Legea, Givova, Zeus: the new Italian streetwear

Thanks to a new wave of Italian rap, we are experiencing a season of subversion of all the previous aesthetic-stylistic codes. The new rap scene, in particular, Speranza and Massimo Pericolo, recovers the discussion about the need for more street credibility, so dear to the rap purists and interrupted for some years in favor of more vanity by the rappers and trappers.

If in "Cavallini" of the Dark Polo Gang, the references to fashion turned around the luxury of Burberry, Ferragamo, Gucci, now it's Givova, Legea and Zeus who help rappers to talk about hate, authorities, poverty, province, and jail.

The suits describe the desire not to lie to one's origins and not a way to get attention by forcibly clashing against the trend of the world to which belongs themselves. Fashion is not a priority for Speranza and Pericolo, the suits are just photographs of poverty and metaphors of life in prison.

As Emanuele Mongiardo wrote about Fourdomino:

"With the focus on clothing and jail, Speranza focuses on the aesthetics of a certain type of crime, perhaps more adult than the classic trap, made up of guys who pretend to wear bright Nike suits."

Made in Campania

The characteristic of all three brands is that they were born in Campania, starting from the supply of amateur teams. Legea was born in the early 1990s from a textile factory in Pompei, owned by Antonio and Elena Acanfora. The brand has expanded over the years to other sports until its turning point in 2003 when it became the official sponsor of Naples. Now it is a partnership among others of Palermo, Livorno, Reggina, and Nationals team such as Bosnia, Montenegro, and South Korea, which brought the brand to the 2010 World Cup.

Givova is born from a disagreement between the Acanfora brothers, with a story that recalls, with the right proportions, those that led the Dassler brothers to found PUMA and adidas.

In the last few weeks, Givova has been in the spotlight because of the problem he had with the Venezuelan national team, which found itself having to play against Catalonia wearing jersey bought at Decathlon, considerable damage to the image of the Scafati brand, sponsor as well of Chievo Verona, Salernitana and Carpi.

The youngest of these new Italian street brands is Zeus Sport, born in 1999 and current sponsor of Frosinone, for which he also designed the project for a Classic Shirt, in line with the choices of the biggest sportswear brands. The slogan reminds us that Zeus "dresses the gods", a calling card for applause for the brand based in Torre Annunziata (Naples).

From the stalls and warehouses of the amateur leagues, Legea, Givova, and Zeus are taking over the music scene. The stylistic manifesto of the new rap is, in fact, the song of Speranza entitled Givova.
Wearing these brands is a social class choice, the football shirt is no longer the hype of PSG and Nike x Off-White, but those that smell of acrylic and plastic, a smell in the memory of anyone who has played in any provincial team.

The references to fashion are not so explicit in Massimo Pericolo and do not hide the desire to "shop at Gucci", however, the Zeus suit worn in the "7 miliardi" video is emblematic. Usually, the trends start from the big cities, now the aesthetic change starts precisely from the province, from cities like Caserta and Varese, and from what is a need for low-cost comfort before being a fashion statement. The new Italian streetwear has broken an almost uncontrollable phenomenon of emulation, without any protest towards those who until now have pursued a different style path like the aforementioned DPG or Sfera Ebbasta, but only for consistency with respect to their own background.