![]() Then came a Saturday Night Live TV performance by Snoop Dogg in March 1994. "He was co-signing the brand, and it gave us credibility." In the hip hop world, co-signing is when a usually successful artist endorses or supports another artist. "It was epic," Hilfiger tells BBC Culture. The single featured a rap by Maxwell Dixon that explicitly shouts out the US designer Tommy Hilfiger. In 1992, Mary J Blige released What's the 411? as part of her debut album of the same name. Hip-hop lyrics have long declared the importance of fashion in the genre. Williams also continues a 50-year-long tradition of hip hop significantly influencing the fashion world. And, with it, Pharrell joins a line of famous black musicians who have dived head-first into the fashion industry, including Rihanna with the luxury brand Fenty and the lingerie brand Savage X Fenty Kanye West with Yeezy Beyonce with Ivy Park and Tyler the Creator's Golf le Fleur. While this is not Williams's first foray into the fashion world – he has collaborated with Louis Vuitton twice before, and with Chanel, Moncler and Adidas Originals – his role at Vuitton is his most significant fashion moment yet. It included vibrant faux-fur jackets, the brand's logo in bright colours across garments, and various camouflage pieces created by modifying Louis Vuitton's signature Damier print. Four months later, the revered musician and producer showcased his first collection at Paris Fashion Week. ![]() Sarah Cutler ’16 is a student communications assistant for the College of Human Ecology.In February it was announced that Pharrell Williams would be the new men's creative director of Louis Vuitton – a role that became vacant after the unexpected death of the US fashion designer Virgil Abloh in November 2021. “He’s seen the entire evolution of the industry.” “It was amazing to talk to him – he’s been there since the beginning,” Lewis said. While conducting her research, Lewis interviewed Simmons, co-founder of the Def Jam music label and founder of Phat Farm and the newly launched Argyleculture fashion label. Tastemakers like Russell Simmons, Jay-Z and Sean Combs have “adopted a more sophisticated, tailored look that contrasted urban roots but signified the entrepreneurial success of some of hip-hop’s iconic celebrities,” the authors write. Hip-hop was born nearly 40 years ago, and its fashions are growing up, too. “It can be very designer brand-focused or emphasize specific outfit elements – it’s a symbolic mix represented through the clothing.” “I look at men’s hip-hop fashion as a mixture evolving from very casual clothes to ‘remixing’ with more classic menswear by adding some of its own nontraditional touches,” Lewis said. At the same time, the hip-hop subculture embraced the country club luxuries of more venerable brands, a trickle-down of features not usually marketed to urban youth. During the 1990s, this “homeboy” look was adopted by major fashion labels, trickling up to become part of the mass culture. ![]() The paper describes hip-hop’s “powerful mix of influences, especially for clothing” and how its wide appeal demonstrates “two theories of fashion diffusion: both trickle-down and trickle-up.” Though it lacks a singular look, hip-hop style initially stood out with tracksuits, sporting gear, oversized T-shirts, overalls and combat boots. In the paper, “The Maturation of Hip Hop’s Menswear Brands: Outfitting the Urban Consumer,” Lewis and co-author Natalie Gray, CEO and founder of online retailer Stylekick, detail how hip-hop clothing has permeated popular culture and what differentiates its enduring brands (Rocawear, Phat Farm and Sean John) from less successful efforts. “Hip-hop has become a lifestyle that’s no longer just associated with African-Americans or Latinos,” Lewis said. Just as rap music rules the charts, hip-hop menswear brands hang alongside iconic labels like Polo and Tommy Hilfiger on department store racks nationwide. ’09, assistant professor of fiber science and apparel design in the College of Human Ecology. Russell Simmons on the runway at the debut of his new menswear line Argyleculture.Įmerging from an underground subculture of South Bronx black and Latino youth in the 1970s, hip-hop – characterized by rap music, DJing, breakdancing and graffiti art – has become a mainstream, global influence, according to a Cornell researcher.Ī prime example of hip-hop’s rise from fringe culture to mass appeal is its prominence in American men’s fashion, according to a new paper in the November issue of Fashion Practice co-authored by Tasha Lewis, Ph.D.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |