Hip-hop is a way of life
The 2000s hip-hop fashion originated in the Bronx of New York City. Its music, DJing, dancing, and graffiti offered a haven from various social, political, economic, and cultural influences.
When hip-hop first emerged, the attire of the 1970s mirrored streetwear that Bronx youngsters already owned, such as tracksuits, bomber jackets, and sneakers with big shoe laces.
The sneaker market was controlled by Puma, Chuck Taylor, and Pro-Keds. Because inner-city hand-me-downs were often ill-fitting, baggy clothing was popular. Streetwear and inventiveness were combined in the era’s fashion. Accessible apparel, adorning it, and discovering new ways to wear it with pride were all mixed together.
Though undoubtedly more popular, hip-hop fashion has not changed much in the past fifty years. Consider recent partnerships between hip-hop artists and well-known sportswear companies to see how casual activewear and shoes continue to rule the market.
However, a new age of hip-hop and high fashion emerged when 2000s hip-hop fashion performers became more well-known in the twenty-first century.
Although 2000s hip-hop fashion is a state of mind, in some respects, this has made it harder to distinguish between what was once thought of as traditional 2000s hip-hop fashion and modern mainstream style.2000s hip-hop fashion was created by the person wearing the clothes, not vice versa.
You could wear and do whatever you wanted thanks to 2000s hip-hop fashion’s bold attitude.
2000s Hip-hop fashion was invented by whom?
Before hip-hop, urban life included hip-hop dress. The concept of hip-hop fashion gained popularity when artists began to receive greater recognition in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Still, in practice, it highlighted how young urbanites were already clothing.
In the 1970s, house parties in New York City’s Bronx districts gave rise to hip-hop as a culture.
Kurtis Blow later informed us that early DJs such as Grandmaster Flash and DJ Kool Herc performed breaks in soul and funk music that highlighted the drums and bass line.
Break dancing was the first element of the culture to take off with new party music. Rappers swiftly entered the scene to keep the spectators entertained throughout the evening. Sugar Hill Gang and New Orleans bounce music from the 1980s are early instances of this party spirit.
Despite its extreme contrast to disco,2000s hip-hop fashion certainly has its roots in street life, and disco even influenced it in some respects.
Despite rapping on disco records, DJ Hollywood of Harlem is now regarded by many hip-hop musicians as the first rhythmic rapper. In addition to his pure rap influence, disco impacted hip-hop culture through dress.
Young people from low-income communities adopted this mindset at block parties, just as people in the 1970s would dress to the nines to party at disco clubs.
Like the music itself, 2000s Hip-hop fashion was not founded by a single person or musical group. Instead, each DJ and rapper contributed their unique style to the celebration, and the dance squads differentiated themselves from rivals by dressing differently in uniforms.
Like the counterculture of the 1970s, hip-hop style is founded on an attitude that rails against boundaries and restrictions, as it still does today. The wearer creates hip-hop with his clothes.
The Cold Crush Brothers:
The Cold Crush Brothers and Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five were among the first hip-hop groups to embrace the theatrical aspect of disco through their attire, dressing in extravagant outfits and wearing knee-high boots during performances.
The Furious Five’s Melle Mel acknowledges that the group’s extravagant leather ensembles, tailored by a tailor, cost $1,000 apiece.
Cold Crush wore mink coats and full suits when they played. Artists like Run-DMC and Kurtis Blow, supported by Russell Simmons, looked sharp in corduroy suits in the early 1980s.
Hip-hop fashion from the 1980s:
In addition to maintaining leather clothes, Run-DMC maintained a realistic sense of style. Unlike their hip-hop forebears, they donned streetwear while performing. The three were the genre’s pinnacle; they defied every fashion and musical convention. Fans consequently identified with their attire, which included shell-toe sneakers, black bowl hats, and denim jackets.
Alongside them, LL Cool J made B-Boy fashion more widely known by wearing gold jewellery, loose clothing, Kangol bucket hats, and, most famously, branded sneakers. The name “B-Boy” describes a person who dances during musical breaks, with the letter “B” standing for break.
Run-DMC’s manager suggested a song about the company because they always wore the iconic white Adidas sneakers with rounded toes and three stripes on the sides.
Role of Brands:
The first agreement between a non-athletic organization and an activewear brand was made when the group played “My Adidas” at Madison Square Garden in front of adoring fans and a corporate executive. The million-dollar transaction permanently united sportswear and hip-hop fashion. The three wore Adidas’s own collection of tracksuits and sneakers as brand ambassadors.
However, in the 2000s, hip-hop fashion encompassed more than just sportswear. In the 1980s, high fashion, another industry, became part of the culture.
In 1982, Daniel “Dapper Dan” Day, a Harlem luxury imitation king, founded his atelier. Biz Markie, LL Cool J, and Big Daddy Kane wore his designs. By fusing streetwear with haute couture styles and labels, the tailor rose to prominence.
Despite getting him into legal issues in the 1990s, his combination of luxury brands with Black New York flair is still considered brilliant today, even by the houses who once found his inventions objectionable. Officially approved by Gucci, the Gucci-Dapper Dan collection debuted in 2019.
Even in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Harlem and Queens, high fashion was significant, as Dapper Dan understood. He was the first designer to venture to use the Louis Vuitton name on objects other than purses, including headgear. His clients were drawn to this since they wanted high fashion labels on pieces more like they wore every Day.
Relevant Reading:
Wearing haute couture demonstrated one’s ambitions and was a sign of class and position. This attraction was recognized by Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren Polo, who permitted free advertising without endorsements. The latter even went so far as to distribute free merchandise in New York’s low-income neighbourhoods.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Dapper Dan was also well-known for his support of Afrocentrism.
Using upbeat lyrics and African attire, The Jungle Brothers, De La Soul, and A Tribe Called Quest highlighted Black pride. Thick gold chains, which are popular among Kurtis Blow, LL Cool J, and Run-DMC, have been linked by some to African tribal history. Rappers who prevailed in street rap contests in the early days of 2000s hip-hop fashion carried their jewels like an Olympic gold medal.
However, Public Enemy’s style at this same period followed its own rhythm. In the late 1980s, Public Enemy’s military fatigues and camouflage complemented their fight-the-power posture against police and political corruption. Their style choices generated political attention and made a statement.
As with emerging creative forms, hip-hop fashion changed and became more diverse in the 1980s. It was an era for fashion experimentation.
2000s Hip-hop fashion:
2000s Hip-hop fashion comprised many items that varied depending on one’s locality and personal style. While Harlemers stood out with identical velour sweat suits and the same brands of sneakers, Clark’s loafers, shark skin slacks, Cazal spectacles, and Kangols were the most popular footwear in Brooklyn. Bronx kids mixed with Brooklyn.
The 1990s saw hip-hop fashion continue the many trends of the decade before. Hip-hop quickly gained popularity thanks to television, especially MTV.MC Hammer brought his infamous harem (also known as “hammer”) trousers to the game, and R&B artists like Boyz II Men made 2000s hip-hop fashion their own.
With the arrival of puffy jackets, Timberland work boots, flannel shirts, and more denim in the shape of jackets, jeans, and overalls, the hip-hop wardrobe’s foundation of oversized white T-shirts, sportswear, and sneakers persisted.
One of the earliest Black-owned hip-hop companies, Cross Colours, started when its founder saw young men wearing trousers in four to five sizes too wide. Carl Jones recognized he could meet the need for baggy denim in New York from California. He began making roomy jeans with smaller waists to eliminate the need for large belts. A 32 waist would suit a size 36.
