Where Does Urban Fashion Come From?
Urban fashion is edgy clothing that reflects the lifestyles and attitudes of individuals who lead the urban scene by refusing to follow the rules or conform to trends. Inspired by functional and cost-effective clothing such as sweatshirts and oversize baseball caps, urban fashion moved into the mainstream fashion world when top designers incorporated urban-wear into their fall collections. Does this Spark an idea?
Other People Are Reading
-
The Beginning
-
Urban fashions popularized by black teens were created by rappers and underground house-music devotees. In the early 1990s, inexpensive invent-yourself fashions were reinvented by top designers for the mainstream fashion market at a high price. Just as Latin music influenced fashion and art in the 1950s, rap, hip-hop and house music influenced a generation of trendsetters whose cutting-edge styles were photographed in designer magazines and mainstream catalogues. Designers charged thousands of dollars for urban fashions such as fancy jogging suits and shirts with African prints.
Urban Meets Couture
-
On April 24, 1991, urban fashion made its way into mainstream fashion when designer Karl Lagerfeld previewed his nouveau rapper collection during the Chanel fall preview in Paris. Models wore leather baseball caps, quilted leather jackets and distressed, ripped denim. Thick gold chains accessorized chiffon dresses and classic Chanel jackets, exemplifying urban wear. Three weeks later, American designer Charlotte Neuville, inspired by the urban scene, previewed her fall collection during New York Fashion Week. Models donning huge medallions wore homeboy jackets with faux fur, hooded sweat shirts, and pants worn low on the hips in a funky hip-hop style.
-
Influences
-
Rap, hip-hop and house music influenced a young generation of trendsetters whose styles showed up on the runways in Paris and New York. Avant-garde urban-chic fashion was reinterpreted by top designers into pricey designer garments such as loose jeans and huge rhinestone-encrusted medallions. Designers, who typically create a collection every six months, are influenced by elements of popular culture or may take popular styles from the young generation and reproduce it for clientele looking for an edge. Each era has an undercurrent of ethnic culture that influence urban wear.
Trends
-
During the late 1980s, rap artists wearing symbols of wealth, such as large Mercedes-Benz pendants on gold chains, became all the rage and started the trend toward over-the-top jewelry pieces in urban fashion. Soon thereafter, these symbols gave way to more refined sterling-silver symbols hanging from black rope. Today, for example, designer Michael Kors, known for designing pricey women’s sportswear, gives his line an urban edge, with boxy, futuristic bags and pointed-tipped shoes with ankle straps; hip-hop mogul Sean Combs designs day-to-day urban-wear for men and women under the label Sean Jean.
-
References
- Photo Credit Photos.com/PhotoObjects.net/Getty Images
