Fashion Influences From Hip-Hop Music

The styles of music differ not only in terms of sound, but also optically and thus shape fashion to this day. Because fans of the individual musical styles still dress accordingly, even if in everyday life this is often limited to individual elements typical of the scene.

• The appearance of punk is characterized by tattered clothing, often in flashy neon colors, and combat boots. Rivets, buttons, and patches are typical accessories of a punk outfit.
• Rockers and metalheads are usually associated with black clothing. They wear band shirts with often dark motifs. Pants, shoes, and bracelets are made of black leather.

Some elements of these clothing styles can be found again and again in everyday life and are even accessible in online shops like Techwear featuring their techwear jackets. But no musical genre has shaped the fashion world on a broader level as far-reaching as hip-hop.

Hip-Hop: Change in Music and Fashion

Hip-hop and fashion have always been closely linked. At the end of the 1970s, the early days, the main purpose of clothing typical of the scene was to be different and to visually express life in the socially deprived areas of America.

Accordingly, colorful and thrown together, the hip-hop stars dressed this time. Fur and leather were often combined with shorts, sweaters, and baseball caps. With the stars of the scene, the fashion style changed again and again – the colorful combinations became uniform looks.

There was a new turnaround with the rise of gangster rap. Initially – depending on one’s own origin – camouflage uniforms or low-slung trousers in combination with hooded or flannel shirts were popular. In the mid-90s, the gangster rappers of the moment also liked to dress in elegant designer suits. Always included as an accessory – the lavish gold jewelry.

Read also: Why Music Is Important in Every Culture

Hip-hop shapes urban fashion

The influences in relation to fashion and styling can be found even more strongly in everyday fashion trends today: Many today wear clothes in the style that was originally customary in hip-hop culture. What used to be the clothes of the Afro-American ghettos, which were often run down for lack of money, can now be found as the street or urban styles at fashion brands around the world: hoodies, loose vests, wide trousers, comfortable sneakers, baseball caps – they all match the clothing style of the Hip hop scene back.

However, a lot has changed in design and quality over the decades. Hip-hop clothing is now of higher quality and is also produced by well-known designer labels. The fashion industry makes active use of the popularity of artists in the scene, who bring their own collections onto the market in various collaborations.