Newspaper article The Florida Times Union
Hip-Hop and High Fashion Are Closely Knit
Article excerpt
I was talking to a friend of mine back in New York, when
the designer Gianni Versace's name came up.
"I wonder what all these wannabe rappers are going to talk
about now that they can't talk about Versace any more?"
It was a facetious remark, of course. Though it may seem
otherwise at times, today's rappers do talk about other things
besides designer clothes. But it illustrated an important point
-- namely, how much high fashion and hip-hop interact and
intersect. Designers get more than their share of free
advertising from hip-hop artists -- who wear the clothes in
videos, concerts and album covers and name-drop their favorite
designers in their lyrics.
Some references even turn up in artists stage names: Timbaland
and Magoo (after Timberland boots) and the underground group the
Hillfiguz (an obvious reference to Tommy Hilfiger's popular
line).
In recent years, major designers are realizing the enormous
potential of the urban market, courting artists for ads and
fashion spreads, said Emil Wilbekin, fashion director for urban
culture magazine Vibe. This, despite the fact that the music has
had a romance with brand-name gear almost since the beginning:
Brand name sneakers, Polo Cologne, Calvin Klein jeans.
The current obsession with Italian designers is an outgrowth of
the '90s "urban mafioso" aesthetic, epitomized by the Puffy
Combs-led Bad Boy label, which included artists like the late
Notorious B.I.G.
"When the whole gangster thing came in, with the fedoras and
the suits, that's when the artists started going for the Armani
and Versace clothes," Wilbekin said.
"For men, it was because Italian designers have traditionally
made the best looking suits. For women, the clothes had a lot of
flash appeal. And that whole thing escalated with the Bad Boy
crew."
The issue has divided hip-hop fans and artists, some of whom
see the designer madness as evidence of a shallow, materialistic
mind set. …