Hip-hop fashion has been one of the most successful newly found industries in the world today. This trendy style originated from the urban streets of New York and traveled throughout the entire nation, not stopping here, it has continued to grow reaching international bounds.
Hip Hop fashion didn’t just happen upon a group of people one day; it is actually the result of the hip-hop culture including rap music, break dancing, spinning records and graffiti. To understand hip-hop fashion, one must understand what the term hip hop means. According to Allwords.com hip hop means: a popular culture movement originating in the US in the early 1980s, incorporating rap music, break dancing and graffiti art, and the wearing of baggy clothing and loosely tied or untied training shoes or boots.
When people think of hip hop fashion they automatically think of baggy clothing, a gold chain, and timberland boots. However, hip-hop fashion has gone beyond the baggy clothes and noticeable chains, it has continued to reach new heights each and everyday.
On Wikipedia.com hip-hop fashion is described according to KRS One, as one of the nine “extended” elements of hip-hop culture. It refers to a distinctive style of dress, originating primarily with African-American and Latino young people in New York City, that goes hand-in-hand with the expressions and attitudes of the rest of the culture.
These clothes express the individuality and style of a person. It not only incorporates music but hip-hop lies within the heart of a person’s character. The ways that people think, act, and are perceived can all be based on or around the hip-hop culture.
So why was this trend formed? Hip-hop is the alternative to disco and a break away from the “Gansta Rap” trends. It is an original life-style that was more in touch with the street life and the struggles that the African-American community endured day to day. It was through hip-hop that artists began expressing their creative individuality based on their cultural heritage.
These clothes not only looked ” Fresh, Fly and Dope” they had a functional purpose believe it or not. Fat laced Puma shoes and Nike or Adida sweat suits were perfect for busting a move while break dancing. A “phat” gold chain and a furry Kango hat were perfect for attracting the opposite sex, and the Cross Colors T-shirts blended in well with the graffiti that was on the city walls.
Hip-hop fashion was well on its way to spreading throughout urban cities across the nation just by being introduced into music videos. These types of threads happened to be a gold mine untapped. Low-budget designers such as Cross Colors easily started making serious profits just by having major rap acts, such as Kriss Kross, sport their gear.
Other labels started to jump on the money train when they saw the great demand for this type of clothing. Many of the New York based clothing lines such as Karl Kani are still making huge profits to this day. As the rap industry continued to grow it was easier for companies to dress their customers like their favorite rap stars. This collaboration of fashion and music has grown today to be a billion dollar industry and is continuing to grow strong.
Not only are huge corporate companies getting a piece of the pie but the celebrities have delved into making money from the hip-hop fashion industry also. Celebrities such as Russell Simmons has Phat Pharm along with his wife Kimora Lee Simmons and Baby Phat(women’s clothing). Sean “P diddy” Combs is the proud owner of Sean Jean. Wu Tang Clan’s Wu Wear and LL Cool J’s FUBU are only a few of the stars that are making huge bucks on lyrics and attire.
Hip-hop fashion not only has to do with clothes but hairstyles play a huge role also. Cornrows, du-rags, weaves, ponytails and phat hair cuts are to be sported with the gear too. What’s the point of buying brand new gear and your hair isn’t up to par? At the beginning stages of hip hop it wasn’t suprising to see a “brotha” walking down the street with his named shaved into the back of his head or a “sista” with dookie braids or a colorful weave.
Shoes play a large role in the hip-hop fashion industry. A pair of converse may have been the style back in the day; however, these shoes are still shining in the hip-hop fashion scene along with Air Jordan’s, Adidas, Baby Phat, G-Unit, Timberland and FUBU kicks.
Here is some of the top hip-hop fashion named brand clothing:
· 310 Monitoring
· Adidas
· Akademiks
· AND 1
· Baby Phat
· Converse
· Dada
· Dickies
· Ecko
· Ecko Red
· Enyce
· Fubu
· G-Unit
· Girbaud
· Hiphopville
· IMI
· Johnny Blaze
· Jordan
· Jordan +
· Lacoste
· Lot29
· LRG
· Lugz
· Makaveli
· Mecca
· NBA
· Negro League
· New Era
· Nike +
· P.Miller
· Pelle Pelle
· Phat Farm
· Reebok +
· Roca Wear
· Sean John
· Shady Ltd
· Snoop Dog
· South Pole
· Timberland +
· Tribal Gear
· Triple 5 Soul
· UNK
· Vocal
· Vibes
· Von Dutch
Hip-Hop clothing can be very expensive. Most of these named brand clothing can start anywhere from 19.95-200.00 or more. However, with most any kind of clothing styles you can always purchase imitation or “bootleg” hip hop clothing for cheaper.
Here are some websites where you can purchase hip-hop gear:
Hip Hop Ville: http://www.hiphopvill.com/shop/index.php? This is a cool hip hop clothing site. Hip Hop Ville has all the top designers and lastest styles for the East and West coasts.
Urbanwhere: www.urbanwhere.com This is a good website if you want to find anything associated with hiphop.
Digital Gravel: www.digitalgravel.com This is an online store with some of the phattest gear offered underground. This site offers some of the top underground gear in the nation. Check it out.
Dr. Jays: www.drjays.com A cool on-line store that has most of the top hip-hop brands.
FUBU: www.fubu.com For Us By Us is LL Cool J’s hip-hop clothing line. Check out this website to see the FUBU Collection.
Latin Street Wear: www.latinstreetwear.com This site offers Latin Americans hot tee-shirts and caps.
Wu Wear: www.wuwear.com If you love Wu Tang Clan than you will love Wu Wear. This website offers the best new styles coming from the Wu.
Sean John: www.seanjohnonline.com P diddy’s hip-hop fashion online store. Check out this store to see the latest in the Sean John collection.
Phatfarm: www.phatfarm.com Russel Simmon’s classic collection of men’s clothes.
Babyphat: www.babyphat.com Kimora Lee Simmon’s classic collection of women’s clothes.
URB1: www.urb1.com definitely has it going on. This site offers links to some of the top online stores to buy hip-hop gear.
VOKAL: www.vokal.com Rap star Nelly’s online web store. Check out the tightest gear from the rap sensation on this site.
