hypebeast

noun

hype·​beast ˈhīp-ˌbēst 

plural hypebeasts

slang, often disparaging

: someone who is devoted to acquiring fashionable items and especially streetwear often for the purpose of gaining social approval

The clothes: naturally, they are a hypebeast's dream …

—Alice Newbold

… I used to be an assistant manager at Finish Line, and low-key that turned me into a hypebeast. It got me into the shoes and the culture and everything.

—Ryan Lee, quoted in The New York Times

—often used before another noun

… If you're going for true nostalgia, maybe don't make the toy a bland, lifeless partnership with a hypebeast fashion company …

—Jeremy Scheider

… in 2012, the fashion industry was on the cusp of being transformed by hypebeast culture. It was the year of Air Yeezy IIs, Virgil Abloh's PYREX VISION, and collaborations where streetwear and high fashion collided in ways that would define the decade. In this climate, sneakers became cultural currency.

—Mail & Guardian

Word History

Etymology

hype entry 1 + beast

First Known Use

2005, in the meaning defined above