Wednesday, October 7, 2009

FLIPSIDE - FRESH TO DEATH

In a city where violent crime often keeps it circulating in the top three of the most dangerous cities list yearly, Detroit is also a place where fashion thrives. Is it a possibility that the two can somehow correlate one another?

Detroit is a city where hip-hop fashion is apparent. Alligator shoes, Dobb hats, Steve Harvey suits, white tees, Enyce jeans, Timberland boots, Prada shoes, Louis bags – the list could go on forever. In the same breath, Detroit’s crime rate is just as apparent. With the downturn in today’s economy, these fashion statements may not only make headlines in the fashion magazines, they may make headlines in the local newspaper after a robbery or robbery attempt. The Detroit Police Department revealed that of 100,000 victims, 736 were robbery victims in 2008 in a statement released by the Crime Analysis Unit.

With numbers like those, it is conceivable that there is a direct correlation between the two. It almost seems obvious that hip-hop fashion creates a setting for violence. Unfortunately, that is the idea people have of Detroit before they even visit the city. The thing that people fail to realize is that while Detroit’s economy has been going down, oddly enough, the crime rate has been going down as well. The city’s fashion scene has been steadily emerging as Detroit forges its way into the national fashion scene more and more everyday, uplifting a city that has dealt with its share of failures both economically and criminally.
Major cities often have higher crime rates, but mainly due to the high volume of people who live, work and play in those heavily populated places - not the clothes they choose from the closet that morning. Catch ya’ on the FLIPSIDE

No comments: