Influence of Hip Hop Culture on Fashion
From the 1970s, hip hop culture has played an instrumental role in influencing the fashion trends globally as significant players in the hip hop industry enters in partnerships or starts fashion lines and effectively sell these apparel products to their huge fans. Hip hop culture’s influence on fashion has been evolving since the 1980s when individuals artists such as Fat Boys, Big Daddy Kane, LL Cool, and Funk Master Flash created fashion through a partnership with Adidas to make an authentic fashion statement globally (Darralynn, 2020). Therefore, hip hop culture, through its artists, has taken advantage of the massive following and influence they enjoy in the entertainment industry to either partner with fashion outlets or start their fashion lines, a venture that has brought a paradigm shift in the fashion industry since the 1970s.
Since the start of hip hop culture-themed fashion products in the 1970s, various artistes have continued to revolutionize the fashion industry through the opening of clothing lines, partnership with other fashion outlets, or acting as ambassadors of given wear. The most notable hip hop artists that have created their fashion line are Kanye West (Yeezy fashion line), Rihanna (FENTY), and Jay-Z (Rocawear) (Banham, 2020). Based on personal opinion, the artists are seemingly using the fashion lines, and partnerships to increase their incomes as well as entrench the hip hop culture through a distinct identity (Darralynn, 2020). One distinctive athlete who has marketed the hip hop fashion lines is LeBron James. Through partnerships with Yeezy and Kanye West, James has featured with multiple Yeezy products while promoting his iconic and hip hop inspired number six jersey.
When hip hop fashion was on the rise, there was a clear-cut distinction between the East Coast and West Coast rappers. In the East Coast, rappers‘ taste of fashion was mostly inspired by Mafioso as they preferred gang-inspired and bad attitude clothing (Banham, 2020). On the other hand, the West Coast rappers preferred slim and tight clothing compared to their counterparts in the East.
East Coast Rappers (Banham, 2020)
West Coast Rappers
Hip hop culture inspired fashion.
References
Banham, T. (2020). The Complete Story Of How Hip-Hop Changed The Way We Dress. Retrieved 30 April 2020, from https://www.fashionbeans.com/article/hip-hop-style/
Darralynn, T. (2020). Hip-Hop Has Shaped Our Style More Than We Know. Retrieved 30 April 2020, from https://www.askmen.com/style/fashion_trends/how-hip-hop-influences-fashion.html
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