Hip-hop fashion is a distinctive style of
dressA feature of nearly all modern human societies is the wearing of clothing or clothes, a category encompassing a wide variety of materials that cover the body....
originating with African-American youth on the scene of
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the municipality of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123.445 inhabitants...
,
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
,
ChicagoChicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and with more than 2.8 million people, the 3rd largest city in the United States...
, Philadelphia, The
San Francisco Bay AreaThe San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, or the Yay Area, is a metropolitan region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses large cities such as San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and...
,
DetroitDetroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Wayne County. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwest region of the United States. Located north of Windsor, Ontario, Detroit is the only major U.S. city that looks south to Canada. It was founded...
, Atlanta and Miami among others. Each city contributed various elements to its overall style seen worldwide today. Hip hop
fashionFashion is the style and custom prevalent at a given time. In its most common usage however, "fashion" describes the popular clothing style. Many fashions are popular in many cultures at any given time. Important is the idea that the course of design and fashion will change more rapidly than the...
complements the expressions and attitudes of hip hop culture in general. Hip hop fashion has changed significantly during its history, and today it is a prominent part of popular fashion as a whole across the world and for all ethnicities.
Early 1980s to Mid-1980s
In the early 1980s, established
sportswearSportswear is clothing, including footwear, worn for sport or exercise.Typical sport-specific garments include short pants, tracksuits, T-shirts, polo shirts and trainers. Specialised garments include wet suits and salopettes. It also includes some underwear, such as the jockstrap...
and fashion brands, such as
Le Coq SportifLe Coq Sportif is a French company producing sports equipment such as shoes, shorts, and T-shirts. It was founded in 1948 by Émile Camuset , although Camuset had been designing for many years prior...
,
KangolKangol is a clothing company famous for its headwear.Founded in Cleator, Cumbria, England in 1938 by Jaques Spreiregen, Kangol produced hats for workers, golfers, and especially soldiers...
,
AdidasAdidas AG is a German-based sports apparel manufacturer and part of the Adidas Group, which consists of Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-adidas golf company, and Rockport. Besides sports footwear, the company also produces other products such as bags, shirts, watches, eyewear and other sports...
,
Pro-KedsIn 1949, Keds introduced a line of athletic shoes called Pro-Keds, which were intended for more serious use, specifically for basketball. Over the years many basketball players and teams wore Pro-Keds shoes while playing...
and attached themselves to the emerging hip hop scene.
During the 1980s, hip-hop icons wore clothing items such as brightly colored name-brand
tracksuitA tracksuit is an article of clothing consisting of two parts: trousers and a jacket. It was originally intended for use in sports, mainly as what athletes wore over competition clothing and would take off before competition. In modern times, it has become commonly worn in other contexts...
s,
sheepskinSheepskin is the hide of a sheep, sometimes also called lambskin or lambswool.Sheepskin may also refer to:* Parchment, a thin material made from calfskin, sheepskin or goatskin** Diploma, originally made of sheepskin...
and leather bomber jackets,
ClarksC. and J. Clark Ltd, better known as Clarks, is a British shoe manufacturer and retailer based in Street, Somerset, England. For the year ended 31 January 2008 the company made a profit of £111 million on sales of £1,053 million, making it the 35th largest private company in the UK...
shoes, Britishers AKA British Walkers and sneakers (usually Pro-Keds, Puma, and Adidas-brand shelltoes and often with "phat" or oversized shoelaces). Popular haircuts ranged from the early-1980s
Jheri curlThe Jheri curl is a hairstyle that was common and popular in the African American community. Invented by and named for Jheri Redding, the Jheri curl gave the wearer a glossy, loosely curled look...
to the late-1980s
hi-top fadeA hi-top fade is a style of haircut where hair on the sides is cut off or kept very low and hair on the top of the head is very long . The hi-top has been a trend symbolizing the Golden Era of Hip Hop and urban contemporary music during the late 1980s and the early 1990s...
popularized by
Will SmithWillard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. is an American actor, film producer and rapper. He has enjoyed success in music, television and film. Newsweek has called him the most powerful actor on the planet...
(The Fresh Prince) and Christopher "Kid" Reid of
Kid 'n PlayKid 'n Play was a hip-hop and comedy duo from New York City that was popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The duo comprised Christopher "Kid" Reid and Christopher "Play" Martin...
, among others.
Popular accessories included large eyeglasses (Cazals or Gazelles), Kangol
bucket hatA bucket hat, or fishing hat, is a soft cotton hat with a wide and downwards sloping brim which is worn by both men and women. The brim offers shade from the sun for the eyes and face. They are usually made from heavy-duty cotton fabrics such as denim, or canvas...
s, nameplates, name belts, and multiple rings. Heavy gold jewelry was also popular in the 1980s; heavy jewelry in general would become an enduring element of hip hop fashion. In general, men's jewelry focused on heavy gold chains and women's jewelry on large gold earrings. Performers such as
Kurtis BlowCurtis Walker , is better known by his stage name Kurtis Blow, is one of the first commercially successful rappers and the first to sign with a major label...
and
Big Daddy KaneAntonio Mortimer Hardy better known by his stage name, Big Daddy Kane, is an American rapper. He started his career in 1986 as a member of the rap group, the Juice Crew. He is considered one of the most influential and skilled MCs in Hip Hop. Regarding the name Big Daddy Kane, he said: "The Big...
helped popularize gold necklaces and other such jewelry, and female rappers such as
Roxanne ShantéRoxanne Shanté is an American hip-hop pioneer. Born and raised in the Queensbridge Projects, Shanté first gained attention through the Roxanne Wars and her association with the Juice Crew....
and the group
Salt-N-PepaSalt-N-Pepa is a Grammy Award-winning American hip hop trio from Queens, New York, that came onto the music scene in 1985.The group, consisting of Cheryl James , Sandra Denton , and DJ Deidra "Dee Dee" Roper , has sold over 15 million albums and singles worldwide...
helped popularize oversized gold door-knocker earrings. The heavy jewelry was suggestive of prestige and wealth, and some have connected the style to Africanism.
1980s hip hop fashion is remembered as one of the most important elements of
old school hip hopOld school hip hop describes the earliest commercially recorded hip hop music , and by extension the music in the period preceding it...
, and it is often celebrated in
nostalgicThe term nostalgia describes a longing for the past, often in idealized form.The word is a learned formation of a Greek compound, consisting of , nóstos, "returning home", a Homeric word, and , álgos, "pain" or "ache"...
hip hop songs such as
AhmadAhmad Ali Lewis, who was born October 12, 1975 , in Los Angeles, California, is an American emcee. Credited simply as Ahmad, he is best known for the 1994 single "Back in the Day," a nostalgic song that became a signifier for nostalgia in hip-hop culture.Ahmad is also a member of the group 4th...
's 1994 single "
Back in the Day"Back in the Day" is a 1994 West Coast hip hop single by Ahmad. Released when Ahmad was only 18, the song is a nostalgic remembrance of childhood and young teenage years, from a somewhat jaded adult perspective...
", and
Missy ElliottMissy "Misdemeanor" Elliott is an American recording artist, producer and actress. With record sales of over seven million in the United States, she is the only female rapper to have six albums certified platinum by the RIAA, including one double platinum Under Construction.Elliott is known for a...
's 2002 single "
Back in the Day"Back in the Day" is a 2003 hip-hop song by Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott, featuring guest vocals from Jay-Z and Elliott protégé Tweet. The song appears on her 2002 album Under Construction and was at one time planned for release as a single...
".
Late 1980s to early 1990s fashion
Black nationalismBlack nationalism advocates a racial definition of black national identity, as opposed to multiculturalism. There are different black nationalist philosophies but the principles of all black nationalist ideologies are 1) black unity, and 2) black self-determination/political, social and economic...
was increasingly influential in
rapHip hop music is a musical genre which developed alongside hip hop culture, and is commonly based on concepts of loop, rapping, freestyle, DJing, scratching, sampling and beatboxing. The music is used to express concerns of political, social, and personal issues...
during the late 1980s, and fashions and hairstyles reflected traditional African influences. Blousy
pantsFor the TrouSerS implementation of the TCG Software Stack, see Trusted Computing Group.Trousers are an item of clothing worn on the lower part of the body from the waist to the ankles, covering both legs separately...
were popular among dance-oriented rappers like
MC HammerStanley Kirk Burrell , best known by his stage names MC Hammer, Hammer and Hammertime, is a rapper, entertainer and dancer most popular during the late 1980s until the mid-1990s...
. Fezzes,
kufiA kufi or kufi cap is a brimless, short, rounded cap. By custom it is most often worn by African people and/or the African diaspora.-African and African-American Usage:...
s decorated with the Kemetic
ankhThe ankh was the Egyptian hieroglyphic character that read "eternal life", a triliteral sign for the consonants ˁ-n-ḫ...
,
Kente clothKente cloth, known locally as nwentoma, is a type of silk fabric made of interwoven cloth strips and is native to the country of Ghana, where it was first developed in the 12th century. It is sometimes used to make shirts.- Etymology :...
hats, Africa chains,
dreadlocksDreadlocks, also called locks or dreads, are heavy matted coils of hair which form by themselves eventually fusing together to form a single dread. This is possible in all hair types if the hair is allowed to grow naturally without grooming or conditioning for a long period of time...
, and red, black, and green clothing became popular as well, promoted by artists such as
Queen LatifahDana Elaine Owens , better known by her stage name Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, singer, model, and CoverGirl...
,
KRS-OneLawrence Parker , better known by his stage name KRS-One, is an American MC and producer. Over his career, he has been known by several pseudonyms including "Kris Parker", "The Blastmaster", "The Teacha", and "The Philosopher"...
, Public Enemy, and
X-ClanX-Clan is a hip hop group from Brooklyn, New York, originally consisting of Grand Verbalizer Funkin' Lesson Brother J, Professor X the Overseer, Paradise the Architect, and Sugar Shaft the Rhythm Provider...
).
In the early 1990s, pop rappers such as
The Fresh PrinceWillard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. is an American actor, film producer and rapper. He has enjoyed success in music, television and film. Newsweek has called him the most powerful actor on the planet...
,
Kid 'n PlayKid 'n Play was a hip-hop and comedy duo from New York City that was popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The duo comprised Christopher "Kid" Reid and Christopher "Play" Martin...
, and Left Eye of TLC popularized baseball caps and bright, often
neonNeon is the chemical element that has the symbol Ne and atomic number 10. Although a very common element in the universe, it is rare on Earth. A colorless, inert noble gas under standard conditions, neon gives a distinct reddish-orange glow when used in discharge tubes and neon lamps...
-colored, clothing.
Kris KrossKris Kross was an American teenage rap duo of the early 1990s comprised of Chris "Mack Daddy" Kelly and Chris "Daddy Mack" Smith. The duo is best known for their 1992 hit "Jump", which was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for eight weeks and was certified double platinum as a single...
also established the fad of wearing clothes backwards.
KwaméKwamé Holland is an American emcee who enjoyed brief popularity in the late-1980s and early-1990s. He is currently a music producer sometimes credited as K-1 Million or K1 Mil.-Biography:...
sparked the brief trend of polka-dot clothing as well, while others continued wearing their mid-80's attire.
The
NikeNike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
capture of soon to be superstar basketball protege
Michael JordanMichael Jeffrey Jordan is a retired American professional basketball player and active businessman. His biography on the National Basketball Association website states, "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time." Jordan was one of the most effectively marketed...
from rivals Adidas in 1984 proved to be a huge turning point, as Nike dominated the urban streetwear
sneakerAn athletic shoe is a generic name for footwear designed for sporting and physical activities.Athletic shoes, depending on the location and the actual type of footwear, may also be referred to as trainers , sandshoes, gym boots or joggers running shoes, runners or gutties An athletic shoe is a...
market in the late 80's and early 90's. Other clothing brands such as Reebok, Champion, Carhartt and Timberland were very closely associated with the scene, particularly on the East coast with hip hop acts such as Wu-Tang Clan and Gangstarr sporting the look.
Gangsta rap pioneers
N.W.A.N.W.A was a Compton, California-based hip hop group widely considered one of the seminal acts of the gangsta rap sub-genre. Active from 1986 to 1991, the group endured controversy due to the explicit nature of their lyrics. They were subsequently banned from many mainstream U.S...
popularized an early form of Cholo Gangsta style in the late 1980s from the Chicano Gangs who were there, consisting of
DickiesWilliamson-Dickie, more commonly referred to as Dickies, is an American company headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas that manufactures and sells work-related clothing and other accessories, including back packs, steel-toe boots, and belts....
pants, plaid shirts and jackets, Chuck Taylors sneakers, and black
RaidersThe Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team in the NFL based in the city of Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
baseball caps and Raiders
Starter jacketStarter jackets are jackets made by the Starter Clothing Line that were a fad in the early 1990s. Starter jackets were typically designed to show allegiance to a particular professional or college sports team, and prominently featured both the team's logo and colors...
s. Starter jackets, in addition, were also a popular trend in their own right during the late 1980s and early 90s. They became something of a status-symbol, with incidents of robberies of the jackets reported in the media.
Hip hop fashion in this period also influenced high fashion designs. In the late 1980s,
Isaac MizrahiIsaac Mizrahi is an American fashion designer and the creative director of Liz Claiborne. He is best known for his eponymous fashion lines.-Biography:Mizrahi was born in Brooklyn, NY, of Egyptian...
, inspired by his elevator operator who wore a heavy gold chain, showed a collection deeply influenced by hip hop fashion. Models wore black catsuits, "gold chains, big gold nameplate-inspired belts, and black bomber jackets with fur-trimmed hoods." Womenswear Daily called the look "homeboy chic." In the early 1990s, Chanel showed hip-hop-inspired fashion in several shows. In one, models wore black leather jackets and piles of gold chains. In another, they wore long black dresses, accessorized with heavy, padlocked silver chains. (These silver chains were remarkably similar to the metal chain-link and padlock worn by Treach of
Naughty by NatureNaughty by Nature is a Grammy Award-winning American hip hop group that at the time of its formation in 1989 consisted of Treach, Vin Rock, and the DJ Kay Gee. The group formed in East Orange, New Jersey...
, who said he did so in solidarity with "all the brothers who are locked down.") The hip hop trend, however, did not last; designers quickly moved on to new influences.
Fashion among "hip-hop" elites
On the East Coast, members of the hip hop community looked back to the gangsters of the 1930s and 1940s for inspiration.
MafiosoThe Mafia is a Sicilian criminal society which is believed to have emerged in late 19th century Sicily, and the first such society to be referred to as a mafia . It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct...
influences, especially and primarily inspired by the 1983 remake version of
Scarface, became popular in hip hop. Many rappers set aside gang-inspired clothing in favor of classic
gangsterA Gangster is a criminal who is a member of a crime organization, such as a gang. The terms are most commonly used in reference to members of the criminal organizations associated with American prohibition and the American offshoot of the Italian Mafia, such as the Chicago Outfit, the Philadelphia...
fashions such as
bowler hatThe bowler hat, also known as a coke hat, derby or billycock, is a hard felt hat with a rounded crown originally created in 1849 for Edward Coke, the younger brother of the 2nd Earl of Leicester.- History :...
s, double-breasted suits, silk shirts, and
alligatorAn Alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. The name alligator is an anglicized form of el lagarto the Spanish term for "lizard", the name by which early Spanish explorers and settlers in Florida called the alligator...
-skin
shoeA shoe is an item of footwear evolved at first to protect the human foot and later, additionally, as an item of decoration in itself. The foot contains more bones than any other single part of the body, and has evolved over hundreds of thousands of years in relation to vastly varied terrain and...
s ("gators"). In some areas of the mid-west, including Detroit, this style has been a staple in hip-hop fashion, regardless of current trends.
On the
East CoastThe East Coast of the United States, also known as the "Eastern Seaboard" or "Atlantic Seaboard", refers to the easternmost coastal states in the central and northern United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada...
, "
ghetto fabulousGhetto fabulous is an expression believed to have originated amongst African-Americans living in poor urban areas. Often used in a term of derision, it specifically refers to the mentality and lifestyle of some American ghetto inhabitants and vaguely to the mentality and lifestyle of poor black...
" fashion (a term coined by
Sean CombsSean John Combs , known by his stage name Diddy, is an American record producer, rapper, actor, men's fashion designer, entrepreneur and dancer. He won three Grammy Awards and two MTV Video Music Awards, and his clothing line earned a Council of Fashion Designers of America award.He was originally...
) was on the rise.
Sportswear
Tommy HilfigerThomas Jacob "Tommy" Hilfiger is an American fashion designer and founder of the brand Tommy Hilfiger.-Early life:Hilfiger was born and raised in Elmira, New York. The second of eight children, he grew up in an Irish-American family; he claims direct descent from Robert Burns. His parents...
was one of the most prominent brand in 1990s sportswear, though
Polo Ralph LaurenPolo Ralph Lauren is American fashion designer Ralph Lauren's luxury lifestyle company. Polo Ralph Lauren specializes in high-end casual/semi-formal wear for men and women , as well as accessories, fragrance, home and housewares....
,
Calvin KleinCalvin Richard Klein is an American fashion designer who launched the company that would later become Calvin Klein Inc. in 1968. In addition to clothing, Calvin Klein also gave his name to a range of perfumes, including CK One and CK Be , now owned by Coty Inc...
, Nautica, and
DKNYDKNY is the label of fashion designer Donna Karan. It is also the name of a clothing store in New York City featuring Donna Karan's associated line.-History:...
were also popular. When Snoop Doggy Dogg wore a Hilfiger sweatshirt during an appearance on
Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a weekly late-night sketch comedy and variety show filmed in New York City. It made its debut on October 11, 1975, under a slightly different title. The show features a regular cast of comedy actors, joined by a guest host and musical act...
, it sold out of New York City stores the next day. Hilfiger's popularity was due to its perceived
waspinessWhite Anglo-Saxon Protestant, commonly abbreviated to the acronym WASP, is a sociological and cultural ethnonym that originated in the United States and Canada ....
, which made it seem exclusive and aspirational. Moreover, Hilfiger courted the new hip hop market: black models featured prominently in the company's advertising campaigns, and rappers like
PuffySean John Combs , known by his stage name Diddy, is an American record producer, rapper, actor, men's fashion designer, entrepreneur and dancer. He won three Grammy Awards and two MTV Video Music Awards, and his clothing line earned a Council of Fashion Designers of America award.He was originally...
and
CoolioArtis Leon Ivey, Jr. , better known by the stage name Coolio, is a Grammy Award-winning American rapper and actor. He rose to fame in 1994 with his debut single "Fantastic Voyage", and later in 1995 with the hit single "Gangsta's Paradise", which appeared on the soundtrack for the film Dangerous...
walked during its runways shows.
Other brands, such as Nike
FUBUFUBU is a clothing company. It includes casual wear, sports wear, a suit collection, eyewear, belts, and shoes. The name is a backronym for "For Us, By Us", indicating that the product line was produced by black Americans for a primarily black American market.-History:The company was founded in...
, Reebok
Pro-KedsIn 1949, Keds introduced a line of athletic shoes called Pro-Keds, which were intended for more serious use, specifically for basketball. Over the years many basketball players and teams wore Pro-Keds shoes while playing...
,
AdidasAdidas AG is a German-based sports apparel manufacturer and part of the Adidas Group, which consists of Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-adidas golf company, and Rockport. Besides sports footwear, the company also produces other products such as bags, shirts, watches, eyewear and other sports...
, Ecko Unlimited, Karl Kani, Mecca USA, Lugz,
RocawearRocawear is a clothing line created in 1999 by Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter and Damon Dash.Rocawear has annual sales of $800 Million. Rocawear expanded its brand through licensing pacts to develop lines for children and juniors; socks and sandals; leather, suede, and fur outerwear; handbags and belts;...
, harputs by Gus Harput, Boss Jeans by IG Design, and
EnyceEnyce ) is an American hip hop fashion label owned by Sean Diddy Combs. The label was established in New York City in March 1996 by Evan Davis, Lando Felix, and Tony Shellman. The three co-founders had originally met while working for Seattle-based clothing brand International News...
, arose to capitalize on the market for urban streetwear. They followed in Hilfiger's footsteps by manufacturing all-American styles emblazoned with huge logos.
Throwback jerseys
One sportswear trend that emerged was the rise in popularity of throwback jerseys, such as those produced by
Mitchell & NessMitchell & Ness Nostalgia Co., is a sports apparel company in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania owned by Adidas which purchased the company in November 2007. Mitchell & Ness was established in 1904, and is the oldest sporting goods company in Philadelphia...
.
Sports jerseys have always been popular in hip-hop fashion, as evidenced by
Will SmithWillard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. is an American actor, film producer and rapper. He has enjoyed success in music, television and film. Newsweek has called him the most powerful actor on the planet...
's early 90's video "
Summertime"Summertime" is a 1991 Grammy Award winning chart topping Hip-Hop/R&B single by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince. The hit song spent one week at number-one on the US R&B chart . From the duo's 4th album Homebase, it also reached number one on the Rap Single chart and number four on the Billboard...
", and
Spike LeeShelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. He also teaches film at New York University and Columbia University...
wearing a throwback Brooklyn Dodgers jersey in the film "
Do the Right ThingDo the Right Thing is a 1989 American ensemble film produced, written, and directed by Spike Lee. The film deals with issues of racial conflict in the multi-ethnic community of Bedford-Stuyvesant, a neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York, during the hottest day of the summer...
". But in the late 90's saw the rise in popularity of very expensive throwbacks, often costing hundreds of dollars. Hip-hop artists donning the pricey jerseys in music videos led to increased demand, and led to the rise of counterfeiters flooding the market with fake jerseys to capitalize on the craze. The mid-to-late 2000s saw a decrease in popularity of throwbacks, with some hip-hop artists even shunning the raiments, such as Jay-Z, who rapped "And I don't wear jerseys, I'm 30-plus, Give me a crisp pair of jeans, Button up." In 1990 it was very big part for fashion because of all the hip hop artists that wore the various throwback jerseys.
The rise of hip-pop
The rise of hip-pop in the late-1990s, primarily the work of
Sean "Diddy" CombsSean John Combs , known by his stage name Diddy, is an American record producer, rapper, actor, men's fashion designer, entrepreneur and dancer. He won three Grammy Awards and two MTV Video Music Awards, and his clothing line earned a Council of Fashion Designers of America award.He was originally...
, known locally around New York at that time as the "Shiny Suit Man" brought elements such as loud, flashy PVC aviator inspired
suitsA suit is a set of garments crafted from the same cloth, consisting of at least a jacket and trousers. Lounge suits are the most common style of Western suit, originating in England as country wear...
and
platinumPlatinum is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Pt and an atomic number of 78. Its name is derived from the Spanish term platina del Pinto, which is literally translated into "little silver of the Pinto River." It is in Group 10 of the periodic table of elements...
jewelry to the forefront of hip hop in an effort to add a new vivid dimension of color and flash to the videos produced as a marketing tool. Combs, who started his own
Sean JohnSean John Clothing Inc is a clothing and fragrance line owned by hip-hop mogul Sean John Combs and supermarket mogul Ron Burkle. The apparel company takes its name from Combs' first and middle given names....
clothing line, and clothing manufacturers such as
Karl KaniKarl Kani is the fashion designer, founder and CEO of the Hip Hop fashion brand Karl Kani. Karl Kani was launched in 1989 as a fashion forward and Hip Hop influenced clothing line...
and
FUBUFUBU is a clothing company. It includes casual wear, sports wear, a suit collection, eyewear, belts, and shoes. The name is a backronym for "For Us, By Us", indicating that the product line was produced by black Americans for a primarily black American market.-History:The company was founded in...
brought hip hop fashion to the mainstream, resulting in a multi-million dollar hip hop fashion industry. There was a resurgence of traditional African-American hairstyles such as cornrows and
AfroAn afro, sometimes shortened to "fro", is a hairstyle in which the hair extends out from the head like a halo, cloud or ball.- History :...
s, as well as the
CaesarThe Caesar cut is a men's hairstyle with a short, horizontally straight cut fringe. The hair is layered to around 2-5 cm all over. It is named after Julius Caesar, whose images frequently depict him wearing his hair in such a manner....
low-cut. Caesars and cornrows are maintained by wearing a du-rag over the head during periods of sleeping and home activity to prevent the hair from being displaced or tossled. Du-rags soon became popular hip hop fashion items in their own right.
The "hip-pop" era also saw the split between male and female hip hop fashion, which had previously been more or less similar. Women in hip hop had emulated the male tough-guy fashions such as baggy pants, "Loc" sunglasses, tough looks and heavy workboots; many, such as
Da BratShawntae Harris , better known by her stage name Da Brat is an American rapper and actress. Her debut album, Funkdafied, sold one million copies making her the first female rapper to have a platinum-selling album....
, accomplished this with little more than some lip gloss and a bit of make-up to make the industrial work pants and work boots feminine. The female performers who completely turned the tide such as Lil Kim and Foxy Brown popularized glamourous, high-fashion feminine hip hop styles, such as
Kimora Lee SimmonsKimora Lee Simmons is an American fashion model, author, and the president and Creative Director for Phat Fashions. Formerly the Creative Director of Baby Phat, Simmons became CEO of Phat Fashions after ex-husband Russell Simmons stepped down...
fashion line of
Baby PhatBaby Phat is an urban fashion line of clothing and other items for women and girls designed by Kimora Lee Simmons. Besides clothing, the brand also includes accessories for phones, jewelry, shoes and clothes. It is the corporate "sibling" of the clothing brand Phat Farm created by Russell Simmons...
. While
Lauryn HillLauryn Noel Hill is an American recording artist, musician, producer and actress. Early in her career, she established her reputation in the hip-hop world as the lone female member of the Fugees. In 1998, she launched her solo career with the release of the commercially successful and critically...
and
EveEve Jihan Jeffers , who performs under the mononym Eve, is an American recording artist and actress. Her first three albums have so far reached 7 million copies sold world wide. In 2003, she became the star of her own TV show, Eve, which lasted for 3 seasons...
popularized more conservative styles that still maintained both a distinctly feminine and distinctly hip hop feel.
Jewelry culture
In the mid- to late 1990s, platinum replaced gold as the metal of choice in hip hop fashion. Artists and fans alike wore platinum (or
silverSilver is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
) jewelry, often embedded with
diamondIn mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is the second most stable form of carbon, after graphite; however, the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is...
s.
Jay-ZShawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name, Jay-Z is an American hip hop artist and businessman. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $150 million, shipping over 30 million copies of his albums in the United...
,
JuvenileTerius Gray, better known by his stage name Juvenile, is an American rapper. At the age of 19, he began recording raps, releasing his debut album Being Myself in 1994. The album gave name to the southern rap style known as "bounce". The album was followed by Solja Rags in 1997; its underground...
, and The Hot Boys were largely responsible for this trend. Platinum fronts also became popular;
Cash Money RecordsCash Money Records is an American hip hop record label founded in 1989 by brothers Bryan "Birdman" Williams and Ronald "Slim" Williams in New Orleans, Louisiana.- History :...
executive/rapper Brian "Baby" Williams infamously has an entire mouthful of permanent platinum teeth. Others have fashioned grills, removable metal jewelled teeth coverings.
With the advent of the Jewellery culture, the turn of the century established luxury brands made inroads into the hip hop market, with brands like
GucciThe House of Gucci mane, better known as Gucci , is a Florentine fashion and leather goods label, part of the Gucci Group, which is owned by French company Pinault-Printemps-Redoute...
and
Louis VuittonLouis Vuitton Malletier, commonly referred to as Louis Vuitton, or shortened to LV, is an international French fashion house specializing in trunks, leather goods, ready-to-wear, shoes, watches, jewelry, accessories, sunglasses, and books. Known the world over for its iconic LV monogram and logo,...
making appearances in hip hop videos and films.
Modern Hip Hop Fashion (2000's Hip Hop fashion)
In the 1990s and beyond, many hip hop artists and executives started their own fashion labels and clothing lines. Notable examples include
Wu-Tang ClanThe Wu-Tang Clan is a New York City-based hip hop group. Wu-Tang Clan consists of RZA, GZA, Raekwon, U-God, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, Method Man, Masta Killa, the late Ol' Dirty Bastard, and Cappadonna...
(Wu-Wear),
Russell SimmonsRussell Wendell Simmons , is an American entrepreneur, the co-founder, with Rick Rubin, of the pioneering hip-hop label Def Jam, founder of another label, Russell Simmons Music Group, and creator of the clothing fashion line Phat Farm.Russell Simmons is the younger brother of Daniel Simmons, Jr and...
(
Phat FarmPhat Farm is a national fashion line created by hip-hop impresario Russell Simmons, the co-founder of the Def Jam record label in 1992. The name "Phat" comes from a backronym of hip-hop slang, meaning "Pretty, Hot, and/or Tempting. ....
),
Kimora Lee SimmonsKimora Lee Simmons is an American fashion model, author, and the president and Creative Director for Phat Fashions. Formerly the Creative Director of Baby Phat, Simmons became CEO of Phat Fashions after ex-husband Russell Simmons stepped down...
(
Baby PhatBaby Phat is an urban fashion line of clothing and other items for women and girls designed by Kimora Lee Simmons. Besides clothing, the brand also includes accessories for phones, jewelry, shoes and clothes. It is the corporate "sibling" of the clothing brand Phat Farm created by Russell Simmons...
),
DiddySean John Combs , known by his stage name Diddy, is an American record producer, rapper, actor, men's fashion designer, entrepreneur and dancer. He won three Grammy Awards and two MTV Video Music Awards, and his clothing line earned a Council of Fashion Designers of America award.He was originally...
(
Sean JohnSean John Clothing Inc is a clothing and fragrance line owned by hip-hop mogul Sean John Combs and supermarket mogul Ron Burkle. The apparel company takes its name from Combs' first and middle given names....
),TI (AKOO), Apple Bottom Jeans (Nelly),
Damon DashDamon Dash is an American label executive; the co-founder of Roc-A-Fella Records with Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter and Kareem "Biggs" Burke...
and
Jay-ZShawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name, Jay-Z is an American hip hop artist and businessman. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $150 million, shipping over 30 million copies of his albums in the United...
(
RocawearRocawear is a clothing line created in 1999 by Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter and Damon Dash.Rocawear has annual sales of $800 Million. Rocawear expanded its brand through licensing pacts to develop lines for children and juniors; socks and sandals; leather, suede, and fur outerwear; handbags and belts;...
),
50 CentCurtis James Jackson III , better known by his stage name 50 Cent, is an American rapper. He rose to fame with the release of his albums Get Rich or Die Tryin and The Massacre...
(
G-UnitG-Unit is an American hip hop group originating from New York City. G-Unit emerged on the New York scene by independently releasing several mixtapes. The name of the group is short for Guerilla Unit as well as Gangsta Unit.-Early days:...
Clothing),
EminemMarshall Bruce Mathers III , known by his primary stage name Eminem, or by his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer and actor. Eminem quickly gained popularity in 1999 with his major-label debut album The Slim Shady LP, which won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album...
(
Shady LimitedShady Records is an American record label specializing in hip hop music. Eminem and his manager Paul Rosenberg founded the label in 1999 after the release of The Slim Shady LP....
), 2Pac (Makaveli) and
OutKastOutKast is an American hip hop duo based in East Point, Georgia, a city south of Atlanta, Georgia. They were originally known as The OKB but later changed the group's name to OutKast. The group's original musical style was a mixture of Dirty South and G-Funk...
(OutKast Clothing). Other prominent hip hop fashion companies have included Karl Kani and
FUBUFUBU is a clothing company. It includes casual wear, sports wear, a suit collection, eyewear, belts, and shoes. The name is a backronym for "For Us, By Us", indicating that the product line was produced by black Americans for a primarily black American market.-History:The company was founded in...
,
EckōFor the British electronics company, see EKCOEckō unltd. is a brand of urban clothing founded by fashion designer Marc Ecko, that has been popular since the late 1990s, and moved into the mainstream urban culture in the early 2000s....
,
GirbaudMarithé François Girbaud is an international French based clothing company founded in 1969 by husband and wife, François and Marithé Girbaud.In the United States, the brand gained popularity in the suburban and urban communities of the United States, mostly Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New...
,
EnyceEnyce ) is an American hip hop fashion label owned by Sean Diddy Combs. The label was established in New York City in March 1996 by Evan Davis, Lando Felix, and Tony Shellman. The three co-founders had originally met while working for Seattle-based clothing brand International News...
,
Famous Stars and StrapsFamous Stars and Straps is an American clothing and accessory line created by Travis Barker in 1999, best known for being the drummer in the band Blink-182. The company is based in Ontario, California. Famous Stars And Straps clothing is influenced by music genres such as punk rock and hip hop...
, Bape, Beans,
CiaraCiara Princess Harris , who performs under the mononym Ciara , is an American recording artist, producer, dancer, fashion model, and actress. Born in Austin, Texas, Ciara made her debut in the summer of 2004 with the Billboard number-one single "Goodies"...
and
Erykah BaduErica Abi Wright , better known by her stage name Erykah Badu, is a multiple Grammy-winner, African-American soul singer and songwriter, whose work includes elements from R&B, hip hop and jazz. She is best known for her role in the rise of the neo soul sub-genre, and for her eccentric, cerebral...
(
Starter Clothing LineStarter Clothing Line is a manufacturer of fleeces, footwear, compressions, and other accessories. It was founded in 1971 at New Haven, Connecticut. In 1980, it began partnerships with major leagues in basketball, football, baseball, and hockey as well as in 150 colleges and universities. It was...
), LRG,
TimberlandTimberland is a trademark for a number of lines of outdoors wear, primarily boots, manufactured by The Timberland Company...
Boots, and
AkademiksAkademiks is an American brand of urban clothing popular with devotees of hip hop music. The label was founded by two brothers, Donwan and Emmett Harrell, along with another group of partners....
and
SouthpoleSouthpole is an American clothing label based in Fort Lee, New Jersey. It is owned by David Khym.-History:The company was founded by brothers David and Kenny Khym, two Korean natives from a family of five children who immigrated to the United States from Inchon in 1977...
.
Today, Hip hop clothing is produced by popular and successful designers, who charge significant amounts for their products. Hip hop fashion is worn by a significant percentage of young people around the world, with a significant number of retailers that are dedicated to the sale of hip hop inspired fashions. Several web sites are dedicated to hard to find hip hop sneakers and apparel.
Websites like http://ratemyfresh.com show some of these new trends and fashion styles.
Recent trends
Due to the recent trend in hip hop fashion to revert back to the "old school" gaining popularity, the clothing is becoming similar to early 80's form of dressing. It has geared toward a more old-school
PunkPunk fashion is the clothing, hairstyles, cosmetics, jewelry, and body modifications of the punk subculture. Punk fashion varies widely, ranging from Vivienne Westwood designs to styles modeled on bands like The Exploited. The distinct social dress of other subcultures and art movements, including...
/
HipsterHipster is a slang term that first appeared in the 1940s, and was revived in the 1990s and 2000s often to describe types of young, recently-settled urban middle class adults and older teenagers with interests in non-mainstream fashion and culture, particularly alternative music, independent rock,...
-inspired style of dressing with a nod towards
ironyIrony is a situation, literary or rhetorical device, in which there is an incongruity, discordance or unintended connection that goes beyond the most evident meaning....
, and may include items such as slim-fit denim jeans, tighter-fitting "vintage style" t-shirts with shorter arm sleeves, polo shirts,
sportcoatA sportcoat , also mistakenly called a blazer, is a tailored coat for men. It is of a similar cut to a suit coat, but is designed to be worn on its own and not as part of a suit. Styles therefore may be less restrictive. Compared to suit jackets, sturdier fabrics are used, such as woollen tweed or...
s, woven button shirts, large ornamental belt buckles, cufflinks, skull and skeleton decorations, Ed Hardy and
Sailor JerryNorman Keith Collins got his nickname Jerry in his childhood from the name of his father’s obstinate pet donkey.-Legacy of Sailor Jerry:Norman Collins entrusted his artwork to his two proteges, Ed Hardy and Mike Malone, both of whom have become prominent figures in their own right...
tattooA tattoo is a marking made by inserting ink into the layers of skin to change the pigment for decorative or other reasons. Tattoos on humans are a type of decorative body modification, while tattoos on animals are most commonly used for identification or branding.Tattooing has been practiced...
inspired motifs, elaborately decorated zip-up hoodies,
trucker hatA trucker hat is a type of baseball cap. It is also sometimes known as a "gimme cap" or a "feed cap" because this style of hat originated as a promotional give-away from feed or farming supply companies to farmers, truck drivers, or other rural workers...
s, lumberjack button-ups or plaid designed shirts,
keffiyehThe keffiyeh ), also known as a shmagh , ghutrah , ' , mashadah or shemagh is a traditional headdress typically worn by Arab men made of a square of cloth , usually cotton, folded and wrapped in various styles around the head...
s, and snow inspired fashions. Shorter length t-shirts have become involved in recent trends, in order to expose decorated belts and belt buckles and biker chains. Although the "baggy" style of dress remains relevant, some hip hoppers forego that particular style, opting for colorful fitted and hipster-inspired clothing as exemplified by the growing influence of rappers such as
Kanye WestKanye West is an American singer/rapper. He released his debut album The College Dropout in 2004, his second album Late Registration in 2005, his third album Graduation in 2007, and his fourth album 808s & Heartbreak in 2008. His first three albums have received numerous awards and critical acclaim...
,
CommonLonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr. , better known by his stage name Common , is an American actor and rapper....
,
New BoyzNew Boyz is a Rap music duo made up of Ben J and Legacy from Hesperia, California. They debuted with the single "You're a Jerk", taken from their debut studio album Skinny Jeans and a Mic. The song peaked at #24 on the Billboard Hot 100.- Singles :...
and
will.i.amWilliam James Adams, Jr. , better known by his stage name will.i.am , is an American rapper, songwriter, singer, actor, and producer...
,as well as the tighter-fitting
skaterSkateboarding is the act of riding and performing tricks using a skateboard. A person who skateboards is most often referred to as a skateboarder, or just skater....
influenced styles in the case of Pharrell and
Lupe FiascoWasalu Muhammad Jaco , better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco , is an American recording artist, producer and CEO of 1st and 15th Entertainment. He rose to fame in 2006 following the success of his critically acclaimed debut album, Lupe Fiasco's Food & Liquor...
. Other re-emergent 80s trends include
Members OnlyMembers Only is a brand of clothing that became popular in the 1980s for the "Members Only Jacket". The brand was created in 1975 and introduced to American markets in 1979 by Europe Craft Imports ....
jackets, huge oversized chains, and large eyeglasses. Leather jackets also have seen a rise in popularity. Brands like Polo Ralph Lauren, American Eagle, Nautica, Hollister, Aeropostale, Lacoste, True Religion, Rock & Republic, and higher end brands like Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Prada and Ralph Lauren Purple Label are very popular in Hip Hop fashion today.
Criticism of hip hop fashion
Commentators from both inside and outside of the hip-hop community have criticized the cost of many of the accouterments of hip hop fashion.
Chuck DCarlton Douglas Ridenhour , better known by his stage name, Chuck D, is an American rapper, author, and producer. He helped create politically and socially conscious rap music in the late 1980s as the leader of the rap group Public Enemy.-Early life:Ridenhour was born in Roosevelt, Long Island...
of Public Enemy summarized the mentality of Hip hop fashion and some low-income youths as "Man, I work at McDonald's, but in order for me to feel good about myself I got to get a gold chain or I got to get a fly car in order to impress a sister or whatever." In his 1992 song "Us",
Ice CubeO'Shea Jackson , better known by his stage name Ice Cube, is an American rapper, actor, screenwriter, and producer.He began his career as a member of the rap group N.W.A along with group leader Eazy-E, and later launched a successful solo career in music and cinema. In 1992, he married Kimberly...
rapped that "Us [African-Americans] will always sing the blues / 'cause all we care about is hairstyles and tennis shoes." Some fans have expressed disappointment with the increased amount of advertising for expensive hip-hop brands in hip-hop magazines. In one letter to the editor in Source magazine, a reader wrote that the magazine should "try showing some less expensive brands so heads will know they don't have to hustle, steal, or rob and blast shots for flyness." In fact, there were many highly-publicized robberies of hip-hop artists by the late 1990s.
GuruGuru , in the Boston neighborhood of Roxbury, is an American rapper and the lyrical half of the former hip-hop duo Gang Starr, together with DJ Premier. With his Jazzmatazz album series, he is also considered to be one of the pioneers of hiphop/jazz crossover...
of
Gang StarrGang Starr is an influential East Coast hip hop duo that consisted of MC Guru and DJ/producer DJ Premier and a former trio. The group was known mainly for their unique style, which combines elements of New York swing jazz and hip hop.-Background:...
was robbed at gunpoint of his Rolex watch,
Queen LatifahDana Elaine Owens , better known by her stage name Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, singer, model, and CoverGirl...
's car was car-jacked, and
ProdigyAlbert Johnson, better known as Prodigy, is an American rapper and one half of the infamous hip-hop duo Mobb Deep, in addition to producing MC Havoc.-Debut album:...
was robbed at gunpoint of $300,000 in jewelry.
A few hip hop insiders, such as the members of Public Enemy,Immortal Technique, Paris and Common(amongst others) have made the deliberate choice not to don expensive jewelry as a statement against
materialismConsumerism is the equation of personal happiness with consumption and the purchase of material possessions. The term is often associated with criticisms of consumption starting with Thorstein Veblen or, more recently by a movement called Enoughism...
.