Hip hop fashion
Encyclopedia
Clothing
Clothing refers to any covering for the human body that is worn. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic and is a feature of nearly all human societies...
originating with African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
youth on the scene of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune 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...
, Orlando
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Philadelphia, the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
, Detroit, Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, Atlanta, St. Louis, Jersey City, Miami, Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
and Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
among others. Each city contributed various elements to its overall style seen worldwide today. Hip hop fashion
Fashion
Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...
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
Sportswear or activewear is clothing, including footwear, worn for sport or physical exercise. Sport-specific clothing is worn for most sports and physical exercise, for practical, comfort or safety reasons....
and fashion brands, such as Le Coq Sportif
Le Coq Sportif
Le Coq Sportif is a French company producing sports equipment such as shoes, shorts, and T-shirts. It was founded in 1882 by Émile Camuset, but the first clothing items branded with the rooster appeared in 1948...
, Kangol
Kangol
Kangol is a British 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...
, Adidas
Adidas
Adidas AG is a German sports apparel manufacturer and parent company of the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-Adidas golf company , and Rockport...
and Pro-Keds
Pro-Keds
In 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...
attached themselves to the emerging hip hop scene.
During the 1980s, hip-hop icons wore clothing items such as brightly colored name-brand tracksuit
Tracksuit
A tracksuit is an article of clothing consisting of two parts: trousers and a jacket usually with front zipper. 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...
s, sheepskin
Sheepskin
Sheepskin 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, Clarks
C&J Clark
C. and J. Clark International Ltd, trading as Clarks, is a British, international shoe manufacturer and retailer based in Street, Somerset, England...
shoes, Britishers AKA British Walkers and sneakers (usually Pro-Keds, Puma, Converse's Chuck Taylor All-stars, and Adidas Superstars often with "phat" or oversized shoelaces). Popular haircuts ranged from the early-1980s Jheri curl
Jheri curl
The Jheri curl is a hairstyle that was common and popular in the African American community especially during the 1970s and 1980s . Invented by and named for Jheri Redding, the Jheri curl gave the wearer a glossy, loosely curled look...
to the early-1990s hi-top fade
Hi-top fade
A hi-top fade is a style of haircut where hair on the sides is cut off or kept very short 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 Smith
Will Smith
Willard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. , also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor, producer, and rapper. He has enjoyed success in television, film and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor in Hollywood...
(The Fresh Prince) and Christopher "Kid" Reid of Kid 'n Play
Kid 'n Play
Kid 'n Play is an American hip-hop and comedy duo from New York City that was popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The duo was composed of Christopher "Kid" Reid and Christopher "Play" Martin working alongside their DJ, Mark "DJ Wiz" Eastmond...
, among others.
Popular accessories included large eyeglasses (Cazals or Gazelles), Kangol bucket hat
Bucket hat
A 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. The hat is usually made from heavy-duty cotton fabric 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 Blow
Kurtis Blow
Kurt Walker , better known by his stage name Kurtis Blow, is an American rapper and record producer. He is one of the first commercially successful rappers and the first to sign with a major record label...
and Big Daddy Kane
Big Daddy Kane
Antonio Hardy better known by his stage name Big Daddy Kane, is an American rapper who started his career in 1986 as a member of the rap group the Juice Crew. He is widely considered to be one of the most influential and skilled MC's in Hip Hop...
helped popularize gold necklaces and other such jewelry, and female rappers such as Roxanne Shanté
Roxanne Shanté
Roxanne 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-Pepa
Salt-N-Pepa
Salt-N-Pepa is an American hip hop trio from Queens and Brooklyn, New York, that was formed in 1985. The group, consisting of Cheryl "Salt" Renee James, Sandra "Pepa" Denton, and Deidra "DJ Spinderella" Roper, was one of the first all-female rap crews....
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 hop
Old school hip hop
Old school hip hop describes the earliest commercially recorded hip hop music , and the music in the period preceding it from which it was directly descended . Old school hip hop is said to end around 1983 or 1984 with the emergence of Run–D.M.C., the first new school hip hop group...
, and it is often celebrated in nostalgic
Nostalgia
The term nostalgia describes a yearning for the past, often in idealized form.The word is a learned formation of a Greek compound, consisting of , meaning "returning home", a Homeric word, and , meaning "pain, ache"...
hip hop songs such as Ahmad
Ahmad (rapper)
Ahmad 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 Christian hip...
's 1994 single "Back in the Day
Back in the Day (Ahmad song)
"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 Elliott
Missy Elliott
Melissa Arnette "Missy" Elliott , is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, and actressA five-time Grammy Award winner, Elliott, with record sales of over seven million in the United States, is the only female rapper to have five albums certified platinum by the RIAA, including one...
's 2002 single "Back in the Day
Back in the Day (Missy Elliott song)
"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
Black nationalism advocates a racial definition of indigenous national identity, as opposed to multiculturalism. There are different indigenous nationalist philosophies but the principles of all African nationalist ideologies are unity, and self-determination or independence from European society...
was increasingly influential in rap
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
during the late 1980s, and fashions and hairstyles reflected traditional African influences. Blousy pants
Trousers
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 Hammer
MC Hammer
Stanley Kirk Burrell , better known by his stage name MC Hammer , is an American rapper, entertainer, business entrepreneur, dancer and actor. He had his greatest commercial success and popularity from the late 1980s until the mid-1990s...
. Fezzes, kufi
Kufi
A kufi or kufi cap is a brimless, short, rounded cap worn by many populations in West Africa of all religions and throughout the African diaspora.-African and African-American Usage:...
s decorated with the Kemetic ankh
Ankh
The ankh , also known as key of life, the key of the Nile or crux ansata, was the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic character that read "eternal life", a triliteral sign for the consonants ʻ-n-ḫ...
, Kente cloth
Kente cloth
Kente cloth, known locally as nwentoma, is a type of silk and cotton fabric made of interwoven cloth strips and is native to the Akan people of Ghana and the Ivory Coast.- Etymology :...
hats, Africa chains, dreadlocks
Dreadlocks
Dreadlocks, also called locks, a ras, dreads, "rasta" or Jata , are matted coils of hair. Dreadlocks are usually intentionally formed; because of the variety of different hair textures, various methods are used to encourage the formation of locks such as backcombing...
, and Black Nationalist colors of red, black, and green became popular as well, promoted by artists such as Queen Latifah
Queen Latifah
Dana Elaine Owens , better known by her stage name Queen Latifah, is an American singer, rapper, and actress. Her work in music, film and television has earned her a Golden Globe award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Image Awards, a Grammy Award, six additional Grammy nominations, an Emmy...
, KRS-One
KRS-One
Lawrence Krisna Parker , better known by his stage names KRS-One , and Teacha, is an American rapper...
, Public Enemy, and X-Clan
X-Clan
X-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 Prince
Will Smith
Willard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. , also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor, producer, and rapper. He has enjoyed success in television, film and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor in Hollywood...
, Kid 'n Play
Kid 'n Play
Kid 'n Play is an American hip-hop and comedy duo from New York City that was popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The duo was composed of Christopher "Kid" Reid and Christopher "Play" Martin working alongside their DJ, Mark "DJ Wiz" Eastmond...
, and Left Eye of TLC
TLC (band)
TLC is an American musical trio whose repertoire spanned R&B, hip-hop, soul, funk, and new jack swing. Originally consisting of singer Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, rapper-singer Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes and singer Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas it found success in the 1990s while also enduring a series of spats...
popularized baseball caps and bright, often neon
Neon
Neon is the chemical element that has the symbol Ne and an atomic number of 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 either low-voltage neon glow lamps or...
-colored, clothing. TLC and late R&B singer Aaliyah
Aaliyah
Aaliyah Dana Haughton , who performed under the mononym Aaliyah , was an American R&B recording artist, actress and model. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was raised in Detroit, Michigan. At the age of 10, she appeared on the television show Star Search and performed in concert alongside...
created a fashion trend among women. Wearing over-sized pants and big flannel shirts, they would couple the over-sized clothing with a tight shirt usually a sports bra underneath their big shirts. This was to show their own version of femininity, everything does not have to be form fitting and tight in order to be sexy.
Kris Kross
Kris Kross
Kris Kross was an American rap duo of the 1990s comprising Chris "Mac Daddy" Kelly and Chris "Daddy Mac" Smith. The duo are best known for their hit 1992 song "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. Kwamé
Kwamé
Kwamé 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-80s attire.
Nike, Inc.
Nike, Inc. is a major publicly traded sportswear and equipment supplier based in the United States. The company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon, which is part of the Portland metropolitan area...
capture of soon-to-be superstar basketball protege Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan
Michael Jeffrey Jordan is a former American professional basketball player, active entrepreneur, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats...
from rivals Adidas in 1984 proved to be a huge turning point, as Nike dominated the urban streetwear sneaker
Athletic shoe
Athletic shoe is a generic name for the footwear primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise but in recent years has come to be used for casual everyday activities....
market in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Other clothing brands such as Reebok, Kangol, Champion, Carhartt, and Timberland were very closely associated with the hip hop 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.
N.W.A was an American hip hop group from Compton, California, widely considered one of the seminal acts of the gangsta rap sub-genre....
popularized an early form of Cholo Gangsta style in the late 1980s from the Chicano Gangs who were there, consisting of Dickies
Dickies
Williamson-Dickie Manufacturing Company, more commonly referred to as the brand 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. Its major competitors are...
pants, plaid shirts and jackets, Chuck Taylors sneakers, with black Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
baseball caps and Raiders Starter jacket
Starter jacket
Starter 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 Mizrahi
Isaac Mizrahi
Isaac Mizrahi is an American TV presenter, fashion designer, and was the creative director of Liz Claiborne. He is best known for his eponymous fashion lines.-Early life:...
, 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 Nature
Naughty by Nature
Naughty by Nature are a Grammy Award-winning American hip hop trio from East Orange, New Jersey that at the time of its formation in 1989 consisted of Treach, Vin Rock, and the DJ Kay Gee...
, 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. MafiosoMafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
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 gangster
Gangster
A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Some gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from mob and the suffix -ster....
fashions such as bowler hat
Bowler hat
The bowler hat, also known as a coke hat, derby , billycock or bombin, is a hard felt hat with a rounded crown originally created in 1849 for the English soldier and politician Edward Coke, the younger brother of the 2nd Earl of Leicester...
s, double-breasted suits, silk shirts, and alligator
Alligator
An alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. There are two extant alligator species: the American alligator and the Chinese alligator ....
-skin shoe
Shoe
A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot while doing various activities. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from culture to culture, with appearance originally being tied to function...
s ("gators").
This certain look transcended into the R&B world in the mid 90s when Jodeci
Jodeci
Jodeci is an American band, whose repertoire includes R&B, soul music, and new jack swing. The group consists of two pairs of brothers from Hampton, Virginia and Charlotte, North Carolina: Cedric & Joel Hailey and Donald & Dalvin DeGrate, all respectively known by their stage names: K-Ci & Jojo,...
came onto the scene, who were crooners but with more edgy and sexual look. By wearing gangster style clothes along with the badboy attiude and being a R&B group they appealed to both men and women. Particularly known for their baggy clothing, Doc Marten style boots and gold jewellery this was synonumus with their rough bad-boy image which everyone during the 90s imitated.
On the East Coast
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
, "ghetto fabulous
Ghetto fabulous
Ghetto fabulous is an expression believed to have originated among African-Americans living in poor urban areas.It specifically refers to the mentality and lifestyle of some American ghetto inhabitants and vaguely to the mentality and lifestyle of poor African- American urbanites.-In the media...
" fashion (a term coined by Sean Combs
Sean Combs
Sean John Combs , also known by his stage names Diddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, singer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur. He has 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...
) who was responsible for Jodeci
Jodeci
Jodeci is an American band, whose repertoire includes R&B, soul music, and new jack swing. The group consists of two pairs of brothers from Hampton, Virginia and Charlotte, North Carolina: Cedric & Joel Hailey and Donald & Dalvin DeGrate, all respectively known by their stage names: K-Ci & Jojo,...
's look was on the rise.
Urban streetwear
Tommy Hilfiger
Thomas Jacob "Tommy" Hilfiger is an American fashion designer and founder of the premium lifestyle brand Tommy Hilfiger.-Early life:...
was one of the most prominent brand in 1990s sportswear, though Polo Ralph Lauren
Polo Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren Corporation is a luxury clothing and goods company of the American fashion designer Ralph Lauren. Ralph Lauren specializes in high-end casual/semi-formal wear for men and women, as well as accessories, fragrances, home and housewares...
, Calvin Klein
Calvin Klein
Calvin Richard Klein is an American fashion designer who launched the company that would later become Calvin Klein Inc. in 1968. In addition to clothing, Klein has also given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and jewelry....
, Nautica, and DKNY
DKNY
DKNY is a 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 Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
, it sold out of New York City stores the next day. Hilfiger's popularity was due to its perceived waspiness
White Anglo-Saxon Protestant
White Anglo-Saxon Protestant or WASP is an informal term, often derogatory or disparaging, for a closed group of high-status Americans mostly of British Protestant ancestry. The group supposedly wields disproportionate financial and social power. When it appears in writing, it is usually used to...
, 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 Puffy
Sean Combs
Sean John Combs , also known by his stage names Diddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, singer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur. He has 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 Coolio
Coolio
Artis Leon Ivey Jr. , better known by the stage name Coolio, is an American musician, rapper, actor and record producer.-Late 80s:He recorded two singles in the late 80s, titled "Watcha Gonna Do" and "You're Gonna Miss Me"...
walked during its runways shows.
Karl Kani
Karl Kani
Karl 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...
was the first to set the trend of merging hip hop with fashion. By combining his two passions Karl started a whole new fashion movement and many designers followed in his footsteps. Growing up Karl Kani wondered " Can I do it? Can I become the Ralph Lauren of the streets? Karl didn't have the answer for all these questions but it did provide the basis for his new name, Kani, a variation on "Can I?". With a stylish "K" replacing the "C" in his first name, he ventured his own optimistic reply, Karl Kani.
Other brands, such as Nike FUBU
FUBU
FUBU is a clothing company. It includes casual wear, sports wear, a suit collection, eyewear, belts, and shoes for the African-American community in the sense of economic investment but not to be exclusively worn by African Americans...
, Reebok Pro-Keds
Pro-Keds
In 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...
, Adidas
Adidas
Adidas AG is a German sports apparel manufacturer and parent company of the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-Adidas golf company , and Rockport...
, Ecko Unlimited, Mecca USA, Lugz, Rocawear
Rocawear
Created in 1999 by Roc-A-Fella Records co-founders Damon Dash and Jay Z,Rocawear has annual sales of $700 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; lounge wear;...
, harputs by Gus Harput, Boss Jeans by IG Design, and Enyce
Enyce
Enyce 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.
Throwback clothing
One sportswear trend that emerged was the rise in popularity of throwback jerseys, such as those produced by Mitchell & Ness
Mitchell & Ness
Mitchell & 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 Smith
Will Smith
Willard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. , also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor, producer, and rapper. He has enjoyed success in television, film and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor in Hollywood...
's early 90s video "Summertime
Summertime (DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince song)
The single was DJ Jazzy and The Fresh Prince's most popular song, and is still played in rotation around the world, especially in the United Kingdom during the summer months....
", and Spike Lee
Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983....
wearing a throwback Brooklyn Dodgers jersey in the film "Do the Right Thing
Do the Right Thing
Do the Right Thing is a 1989 American dramedy produced, written, and directed by Spike Lee, who is also a featured actor in the film. Other members of the cast include Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Richard Edson, Giancarlo Esposito, Bill Nunn, and John Turturro. It is also notably the...
." The late 90s 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. In 1990 it was very big part for fashion because of all the hip hop artists that wore the various throwback jerseys.
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 Brat
Da Brat
Shawntae Harris , better known as 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.-Early life:...
, 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 glamorous, high-fashion feminine hip hop styles, such as Kimora Lee Simmons
Kimora Lee Simmons
Kimora Lee Simmons is an American fashion model, and former president and Creative Director for Phat Fashions.-Early life:...
fashion line of Baby Phat
Baby Phat
Baby Phat is an urban fashion line of clothing and other items for women and girls. Besides clothing, the brand also includes accessories for phones, jewelry, shoes and fragrances. It is the corporate "sibling" of the clothing brand Phat Farm created by Russell Simmons. Baby Phat uses a sleek cat...
. While Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Noelle Hill is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress.Early in her career, she established her reputation as a member of the Fugees. In 1998, she launched her solo career with the release of the commercially successful and critically acclaimed album, The Miseducation of...
and Eve
Eve (rapper)
Eve Jihan Jeffers , is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer and actress. Her first three albums have reached a total of over 8 million albums sold worldwide. She has also achieved success in fashion as she started a clothing line titled "Fetish." She won a Grammy Award in 2002 for the...
popularized more conservative styles that still maintained both a distinctly feminine and distinctly hip hop feel.
Bling
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
Silver is a metallic 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 diamond
Diamond
In 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 less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
s. Juvenile
Juvenile (rapper)
Terius Gray, better known by his stage name Juvenile, is an American rapper, He is also a former member of hip-hop group the Hot Boys . At the age of 19, he began recording raps, releasing his debut album Being Myself in 1995...
, and The Hot Boys were largely responsible for this trend. Platinum fronts also became popular; Cash Money Records
Cash Money Records
Cash Money Records is a record label founded by brothers Bryan "Birdman" Williams and Ronald "Slim" Williams. Today it operates as a subsidiary of Universal Music Group, and is distributed by Universal Republic Records as of 2011...
executive/rapper Brian "Baby" Williams 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 Gucci
Gucci
The House of Gucci, better known simply as Gucci , is an Italian fashion and leather goods label, part of the Gucci Group, which is owned by French company PPR...
, Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton Malletier – commonly referred to as Louis Vuitton , or shortened to LV – is a French fashion house founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton. The label is well known for its LV monogram, which is featured on most products, ranging from luxury trunks and leather goods to ready-to-wear, shoes,...
and 212 Diamond City making appearances in hip hop videos and films.
Modern Hip Hop fashion (2000s Hip Hop fashion)
Wu-Tang Clan
The Wu-Tang Clan is a hip-hop group from Staten Island that consists of RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard. They are frequently joined by fellow childhood friend Cappadonna, a quasi member of the group...
(Wu-Wear), Russell Simmons
Russell Simmons
-External links:** * * * * * * from the US Holocaust Memorial Museum* *...
(Phat Farm
Phat Farm
Phat Farm is a national fashion line created by the vision of Russell Simmons, the founder of the modern day hip-hop movement, Phat Farm, a division of Phat Fashions , is symbol of men's contemporary American culture, mixing the urban aesthetics of the streets and the preppy culture of the Ivy...
), Kimora Lee Simmons
Kimora Lee Simmons
Kimora Lee Simmons is an American fashion model, and former president and Creative Director for Phat Fashions.-Early life:...
(Baby Phat
Baby Phat
Baby Phat is an urban fashion line of clothing and other items for women and girls. Besides clothing, the brand also includes accessories for phones, jewelry, shoes and fragrances. It is the corporate "sibling" of the clothing brand Phat Farm created by Russell Simmons. Baby Phat uses a sleek cat...
), Diddy
Sean Combs
Sean John Combs , also known by his stage names Diddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, singer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur. He has 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 John
Sean John
Sean John Clothing Inc is a clothing and fragrance company owned by hip-hop mogul Sean Combs. The apparel company takes its name from Combs' first and middle given names....
), TI
Clifford Harris
Clifford Morris Harris was born 1907 and died 1970. He was a New Zealand cricketer who played three first-class matches for the Canterbury Wizards in the Plunket Shield.-External links:* from Cricinfo.* from Cricket Archive....
(AKOO
A.K.O.O Clothing
A.K.O.O. is a clothing line started in late 2008 and founded by T.I. and Jason Geter, both co-founders of Atlanta-based recording label Grand Hustle Records. A.K.O.O. is an acronym that stands for "A King Of Oneself."-Distribution:...
), Nelly
Nelly
Cornell Iral Haynes, Jr. , better known by his stage name Nelly, is an Grammy Award winning American rapper and actor. He has performed with the rap group St. Lunatics since 1993 and signed to Universal Records in 1999. Under Universal, Nelly began his solo career in 2000 with his debut album...
(Apple Bottom Jeans), Damon Dash
Damon Dash
__NOINDEX__...
and Jay-Z
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
(Rocawear
Rocawear
Created in 1999 by Roc-A-Fella Records co-founders Damon Dash and Jay Z,Rocawear has annual sales of $700 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; lounge wear;...
), 50 Cent
50 Cent
Curtis James Jackson III , better known by his stage name 50 Cent, is an American rapper, entrepreneur, investor, record producer, and actor. He rose to fame with the release of his albums Get Rich or Die Tryin and The Massacre . Get Rich or Die Tryin has been certified eight times platinum by...
(G-Unit
G-Unit
G-Unit is an American hip hop group originating from New York City formed by 50 Cents. G-Unit emerged on the New York scene by independently releasing several mix tapes...
Clothing), Eminem
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III , better known by his stage name Eminem or his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. Eminem's popularity brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition...
(Shady Limited
Shady Records
Shady 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.Since the formation, the label has signed nine acts...
), 2Pac (Makaveli) and OutKast
OutKast
Outkast is an American hip hop duo based in East Point, Georgia, consisting of Atlanta native André "André 3000" Benjamin and Savannah, Georgia-born Antwan "Big Boi" Patton. They were originally known as Two Shades Deep but later changed the group's name to OutKast...
(OutKast Clothing). Other prominent hip hop fashion companies have included Karl Kani, FUBU
FUBU
FUBU is a clothing company. It includes casual wear, sports wear, a suit collection, eyewear, belts, and shoes for the African-American community in the sense of economic investment but not to be exclusively worn by African Americans...
, Eckō
Ecko
Eckō unltd. is a brand of urban lifestyle 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. It is most often associated with hip-hop people. The style is based on graffiti art.The creation of...
, Girbaud
Marithé François Girbaud
Marithé François Girbaud is an international clothing company based in France. It was founded in 1964 by François and Marithé Girbaud...
, Enyce
Enyce
Enyce 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 Straps
Famous Stars and Straps
Famous Stars and Straps is an American clothing and accessory line created by Travis Barker on December 8, 1999, best known for being the drummer in the band blink-182...
, Bape, Billionaire Boys Club
Billionaire Boys Club
The Billionaire Boys Club was an investment-and-social club organized by Joseph Gamsky, also known as "Joe Hunt", in southern California in 1983...
, Beans, Ciara
Ciara
Ciara Princess Harris , known mononymously as Ciara, is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, actress and fashion model. Born in Austin, Texas, she traveled around the world during her childhood, only to land in Atlanta, Georgia where she met music producer, Jazze Pha...
, Erykah Badu
Erykah Badu
Erica Abi Wright , better known by her stage name Erykah Badu , is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Her 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 musical...
(Starter Clothing Line
Starter Clothing Line
-Rise and expansion:Starter was founded in 1971 in New Haven, Connecticut by David Beckerman, a former basketball player for Southern Connecticut State University, to manufacture team uniforms for high school athletic programs....
), LRG, Timberland
The Timberland Company
The Timberland Company is an American manufacturer and retailer of outdoors wear with a focus on footwear. Its three key locations are in Stratham, New Hampshire; Danville, Kentucky; and Ontario, California....
Boots, Akademiks
Akademiks
Akademiks 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 Southpole
Southpole (clothing)
Southpole 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...
.
Up and coming urban clothing lines have dominated the fashion in the Hip-Hop genre. Baggy Pants and Skinny Low jeans also came into style due to New Boyz's jerk dance from the song "You're a Jerk
You're a Jerk
"You're a Jerk" is a song by the duo New Boyz from their debut studio album Skinny Jeans and a Mic. It has peaked at #24 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.- Music video :...
."
A Bathing Ape
A Bathing Ape is a Japanese clothing company founded by Nigo in 1993. The company specializes in men's, women's and kids' lifestyle and street wear, running 19 stores in Japan, including Bape Stores, Bape Pirate Stores, Bape Kids Stores, Bapexclusive Aoyama, and Bapexclusive Kyoto...
made popular by artist and producer Pharrell. Females could not get enough of high heels in all different forms and many ideas were crossed and we saw things like the open toed boot.http://fashionbombdaily.com/2009/12/30/take-it-or-leave-it-top-fashion-trends-of-2009/
In recent years the hip hop world has seen a resurgence of old fads as well as the emergence of new ones. The last few years of the first decade of the new millennia gave rise to the popularity of tattoos covering artists from head to toe. Soulja Boy
Soulja Boy
DeAndre Cortez Way , better known by his stage name Soulja Boy Tell 'Em, or simply Soulja Boy, is an American rapper, record producer, actor, entrepreneur, and internet personality....
, Wiz Khalifa
Wiz Khalifa
Cameron Jibril Thomaz , better known by the stage name Wiz Khalifa , is an American rapper. He released his debut album, Show and Prove, in 2006, and signed to Warner Bros. Records in 2007...
, Lil' Wayne
Lil Wayne
Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. , better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. At the age of nine, Lil Wayne joined Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label, and half of the duo, The B.G.'z, with B.G.. In 1997, Lil Wayne joined the group Hot Boys, which also included...
and Tyga
Tyga
Michael Stevenson , better known by his stage name Tyga , is an American rapper signed to Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records and Universal Republic Records. He is of Vietnamese and Jamaican descent...
are all examples of artists that have set the trend of being completely "tatted up." Although having tattoos is nothing new to the music industry, never have tattoos been so pervasive in the hip hop industry. Tattoos covering the face and the head have also become increasing popular. For example artists such as Birdman 'Baby' Williams now sports a star tattoo on the crown of his head, Gucci Mane proudly boasts an ice cream tattoo on his right cheek, and Lil Wayne on his eyelids and forehead.
One cannot speak of fashion trends without mentioning the importance of hair styles, particularly for women. In the past few years there has been a resurgence of the asymmetrical hair cut with a contemporary spin. Stars such as Rihanna
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...
, Cassie
Cassie
Casandra Ventura , known professionally as Cassie, is a American recording artist, model, dancer and actress. After being introduced to music producer Ryan Leslie, she was signed to his music-media company, NextSelection Lifestyle Group. Leslie wrote and produced Cassie's first single, "Me & U",...
and Kelis have all dared to be different by setting the new trend of the half-shaven head. The reemergence of Adidas track jackets and the use of fashion scarves have been some of the latest trends to hit the hip hop fashion scene. Adidas track suits are certainly not new to hip hop culture as they have been around essentially since commercialized hip hop was created, however they have recently once again become popular. Fashion scarves have also become popularized in recent years. Kanye West is the most recent artist to launch his own line of products by selling decorative scarves with provocative depictions, named Risque Scarves. Skater Fashion has been used on Hip-Hop scene this 2010-2011 including Knit Caps, Bonnets, Fitted Pants or Shorts, Vans, Nike SB(Skateboarding), Shirts with sleeves, Printed Tees (brands like OBEY, Stussy, Adidas, Supra, Circa, DC, RDS, Emericas). Chris Brown, Tyler the Creator & Lil' Wayne wear this once or twice on their music videos & concerts.
The rebirth of the 90's Snapback Caps is the most notable sign of the New School Throwback Image. The "New" Snapback hype started around mid-2010. Around late-2010 and early-2011, the "New" Snapback movement exploded. Starter Clothing Line
Starter Clothing Line
-Rise and expansion:Starter was founded in 1971 in New Haven, Connecticut by David Beckerman, a former basketball player for Southern Connecticut State University, to manufacture team uniforms for high school athletic programs....
manufactured the most sought for Snapbacks in the 90's, and made its return in the Coming of Age As the hype for Snapbacks grew, many of the well-known hat companies started to sell snapbacks, such as New Era, Mitchell & Ness
Mitchell & Ness
Mitchell & 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...
, Reebok
Reebok
Reebok International Limited, a subsidiary of the German sportswear company Adidas since 2005, is a producer of Athletic shoes, apparel, and accessories. The name comes from the Afrikaans spelling of rhebok, a type of African antelope or gazelle...
, Adidas
Adidas
Adidas AG is a German sports apparel manufacturer and parent company of the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-Adidas golf company , and Rockport...
, and many more companies followed suit. There are many notable artists are credited with the comeback of Snapbacks by sporting gear from a company named Ti$A VI$ION. Chris Brown, Tyga
Tyga
Michael Stevenson , better known by his stage name Tyga , is an American rapper signed to Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records and Universal Republic Records. He is of Vietnamese and Jamaican descent...
, and Big Sean
Big Sean
Sean Michael Anderson , better known by his stage name Big Sean, is an American rapper. Big Sean signed with Kanye West's G.O.O.D...
are among the early supporters of this company since the Spring of 2010. Many urban fashionists credit Mac Miller
Mac Miller
Malcolm McCormick , known by his stage name Mac Miller , is an American rapper from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
, a well-known YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
MC, with starting the hype with the release of his song entitled "Snap Back," which was on his mixtape The Jukebox: Prelude to Class Clown, released in June of 2009. This was much earlier before the "New" Snapback hype started to take root in Hip-Hop culture. Much controversy surrounds this topic of who started the "New" Snapback trend. It is enough to say that snapbacks now have an over-exposure. when it really wasn't a huge topic to bicker upon back in the day. Many arguments of Snapback Caps almost leave the originators of the "Original" 90's Snapback trend bewildered. Before they were seen as items to show support to the local teams of the states. Some now do it for the fad. It's as though the true meaning of Snapback Caps are meaningless. Examples are seen today with the overpricing of Snapbacks. Snapbacks in the 90's went for $10-$15. Now the prices range from $25-$70. Snapbacks have now become a business proposal with a reception of major profit.
Criticism of hip hop fashion
Chuck D
Carlton 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 mid-1980s as the leader of the rap group Public Enemy.- Early life :Ridenhour was born in Queens, New York...
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 Cube
Ice Cube
O'Shea Jackson , better known by his stage name Ice Cube, is an American rapper and actor. He began his career as a member of the hip-hop group C.I.A. and later joined the rap group N.W.A. After leaving N.W.A in December 1989, he built a successful solo career in music, and also as a writer,...
rapped that "Us niggaz will always sing the blues / 'cause all we care about is hairstyles and tennis shoes.Hip-hop take out their pocket to shows that their from the street to make money.For bboys ,it's means they representing the foundation of hip-hop(oldskool hip-hop)" 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. Guru
Guru (rapper)
Keith Edward Elam , better known by his stage name Guru, was an American emcee and member of the hip-hop duo Gang Starr, along with DJ Premier. He was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts...
of Gang Starr
Gang Starr
Gang Starr was an influential East Coast hip hop duo that consisted of the late MC Guru and DJ/producer DJ Premier. Their style combined elements of New York jazz and hip hop.-Background:...
was robbed of his Rolex watch at gunpoint, Queen Latifah
Queen Latifah
Dana Elaine Owens , better known by her stage name Queen Latifah, is an American singer, rapper, and actress. Her work in music, film and television has earned her a Golden Globe award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Image Awards, a Grammy Award, six additional Grammy nominations, an Emmy...
's car was car-jacked, and Prodigy
Prodigy (rapper)
Lance Albert Johnson Banks, better known as Prodigy, is an American rapper and one half of the hip-hop and rap duo Mobb Deep....
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 have made the deliberate choice not to don expensive jewelry as a statement against materialism
Consumerism
Consumerism is a social and economic order that is based on the systematic creation and fostering of a desire to purchase goods and services in ever greater amounts. The term is often associated with criticisms of consumption starting with Thorstein Veblen...
.
Reed Stockbrugger is a member of the TISA VISION snapback company. He is a famous volleyball player.
Women in Hip-Hop
Along with the turning of the tide by select female hip-hop artists came the emergence of promoting sex appeal through fashion. Female artists have faced a number of pressures ranging from gaining exposure to further their careers as well as conforming with certain images to remain in demand and relevant. The alignment of Rhythm and Blues (R&B) music with hip-hop music (with collaborations being more and more prevalent) placed a whole new category of females within the categorization of what constituted a hip-hop artist.As referenced above, the nineties decade centered around women's senses of style revolving around that of men in that they'd adopted the use of oversized t-shirts and baggy pants. Also listed above are Aaliyah
Aaliyah
Aaliyah Dana Haughton , who performed under the mononym Aaliyah , was an American R&B recording artist, actress and model. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, and was raised in Detroit, Michigan. At the age of 10, she appeared on the television show Star Search and performed in concert alongside...
, TLC
TLC (band)
TLC is an American musical trio whose repertoire spanned R&B, hip-hop, soul, funk, and new jack swing. Originally consisting of singer Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, rapper-singer Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes and singer Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas it found success in the 1990s while also enduring a series of spats...
, and Da' Brat
Da Brat
Shawntae Harris , better known as 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.-Early life:...
as conformists to that trend. Female rap group Salt-N-Pepa
Salt-N-Pepa
Salt-N-Pepa is an American hip hop trio from Queens and Brooklyn, New York, that was formed in 1985. The group, consisting of Cheryl "Salt" Renee James, Sandra "Pepa" Denton, and Deidra "DJ Spinderella" Roper, was one of the first all-female rap crews....
are considered amongst the frontrunners in leading the transition of moving away from the male alignment and asserting feminism in creating a new sense of dress. They are said to have "wowed fans while wearing hot pants, cut-off denim shorts and Lycra body suits".
"Black women's relationships to their bodies occur within overlapping cultural contexts that offer contradictory messages about their value and function". In a male dominated society, it is no wonder that women used to work hard to align themselves with male images including how they'd dressed. As women generally gained access to and exposure within the offerings of several sectors of society, for example music, movies and television, we saw more images of what constituted attractiveness emerge. Following this came the perception of freedom to express oneself through several avenues including apparel. Rappers Lil' Kim
Lil' Kim
Kimberly Denise Jones , better known by her stage name Lil' Kim, is an American rapper and actress who was a member of the group Junior M.A.F.I.A.....
and Eve are known for resorting to trends surrounding being scantily clad with provocative tattoos and being perceived as attractive in the process. Not all female rappers, or female artists in general have resorted to these methods within their careers. "..the recent appearance of Black women performers, songwriters, and producers in Black popular culture has called attention to the ways in which young Black women use popular culture to negotiate social existence and attempt to express independence, self-reliance, and agency".