Movie street style: ep.2, 'Fast and Furious'

Ride or die.

This is the motto that runs over all the films of Fast and Furious, the cinematographic saga with Vin Diesel and Paul Walker that redefined forever the concept of "Don't try this at home". The 9th installment (Fast & Furious 9 - The Fast Saga) should have been released on May 22nd, 2020, though it's one of the titles whose theatrical release has been postponed due to the COVID-19 emergency.

Born from an article about the New York's illegal street races, it's been a long ride from the first movie (The Fast and the Furious, 2001). Many names have been added to the cast during the years, from Dominic Toretto/Vin Diesel, Brian O'Conner/Paul Walker, Letty/Michelle Rodriguez, Mia/Jordana Bewsterto some of the most famous (and payed) stars in Hollywood: Dwayne Johnson, Eva Mendes, Gal Gadot (recently turned into Wonder Woman), Kurt Russell and Charlize Theron. With 8 movies (the 9th has been postponed, the 10th is on pre-production), 1 spin-off (Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw), 2 short movies and an upcoming themed park at Universal Studios, Fast and Furious is an important chapter of contemporary culture.

Following the first trilogy, mostly dedicated to the street race culture and motor lovers, from the fourth installment on the saga has turned into a sort of bumpkin James Bond, in which the special agents are not British, but American (which would be enough to make the Queen faint), they are natural born criminals with bleached hair and tank tops and women are not relegated to the role of ladies in the cry for help, but can also kick your ass.

Despite we're talking of a billion dollars franchise, the aesthetic behind Fast and Furious is quite provincial: it's the revenge of vulgarity. Its characters are fiercely boor and they dress as it would have been cool if they were in eight grade: women never gave up on low waist jeans, leather boots and wedges, whilst men flaunts themselves with a weird collection of white and black tank tops. Actually, almost every character in the saga has been spotted wearing a tank top, at least once.

Even when they try to be classy, we should really discuss about their choices.

For much they could be traveling to the most beautiful places in the world, driving the greatest and most expensive luxury cars and enjoying their happy hours on a private beach in Dubai, their biggest dream is always to come back to home sweet home and have a barbecue. Nothing is more important than family: couples never break up, friends who betrayed you are punishable by death and the ones who died in loyalty (SPOILER ALERT) could even come back from the after world.

It's obvious that cars have a special place in the saga. From the 1970's Dodge Charger (Dom's most symbolic car), the saga has featured some of the most beautiful sports car on the market made their debut: the Jaguar F-TYPE and the Ferrari FXX, as well as the Lykan HyperSport (there are just 7 of those in the entire world - and its worth 3 million dollars).

In the effort to find an aesthetic that is common to all the films, the third chapter stands by itself: The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift is an interlude in which the writers explored Tokyo street culture, with the latest drops from Jordan, Harajuku girls and soccer fields hanging in the sky.

As in any respected blockbuster, brands are in competition to be showed off in one of the movies. We've already gone through the street style seen in the entire filmography by Quentin Tarantino, not it's time to look at The Fast Saga. Between the ones that paid a lot of money and other that became part of the franchise without even intending to do it, here's a list of some of the most cool brands of streetwear as seen in Fast and Furious.

Converse

There's not a film in the saga where Brian (Paul Walker, sadly passed in 2013) does not wear Converse...

Vans

... or a pair of Vans Old Skool.

Nike

Among the sneakers, there's still place for some pair of Nikes. But it's quiete sporadic, considering that the real stars have been Jordans.

Jordan

They made their debut in The Fast and the Furios: Tokyo Drift, among the hype items "dealed" with which the main character's best friend is dealing at school. And he didn't miss a chance to style Jordan from head to toe.

Puma

Speaking of sportswear, Puma had its shot, too.

Under Armour

And how one can forget about Under Armour, styled by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson (and his daughter, and his daughter's friends) almost in every scene he's in.

Sunglasses

The choice is quite limited between Ray Ban, Oakley and Vogue Eyewear.

Watches

As seen in Tarantino's movies, Fast and Furious has a great passion for watches: when its heroes have to run, drive and shoot, they go for some practical Casio or a Luminox, but when the game gets hard they show off Carl F. Bucherer and Jaeger Le-Coultre.

Kangol

Always as seen in Tarantino's movies, what's better than a Kangol hat to celebrate early 2000s?

Von Dutch

Actually, there is something better to celebrate early 2000s: Von Dutch.

Technology plays an important part in the saga. Other than showing off a lot of luxury cars, Toretto's gang always have to deal with some of the best high-tech accessories to accomplish their mission. Some items from the first movies might already seem obsolete (as the Motorola walkies, or the Sony portable Playstation), but in the latest installments we've seen some of the most hype devices - also matching with a streetwear style: IPhones and IPads, Bose and Beats headsets, Samsung smartphones and next-generation computers.

Finally, almost every chapter of The Fast Saga ends with a barbecue with friends and family. As real Americans, the characters only drinks beer and Coca Cola, sometimes a Pepsi. Speaking of beer, in the latest movie a Budweiser has been spotted.

But there is no Dominic Toretto without his Corona ("You can have any brew you want, as long as it’s a Corona", he says to Brian in the first movie). The gag has become familiar during the films, though it's ironic that Corona actually never payed to be an official sponsor of the franchise. Despite good habits are hard to die, the Mexican beer is missing from the last installment The Fate of the Furious. Most sentimental fans argue that it's a choice to mark a new "mature" direction, following the tragic loss of Paul Walker and his beloved Brian.