It is quite evident that hip-hop fashion has been evolving since it's conception from Adidas tracksuits and Kangol hats in the 80's to Burberry jackets and Gucci suits in the late 2000's. Hip-Hop culture created it's own image, unique style and fashion identity in the 80's influenced by graffitti, beatboxing, freestyle battles, Dj'ing and break-dancing; however only a hand full of brands representing those art-disciples are being worn by the artists themselves in recent years, and well who can blame them for taking full advantage of thier situation? This can be accredited to the financial success of hip-hop artists who can afford luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Prada, D&G and Gucci, which has made these brands an essential part of hip-hop culture similar to when Biggie made Versace popular through his lyrics in the 90's. There were several music driven "urban" brands created by artists in the 90's such as Wu-Wear, Roca-wear, Enyce, Karl Kani, and in early 2000- G-Unit, Shady Limited and Sean John which were still affordable in terms of the average hip-hop fan wanting to stay connected to hip-hop fashion and culture.
We have all experienced the inevitable come-back of certain styles and trends in urban streetwear; however which brands are going to represent hip-hop in this decade?
BBC, Bathing Ape, Evisu and Kid-Robot brought a level of excitement to hip-hop fashion in recent years as they incorporated animated themes derived from grafitti, while incorporating Japanese anime concepts while attempting to cater to hip-hop fans utilizing celebrity appeal and influence-which is a key component of brand recognition, appeal and awareness. BBC isn't what you would call moderately priced and neither is BAPE for that matter-$80 for a t-shirt is defintely not considered an impulse buy for their demographic of 13-35; however they have created an entirely novel concept-"urban couture," which is not only inspirational, but truly innovative as well.
Our brand "Rizumu" or Rhythm in Japanese took all of these factors of hip-hop fashion history into consideration; however at the end of the day-we wanted to produce a line created by hip-hop fans for hip-hop fans while stepping out of the box in terms of concept by utilizing themes from space and mysticism, East Asian ancient art and characters such as Samurais, Robots, Aliens, rapping Sumo wrestlers and DJ'ing blissful elephants, while still incorporating the old-school elements of hip-hop such as turntables, break-dancing, boomboxes, oversized headphones and freestyle battles.
Only time will tell if the consumer will appreciate these concepts or the next generation of hip-hop fashionistas will embrace brands such as Prada, Gucci, LV and D&G. In my opinion as a hip-hop fan who grew up in the 80's and 90's-hip-hop fashion will constantly evolve similar to the music itself, and the creativity of the hip-hop head has no limitations, restrictions or defining guidelines as wearing Jordan's with a Gucci jacket or an Adidas tracksuit with LV shoes has already entered the mainstream hip-hop culture and that blend of creativity without boundaries is what makes hip-hop fashion truly innovative and un-predictable.
Kind regards,
Karim Ghelani
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