When you think of streetwear, you tend to imagine logo tees, caps and a boy wearing them. Most streetwear brands are aimed at men, and if they do have a girls range, it tends to differ completely to what they design for boys. A woman trying to change this is London based Zahra Swanzy. Zahra created her label Swanz Fly in 2008, born out of her frustration for the lack of attention to women’s streetwear, “There wasn’t any streetwear or street-inspired looks for women at all. I used to wear men’s clothes and I always used to like my boyfriend’s baggy clothes, but mainly I feel like women’s clothes tend to be very tight most of the time. For daywear and casual wear, it’s just not really what you want.” Designing her clothes with a woman’s figure in mind, Swanzy’s latest collection is called Heavy. “Heavy is old London slang for cool. It’s really a feeling I felt when I was a rowdy teenager, but it’s also about strength and weightiness. I just felt like women are not often seen as strong figures and we are as strong, if not stronger than men; we have to give birth and shit. At the moment, I’m really into women empowerment especially with my youth work, so that’s how it’s come out in my clothes. Original streetwear was all about expression and oppression, so that’s what Heavy is.” Check out the full lookbook here LOOKBOOK.com, and read more about Zahra’s work with young girls here londonpositive.org.uk

Text by Beccy Hill

Tags: Swanz Fly, Zahra Swanzy