The Instagram-friendly designers to invest in before everyone else does.

Streetwear is a tricky game. The relative clout of a streetwear label hinges on the fanfare it generates, but there’s always a limit to the hype, and being overexposed is often worse than not being known at all. Still, some of the most exciting streetwear brands are the ones that aren’t known across the board, and there’s pleasure to be had in discovering (not to mention wearing) a streetwise label that has managed to thus far dodge the masses. The problem, of course, is where to start. The streetwear side of Instagram might be glutted with influencers peddling the wares of the labels who are sponsoring them, but finding seriously under-the-radar brands (and ones with real integrity) takes some work. Thankfully, MR PORTER’s been truffling for some of the lesser-known streetwear brands out there. Find some of our favourites below.

First, a disclaimer: ALYX is not what most fashion insiders would consider under-the-radar. It is, conversely, one of the most buzzed-about streetwear brands in the fashion industry at the moment, with its founder Mr Matthew Williams being touted alongside Messrs Kim Jones and Virgil Abloh as one third of the triumvirate of men currently at the helm of menswear. For those not working inside the fashion industry, however, ALYX’s ascent has been so swift that its name hasn’t yet reached the mainstream, and its influence is absolutely worth taking notice of. Making aggressively utilitarian pieces in technical fabrics, its style is rooted in skate culture with military twist. Look out in particular for the brand’s belt which comes in the style of a rollercoaster seatbelt. Oh, and in case you wondered, it’s technically pronounced “Aleeks”.

In many ways, Japanese streetwear is in a league of its own. Originally birthed out of the Ura-Harajuku area in the 1980s and 1990s by brands such as Neighborhood, BAPE, Hysteric Glamour and Undercover, and later being imagined through brands like Cav Empt and Doublet (which was founded in 2012 and won the LVMH prize earlier this year). For one of the most unsung players in the Japanese streetwear game however, Flagstuff is the brand to know. Founded by Mr Nobuyuki Murayama in 2014, the brand takes its cues from Americana, but its most noticeable references are to the Japanese anime and futuristic Neo-Tokyo cityscapes, which are often printed onto its contemporary-cut tees and hoodies. This is one for the streetwear fans that enjoy wearing a brand before anyone else.

Self-expression often gets lost in the swathes of identical streetwear queued up for by hypebeast teens, but there’s an LA denim label that’s looking to change that. RtA stands for “Road to Awe”, and is all about expressing your own style through the clothes rather than emulating somebody else. The distressed sweatshirts, jeans and T-shirts designed by the brand are quieter than some of its streetwear peers, but that’s part of RtA’s individual charm. A cult favourite among LA’s style elite, the brand specialises in loose, comfortable fits and soft fabrics that manage to effortlessly capture Hollywood style without shouting about it. And when most streetwear brands are yelling over each other for attention, that’s something worth listening to.