#SFSTYLE WRAPS UP ’14
This year, the style and culture of the Bay Area led much of the national conversation. Casual dressing came full circle, as backpacks, track pants and sneakers moved from Silicon Valley cubicles to Union Square storefronts. Changes in the higher-ups at Gap Inc. both threaten and promise a makeover for America’s iconic supplier of classic sportswear. If the new faces on Union Square and Fillmore Street, and at San Jose’s Valley Fair, are any indication, Bay Area money is increasingly invested in luxury labels (see: Louboutin, Valentino, Balenciaga and friends). It’s worth noting that we’re now counting billionaires rather than millionaires.
It was a banner year for both feminism and female performers, as bums (Mad Bum and otherwise) and breasts (“free the nipple!”) reached mainstream visibility. In the gossipinducing world of celebrities, the expected boldfaced names did the unexpected: George Clooney settled down; Kim Kardashian made the cover of Vogue; Jennifer Lawrence called selling stolen nude pictures a sex crime; and, surrounded by their six children, Brad and Angie got married. Fashion’s new guard was populated by Millennial new faces that have graduated from the ranks of promising to bankable (see: San Francisco’s own Alexander Wang).
Digital dating moved from computer screens to cell phones, as the Bay Area’s vexing male-to-female ratios and a surge in mobile dating apps inspired a conversation on mating in the modern age. Speaking of mobility, wearable tech — the ultimate form-versus-function pairing — became a reality way beyond Google Glass. With the Apple Watch and devices dedicated to the quantified self, the “aesthetically desirable” element of the equation seems to be slowly, hopefully, creeping into relevance.
The result? We’re all just a little more mobile, plugged in and hooked up. Take a look at 2014’s highlights, and here’s to a thoroughly stimulating 2015.
P.S. The Style section, along with www.sfchronicle.com and www.sfgate.com, all got makeovers. See our full gallery of 2014 highlights at www.sfgate.com/style.