How Skateboard Culture Influenced These Fashion Girls

As women who skateboard, Briana King and Danielle Melendez know the importance of building a supportive and nonjudgmental group within a community that is stereotypically male-dominated. So when the two met through a mutual friend two years ago, they quickly became inseparable — Briana, 26, had just moved to NYC (via Australia and Los Angeles) and was looking to find her place in the new city, and Lower East Side native Danielle, 22, was just the person to show her around the urban jungles of Manhattan and Brooklyn on skateboard. On summer days, you might catch these best friends modeling together if they’re not trying out new tricks at the skate park or roaming the streets downtown.

From spending all that time together, it’s no surprise then that Briana and Danielle have and continue to influence each other. While both of their unique styles and sensibilities are decidedly tomboy (it’s practical, after all), they’ve evolved to explore new ways of standing out from the ankle pant and T-shirt crowd with bright hues, unabashedly girly silhouettes, and distinct hairstyles. Ahead, in PUMA’s classic California Exotic sneakers, the duo outfit themselves in looks that pay homage to the other. As best friends do, see why they credit each other for shaping their life experiences for the better, on and off the board.