Fashionably Musical
When it comes to establishing fashion trends, few professions have the same impact as musicians. While a band or an artist may gain popularity for their particular sound, a musician’s public image and sartorial selections play a huge role in cementing their celebrity status. They can also be important trendsetters, igniting controversy and establishing what’s on the bleeding edge of cool in the fashion world. Current artists like Lady Gaga or Pharrell are all almost as famous for their wardrobes as for their music; they’re only the latest in a long line of popular musicians who have successfully melded their style with their sound to establish a memorable personality.
One of my favourite early examples is the “man in black”, country’s rough and rowdy king Johnny Cash. Notorious for his hard-living lifestyle and bad to the bone attitude, as well as his gritty songs about drugs, death, prison and general mayhem, Cash consciously adopted the preferred colour of villanous cowboys everywhere to support his signature look.
Across the Atlantic, fashion has played a critical role in the popular music explosion since the mid-1960s. Early fashion trendsetters like The Beatles inspired hordes of fans around the world to doff Nehru jackets and rush to their local hairdresser to get mop top coifs. Following closely in their footsteps, the incomparably strange David Bowie used outlandish costumes and an elaborate wardrobe to continually reinvent himself.
Designers hare been quick to adopt popular music fashion trends into their lines as well. For instance, in his book Punk: Chaos to Couture Andrew Boulton documents how British fashion enfants terribles Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren built their early reputation by mimicking the outrageous costumes of punks like London's Sex Pistols.
Moving back across the ocean, punk's influence on fashion in the late 1970's, was echoed by the rise of Hip Hop in the United States. As artists like Afrika Bambaata, Run DMC and Public Enemy began to get significant popular airplay in the 1980s, their signature styles, from baggy jeans and heavy gold chains to designer running shoes, also became fashion mainstays.
Many of Hip Hop's leading names were quick to notice the influence their look had on the fashion world, and were quick to capitalize on this by developing their own streetwear clothing lines (Jay-Z's Rocawear, Diddy's Sean John, Russell Simmons' Phat Farm etcetera etcetera etcetera). Today, enterprising and fashion forward artists like Pharrell, are as known for their signature looks as their music.
Its pretty much impossible to do the relationship between fashion and music justice in a short online article like this. The library’s got tons of great books you can check out though if this is a topic that interests you. Some of my favourite titles either look at a particular garment, or the influence of a specific musician.
What influence has music had on the clothes you wear? Are there any musicians who’s fashion sense has endeared them to you as much as their musical talent? On the flipside, are there any music-spawned fashion disasters you think are particularly ridiculous? Share your thoughts!
Image Credits:
Lady Gaga – By loveyousave ([1]) [CC-BY-SA-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Johnny Rotten – By Nationaal Archief, Den Haag, Rijksfotoarchief: Fotocollectie Algemeen Nederlands Fotopersbureau (ANEFO), 1945-1989 – negatiefstroken zwart/wit, nummer toegang 2.24.01.05, bestanddeelnummer 928-9662 (Nationaal Archief) [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Wu Tang Clan – By Napalm filled tires from York, Pennsylvania (Cappa Contrast) [CC-BY-SA-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
4 thoughts on “Fashionably Musical”
I personally do not let music nor artists influence the clothes I wear. I just don’t feel original if I do so. As for fashion disasters, I’m sorry, but Lady Gaga is really pushing it. Her style used to be unique and inspirational, but now I feel as if it’s just strange.
I don’t feel that I feel that i need to let artist”s influence what I wear, I just go by what works best for me, but I do like looking at certain clothing styles for different music genres.
I think Gaga is really interesting, she definitely always makes you wonder what she’s going to try next. But the bands I listen to tend to be in jeans, T-shirts, and Chucks, so while it’s a look, it’s not necessarily what you’d label “fashion.”
I don’t really let singers and other artists influence what I wear now but when I was younger the artist who definitely had huge effect on what I wanted to wear and buy was Hannah Montana! I had her early sparkly scarf and wanted to dress just like her.