A passion for fashion is the up-front marketing buzz phrase used by Belgian clothing company B&C.

Beechfield's new B38 Urban Army Cap is strong on streetwise styling and imbued with upfront urban appeal.

Popularised by fashion prediction companies - urban lifestyle is an amalgamation of urban and 'street' influences such as skatewear and pop culture - diluted into high street fashion it is not surprising that trendy casual styles defined as 'urban wear' would filter it's way into the supply clothing industry.  With emphasis on youth culture, comfort and practicality these styles would often not look a miss on the high street. 

Fruit of the Loom's new Hooded Ts have transferred straight out of retail and into the imprint market in 2009. The fashion favourites are perfect for music merchandise and pre-print collections, and respond to customers' calls for a modern T-shirt design with all the street cred' of a hoodie.

Life style trends influence fashion and increasingly affect how we design and develop styles for the corporate wear market.  The colour matters as does the fabric type. Whether at work or play we want to feel comfortable and look good.

Jerzees Colours is an entire urban wear collection taking the 3 corner stone styles of T-shirt, Polo and Sweat and expanding them across a range of colours, shapes and fabrics.

What can be more urban than Hoodies? They may have got some bad press in recent times but for sheer coolness and practicality they are the thing to be in and be seen in, and they have never been more popular than in todays' urban culture.

The vast amount of products out there means that by offering something different you can make yours stand out from the rest, says distributor Lea Sportswear.

The Mantis World collection offers a choice of fashion-forward styles for men and women, in fabrics and colours that reflect the latest trends on the high street. The one item of clothing that is found in every wardrobe - the trusted T-shirt - has had a fashion make-over, with no less than six being introduced to the Mantis 2009 collection. 

Since its launch at the Printwear and Promotion show last year, Orotoro has gone from strength to strength, says the company.

The Urbanwear is a fast growing sector and is particularly relevant to the college / university market.  This is a sector which relies on styles that are fresh and fashion focussed and Prestige stocks a wide selection in this field.

PenCarrie's portfolio of over 50 brands includes many that directly target the youth market with urbanwear.  Most active in this area, says the company, are Wombat and Skinnifit with their sometimes quirky, always relaxed casualwear; plus AWDis whose Just Hoods collection (now expanded with Zoodies) is both colourful and cool.   Bags and caps are a necessary part of the urbanwear look and PenCarrie offers plenty of choice from both BagBase and Beechfield Headgear.

Urban styles and earthy colours including camo make up the exciting range of headwear products available from the Result Headwear Company.

Urban-wear is still maintaining its popularity despite negative press and it's association with "thugs". This is the sign of a good, strong trend and it's easy to see why it's so popular.

Wombat's urban range is an amalgam of raw edged, pigment dyed, vintage washed and distressed casual clothing that exudes individuality.  "This is urbanwear that makes a statement," and is ideal for independent outlets keen to create their own cult clothing range," says Andrea Charteris of PenCarrie.  She adds, "Wombat's funky styles - whether tees, polos, hoodies, sweats, rollies or combats - lend themselves to becoming must-have items.