, streetwear does not "gentrify" Fairfax much more that it already has been. However, the Supreme, Huf, etc. storefronts serve as powerful magnets that draw (young) people from all around Los Angeles to a single avenue, and you better believe that has effects on the community at large. To cater to the same populations shopping at these streetwear stores, other types of businesses, like juice bars and vegan grills, likely started to pop up on and around Fairfax. The thing about Los Angeles proper is that it has already expanded horizontally as much as it probably can, so in recent decades we're seeing a lot more "vertical housing", such as apartments and condos that rely on multiple stories to get maximum square footage out of smaller lots. For this reason, just about every residential nook and cranny in the city is already spoken for, so it would logically follow that some people would have to be displaced for any new people to move in. The gentrification of Fairfax checks the "streetwear" box on the list of "types of gentrification", while other LA districts have checked boxes like "trendy coffee shops" and "white people yoga studios". The streetwear brands on Fairfax simply fall into the larger jigsaw puzzle of recently gentrified LA neighborhoods. Like I wrote about in the economics post, I believe people too often fall victim to the "change is inevitable" mindset, and therefore do not seek out ways to improve, or merely sustain, peoples standard of living. I think that the commercialization of any neighborhood should be carefully tracked and analyzed, to ensure that there is not more harm than good being done. Since most of my clothes I either received from Poly for free or bought out of necessity for a job or task, I know next to nothing about streetwear brands and the cultural significance of Fairfax Ave to local young people. However, like with any trend, it is probably loosing its significance as time goes on.
ReplyDeleteAt its core, gentrification is about changing the fabric of a neighborhood; stripping its culture in favor of a new one. It can be debated forever whether this is a good thing, and for who, but in the end, gentrification is synonymous with change. In that context, I think that the integration of streetwear brands onto Fairfax Avenue can be considered gentrification. It changed the street and the lives of those who had a connection to it. I don’t think gentrification requires displacement so white people can move in (though that is sometimes the case), though I do think for something to be considered gentrification it does require the changing of the audience to which the neighborhood serves. Fairfax is a perfect example of that. While the ethnic, or racial makeup of the street might not have changed drastically (there is still a strong Jewish presence), streetwear brands brought new patronage to Fairfax Avenue. Regarding how Fairfax fits into LA as a whole, I would say that it is just one example of how small change can move into large scale transformation. Fairfax’s metamorphosis started with just one streetwear shop and now represents the hub of youth culture. While I would not say that this acts as a “cautionary tale,” I would say that we have seen, and will see many transformations like that of Fairfax. Los Angeles has been changing since the time it was created and will continue to do so. The best we can do is try and preserve our history and culture while finding sustainable ways of moving into the future.
ReplyDeleteI do believe the integration of streetwear brands like Golf Le Fleur and Supreme reflects gentrification. Popular and expensive restaurants like “John and Vinny’s” have also moved onto Fairfax, and these “trendy” spots have caused an increase in property value on Fairfax. Due to the increase in rent, smaller Jewish owned companies have had to move off the street. I don’t believe that gentrification means that white people must come in and displace others, but I believe that gentrification means that the property value in the given location increases. I think that the commercialization and gentrification that occurred on Fairfax has and will continue to play out in many other LA neighborhoods where the property does not cost a lot. Fairfax is now known as a spot to see when visiting LA due to the popular restaurants and streetwear stores, so I believe that Fairfax has lost its original cultural significance but I think Fairfax serves as a hub for the new culture of “hypebeasts.”
ReplyDeleteNormally, the addition of a clothing shop would not strongly reflect gentrification. However, considering the brands that have locations in Fairfax and the tremendous impact they have on society, I feel that such stores do show signs of gentrification. Companies such as Supreme, Bape, and Golf le Fleur have the power to dictate major trends of our generation at will. At this point, the design that a brand might release has very little to do with its popularity; the name "Supreme" on an item of clothing is the aspect that is so desirable to countless teenagers. The allure of these brands has brought an immense amount of foot traffic to Fairfax Avenue, leading to the establishment of high end restaurants such as Animal and Jon and Vinny's. I find the gentrification of Fairfax especially interesting: since the stores only feature on a short stretch of the street, it is incredibly easy to see the line between old and new. Once outside of the clothing district, the large homeless population in Fairfax is immediately apparent. This contrast clearly demonstrates the fact that popular brands can have immense impacts on neighborhoods.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the opening of streetwear stores on Fairfax is "gentrification" and should be labelled as such. Additionally, I think streetwear on Fairfax is a contribution to making Los Angeles a fashion capital of the world. Although I don't believe that fashion is aimed at the middle class, the fashion on Fairfax is most certainly too expensive for lower class members to afford. For example, Supreme sells extremely high priced streetwear, almost competing with the prices of luxury brands such as Gucci and Hermes. This form of gentrification does not force minority groups out of their neighborhoods so that white people can build new homes on top of it. Instead, this form of gentrification makes nearby fashion too expensive to afford, forcing lower income families to find places to find clothing elsewhere. The story of streetwear brand taking over Fairfax is not a cautionary tale to new neighborhoods though. The reason is because many neighborhoods which are currently "up and coming" are gentrified.
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ReplyDeleteCould Fairfax Ave. and its surrounding streets comprise (one of?) the only Los Angeles neighborhoods to be "ethically gentrified?" With rents rising and streetwear storefronts attracting the kind of skater crowd that pays top dollar for grime, it's clear this neighborhood has been subject to gentrification. In an interview with a owner of three popular restaurants on Fairfax, James Starr reflects on what drew him to the area: there's a bizarre mix of people around here: old Jewish people, young skaters, creative types. It always felt like it was this cool melting pot." There's that metaphor again. So, should we celebrate the idea of the skaters and the Orthodox Jews living cooperatively, with Canter's and restaurants serving "ketchup leather" in the same neighborhood, or should we lament the closure of several synagogues since the arrival of Supreme in 2004? And is it any coincidence that the skaters and creatives have been able to "coexist" with an Ashkenazi community that does not offer the same circumstances for colorism as does a Latino or Black locality? I don't have answers to these questions, but I do know that after the Holocaust, Jews, Conservative, Orthodox, and Reform alike, moved to the neighborhood for a sense of community, security, and culture. Half a century later, we see physical divide between Jewish-owned businesses, synagogues, and residences, filled in by a population looking to capitalize on the ~raw grime~ of the area. This is where the obsession with a "melting pot" to swim around in becomes harmful. No one is mutually looking to the skaters for cool-factor inspiration because everyone knows it was stolen.
ReplyDeleteI think that the opening of streetwear brands, such as Supreme, on Fairfax avenue is an example of gentrification. Gentrification does not necessarily have to include the displacement of people of color for the more wealthy, newer, white people, but as seen is this example, is the displacement of long time Jewish shop owners who moved out due to the taking over of their shops on Fairfax by up and coming streetwear companies. Gentrification is not a war between colored and white, rather a battle of new wealth coming into the land of those who had settled their homes, businesses, etc. , in a place that is now being taken over.
ReplyDeleteThe addition of streetwear establishments within the Fairfax District has an underlying aspect of gentrification, but it seems much less deliberate than other cases of gentrification in Los Angeles. Gentrification seems more purposeful to me, while the development of Fairfax seemed like the willy-nilly addition of shops as the area became more and more popular. That being said, Fairfax presents an interesting case of inadvertent gentrification. It did not involve the addition of coffee shops and yoga studios, appealing to the modern "hipster," but instead the commercialization of the district, over time making the area increasingly popular and expensive. In other words, I don't think the shops themselves gentrified Fairfax (at first), I believe it was the reaction to the shops and the streetwear they sold that has eventually "gentrified" the neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteOne definition of gentrification is, “the process of renovating and improving a house or district so that it conforms to middle-class taste.” Based off of this definition and the demographic of people who tend to purchase the streetwear brands that have popped up in Fairfax, the integration of said brands is, to a great extent, considered gentrification. The fact that they are there and replaced other older businesses that thrived with the particular demographic of people that used to primarily live in Fairfax is gentrification in itself. By the definition stated earlier, I think that gentrification doesn’t necessarily require people to be removed, but that it more often than not comes as a side effect of the “renovating” and “improving” done in neighborhoods. Unfortunately, I think that yes, Fairfax may be foreshadowing of what’s to come for many neighborhoods that are trying to modernize, whether the inhabitants wish for it or not. As mentioned in class before, it is difficult to balance something like improving living conditions and keeping cost low. A lot of amenities that many consider to be improvements cost money to purchase and install, not to mention upkeep. Yes, I believe that a price jump of almost $1000 is unreasonable, but I also think that it is unreasonable to wish for improvements to be made at no cost. The people who make the products, who install the products, and who come to fix the products when they break all have families to support and expenses to cover as well. I do not know much about Fairfax’s history; therefore, I feel I can’t speak to whether or not it has lost its significance as a cultural hub.
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