When the needle played records on DJ Kool Herc’s turntable, launching hip-hop 50 years ago, the sound spurred a new culture in the arts, music and fashion.
The verbal exchange of hip-hop with garments can be noticed in the song titles: “My Adidas” through Think Run-D. M. C. and Migos’ first hit, “Versace. ” But the emerging musical genre, the taste of East and West Coast and South Coast communities of color has been brought onto the mainstream American fashion scene.
Airbrush artists have remodeled simple T-shirts and hoodies into bespoke pieces with exclusive colors and illustrations. The rappers proudly sported their names on necklaces, rings and belt buckles. Non-music brands have hip-hop staples besides Kangol and Adidas.
“Personalization and personalization are like the essence of hip-hop fashion, but the spirit of hip-hop,” says Isabel Flower, co-author of “The Nameplate: Jewelry, Culture, and Identity. “(There is a) the importance of expressing a singular identity in a way that no one else can or no one else has. “
Hip-hop’s roots were planted among black and brown working-class communities, where surplus military and workwear retail stores served pieces like camouflage uniforms, Dickies, Carhartt and Timberland overalls. In the early iterations of hip-hop fashion, trends were not explained through the artist, artists reflected their community.
“For me, it wasn’t like there was an artist running down the fashion route. I think a lot of other people seem to see that. Hip-hop is a culture,” Elena Romero, co-writer of “Fresh Fly Fabulous: 50 Years of Hip-Hop Style,” said. “We were all little kids. Many of us were simply reinterpreting styles that were popular at the time and making them our own. “
Today, personalization artists resemble sketches written in luxury workshops or an intricate design by a prominent jeweler. But years ago, it thrived at the grassroots level.
Just C Greenidge, the artistic director of Jay-Z’s Roc Nation clothing brand, Paper Planes, recalls the early moments of hip-hop fashion when airbrush shirts were a must. But before running his own brand, he imitated the clothes he coveted. with what I had.
“I started portraying on clothes,” Greenidge says. I definitely didn’t know anything about airbrushing, but I would stop by my local art fountain shop, buy acrylic paint, and go home. Everyone sought to be individual, whereas now it is as if they are all for the same thing. “
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Famed designer Dapper Dan created traditional styles for stars in the ’80s at his 24-hour Harlem boutique, providing bespoke looks to hip-hop’s leading voices and recreating luxury designs from Louis Vuitton, Gucci and MCM.
His store operated until 1992, when trademark infringement litigation forced it to close. music video “Best Friend”.
“The role I play in hip-hop fashion is to translate what the artist wants to say in terms of how you dress so that their look matches their message. I love doing that,” said Dapper Dan, whose birth name is Daniel Day. “I have collections, however, I would never let collections interfere with sewing (or) what I call ‘Street Couture’ or ‘Us Couture. ‘”
Like hip-hop, the music of popular culture from the 90s to the 2000s, many artists left the microphone to create their own fashion brands.
Wu-Tang Clan invented Wu Wear, 50 Cent added G-Unit to his empire, and Sean “Diddy” Combs Sean John, earning the hip-hop mogul the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s Menswear of the Year award in 2004.
“Once those artists learned the strength of their own celebrity, to be a logo themselves and to realize the kind of sales that happen at their concerts, (they wanted) to have more about the dollars besides their image,” Romero says.
But it was harder to maintain a logo than to create one. Many have gained rapid traction in their heyday but have not maintained their popularity. Sowmya Krishnamurthy, a journalist for hip-hop and the upcoming book, “Fashion Killa: How Hip-Hop Revolutionized Haute Couture” (released Oct. 10) says many logos have collapsed because “the market has become so oversaturated and a lot of the garments weren’t that different. it can’t last long. “
Greenidge was the outerwear designer for Rocawear, Jay-Z’s first fashion venture in collaboration with Damon Dash, in 2006 and remembers being “back then” and how the logo failed to achieve its immediate popularity of the 2000s.
“With the meteoric expansion of what the logo can do. . . It’s almost unmanageable to maintain it and maintain the trajectory,” he says.
Krishnamurthy says brands like Rocawear “emerged out of necessity” when major fashion brands shunned artists when they presented partnerships. As “hip-hop has the new celebrity”, the sentiment of fashion gatekeepers has changed.
“The luxury brands and prestigious brands of the time still had no selection to embrace and endorse these new musical characters,” says Romero.
Modern fashion weeks see the presence of rising and established hip-hop stars.
“These are rappers sitting in the front row. Every year at the Met Gala, other people need to know what Cardi B is going to wear,” Krishnamurthy said. “She’s probably one of the most exciting figures in hip-hop. . . She’s still experimenting and has sewing week as her pillar. “
However, before the seats opened. Hip-hop sported luxury labels as a sign of status. Dan, who has “cajoled” many artists with Gucci symbols and traditional leathers, said hip-hop fashion is about “dwarfing” its peers.
“You know, if you have a Gucci jacket, okay, great. Oh man, now you’re safe,” says Dan.
Despite several controversies within fashion, which led brands such as Gucci and Balenciaga to be called upon to appropriate, hip-hop has also functioned as a vector of change.
“If it wasn’t for hip-hop fashion, we wouldn’t see diversity on the runway. Where else have we seen bodies of all sizes and shades?” said Romero. “It all came here from hip-hop culture, because our view of good looks is very broad and very different from the classic view of good looks. “
In February, Louis Vuitton named rapper, manufacturer and tycoon Pharrell Williams as the men’s brand’s next artistic director. This move marked a fusion of hip-hop and fashion at one of the highest peaks in the industry.
Pharrell’s first show was packed with prominent hip-hop guests: Jay-Z conducted at the after party, Beyoncé performed despite touring Europe, and Clipse duo Pusha T and No Malice walked the runway. Hip-hop artists at the top, however, for hip-hop fashion to last the next 50 years, fashion experts say investments must be made for the next generation.
“We are full of talented and artistic designers of color. But they still don’t know how to get the financial capital,” says Romero. At some point, no matter who the designer is, the client will take him to the task. “
Krishnamurthy adds, “I would like someone who comes from hip-hop to have a line of the same call that stands the test of time. I think it would be a wonderful kind of vital next step for the next 50 years and beyond. “