Fashion associated w/ Hip-Hop.

Late 70's - Mid 80's.//
Brands associated with the emerging hip-hop scene included; Le Coq Sportif, Adidas, Kangol and Pro-Keds. Brightly coloured tracksuits were worn by iconic artists in the emerging hip-hop scene, this began a trend, it was a fashion associated with hip-hop in its early days. One of the most popular hairstyles of the early 80's was the 'Jheri curl', hip-hop was heavily associated with African-American youth in the cities of USA, this promoted the popularity of this hairstyle. Another trend of this era was pioneered by Dapper Dan, he was influential in the association of brands such as; Louis Vuitton Gucci and Fendi. Heavy gold jewellery came onto the scene, men would often have heavy gold chains around their necks whereas women would have large gold earrings. This era of hip-hop is often known as old school hip-hop.

Dapper Dan, 'The original hip-hop tailor.'

 The Jheri curl hairstyle from this era.

Late 80's - Early 90's.//
Black Nationalism became increasingly influential in this period, hairstyles and fashion very much told the story of African influence, dreadlocks gained popularity and Black Nationalist colours of red, black, and green gained popularity too. Brands such as Reebok, Kangol, Fila, Champion, Carhartt, and Timberland were all  associated with hip-hop during this period.
  KRS One with the dreadlocks hairstyle.

 Timberland, brand associated with hip-hop. 

Mid 90's - Late 90's.//

During this period the artists looked back to the 1930's-1940's for inspiration, they were inspired by the gangsters of this time and adapted to the style of the mafias from the 30's/40's. Artists dropped the gang-inspired look to adopt a more classical gangster look, this included; bowler hats, double breasted suits, silk shirts and gators. Snoop Dogg wore a Tommy Hilfiger sweatshirt during his appearance on Saturday Night Live, the following day the sweatshirt sold out in all New York stores. This showed the large following that hip-hop had during this era, it also showed where the majority of its fans were based.
The Notorious B.I.G. wearing a suit, bowler hat and a cane.

Snoop Dogg on Saturday Night Live.


2000's - Present.//
Fashion during this era is changing all the time, very little new trends have been brought in, instead fashion from previous eras are being reused. An example of a trend from previous years being reintroduced is brightly coloured garments and cartoon graphic hoodies, `particularly by Bathing Ape which gained popularity from artist Pharrell Williams. Many hip-hop artists created their own brands, Jay-Z created Rocawear, 50 Cent created G-Unit clothing, Eminem created Shady Limited etc...

Shady Limited.                                









Bathing Ape.