Hip Hop Shirts: From 70s Streetwear to Modern Statements
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Time to read 2 min
A Brief History of Hip Hop Shirts
Hip hop shirts haven't just been clothes, they've been a statement.
Rewinding to the 70s in the Bronx; the birthplace of hip hop. During this time, the Bronx was facing a significant economic struggle, and as a result, many experiencing job loss and an increased crime rate. However, with a huge variety of cultures and despite this hard time, The Bronx still boasted a strong sense of community. This contributed to a new wave of creative and innovative music and artistic expression, and as a result, hip hop was born.
This new wave wasn't just music, but fashion too, with the addition of streetwear becoming popular and having a significant influence on global fashion, bringing oversized clothing into popularity. By the mid-80s, artists utilised clothing and merchandise such as shirts to promote their albums, crews and labels. This was the start of the hip hop shirt craze.
Fast forward to today, the rise of vintage clothing and a regained popularity for hip hop has brought back 90s and early 2000s / Y2K fashion, creating the love for vintage hip hop shirts. Hip-hop fashion has evolved and some may argue has blurred the lines between classic hip hop and modern style, although, the essence of hip-hop is a state of mind, and it is the wearer who embodies the culture, not the clothing. Many of these shirts today may not promote the hip hop era, but they still have the same nature, with bold and whacky designs.
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The style of Hip Hop
As the hip hop and streetwear fashion scene emerged in the 1970s, people personalised it with a mix of hand-me-downs and accessible clothing, dressing it up and exploring new ways to wear it with pride.
During the 1980s, the fashion industry significantly changed with the influence of various hit artists. Such as Run-DMC's fusion of streetwear and sportwear, wearing the iconic white Adidas sneakers. As well as LL Cool J's focus on B-Boy style, featuring Kangol hats, gold jewellery, and branded sneakers.
Hip-hop fashion exploded in the 1990s thanks to MTV and music videos. R&B and rap artists like Boyz II Men, MC Hammer, and many others all sported their own unique styles, with baggy jeans becoming a major trend. Despite some resistance, hip-hop fashion became a multi-million dollar industry by the decade's end.
Moving on to the 20th century, hip-hop became more mainstream and commercially successful, especially from rappers' own lines, such as P. Diddy's Sean John fashion brand. Loose fitting clothing of artists from the 80s and 90s grew even bigger, including oversized white T-shirts, and big belts, and excessive tattoos and grillz.
The 2010s was another big change, and Kanye West had a huge influence. He collaborated with fashion houses like A.P.C. and Adidas. Hip-hop fashion influenced high fashion, with designers like Marc Jacobs incorporating elements of streetwear into their collections. Additionally, a counter-movement to the high-fashion influence emerged, with a focus on reviving old-school hip-hop style. Snapbacks and graphic tees became popular again!
Back to today,
Fashion is, if anything the most volatile, characterised by short life cycles, high demand, and low predictability. However, while certain trends come and go, the spirit of hip-hop remains the same and has most certainly made a huge impact on the history of fashion.
