|
Never before
has the designer been so accessible to ordinary people
 |
What would be the perfect advertising scenario
for a fashion designer, established or otherwise? Would it be
the ubiquitous Victoria Beckham, or the eponymous Liz Hurley?
No, it seems that within the last ten years there has been a significant
shift, with designers displaying their wares on the backs of our
most celebrated and nefarious black musical 'artistes'.
This has largely been a rap/hiphop phenomenon, with its origins
harping back to the mid 70s in the South Bronx. Run DMC were one
of the first groups to hit the mainstream with their first hit
My Adidas in 1986, which was perhaps the beginnings of the parasitic
relationship between designer and musical icon. Their visual appearance
was distinctive: the essential ingredients were tracksuits, trainers,
obviously labels such as Adidas and the increasingly global Nike
abounded, but any fervent Bboy, or Flygirl for that matter, would
not be seen without their 'Dukie Ropes' (chunky gold jewellery),
the more, the better.
|
There
were huge dollar signs, Mercedes car badges, pound signs,
any overt portrayal of auspicious wealth was idealised with
an almost religious fervour.
Designers such as Versace,
Jean Paul Gaultier, Moschino, and others were beginning
to court, or exploit, the rich source of research material
that was now making uncredited appearances on the designer
catwalk. The increasing popularity of hiphop/rap overshadowed
and suffocated the dominance of disco. Unexpectedly, the
world was spawning young identikit models of this streetstyle,
much to the mystification of adults, but soon this 'uniform'
was beginning to become the accepted norm: sportswear was
de rigeur.
|
The
popularisation of the videos that accompanied the music
became one of the ways in which designers could reveal their
hottest looks from the runway direct to a beguiled general
public. Never before has the designer, and this includes
haute couture, been so accessible to ordinary people. We
live in a society of the 'must have', and whatever the latest
musical trendsetters are donning, they are bound to have
loyal followers.
Tommy Hilfiger, born in 1951, was a designer who understood
and realised the awesome power that black fashion had on
mainstream white America. In the early 90s his sales were
approximately 25 million per year; now sales exceed 2 billion.
...
excerpt, find out more in
bfm Vol 3, Issue 12
|
|