With the arrival of Black History Month, there are certain figures we can appreciate for the cultural style they bring to the fashion world. This serves as a great importance since influence in the fashion community is paved by a lot of black representation.
Playboi Carti
With various internet waves most fashion trends that circulate most are centered around budget-friendly fashion, however Playboi Carti changed that. Playboy Carti is a music artist, specifically a rapper that owns the Opium music label. He is known for wearing oversized clothing that has little to no shade range at all, the majority being black and representing the emo/grunge genre of clothing. These fashion pieces tend to be higher end brands such as Balenciaga, Mowoaola, Rick Owens etc. Around 2023 to early 2024 people started getting influenced by his fashion choices and decided to replicate his sense. You can see the result of this mainly in areas such as LA, and Soho where fashion crazes are trendy.
Nicki Minaj
During the early 2010’s most people weren’t familiar with wearing vibrant hair colors
since it wasn’t that popular, even amongst music artists. Nicki Minaj plays a big role in creating the craze of wearing vibrant and neon colored wigs that contributed to her Harajuku fashion image. Nicki Minaj is a female rap artist that was heavily influenced by the Japanese culture of Harajuku fashion which adapts the elements of wearing vibrant colors. Nicki decided to put her own spin on it and with this she influenced many others to wear neon colored wigs during the era of the 2010’s.
Mowalola
Mowala is a known Nigerian fashion designer. She is known for her streetwear-centric pieces and revolving her brand around black culture. Her pieces are very influential in the fashion community, especially helping out in the process of making the Nigerian football team’s uniform with a Nike collaboration.
TLC
During the 90’s denim was trending but many didn’t realize that oversize denim would become a craze. Music group, TLC, becomes big in the music industry and makes a big cultural impact on the fashion community. TLC is a famous girl group that was formed in Atlanta during the 90’s. One of their most talked about and notable fashion statements, at the 1994 American Music Awards, was oversized denim. The influence they brought when wearing oversized denim, specifically overalls, inspired many others to do so either in and out of the music and fashion industry.
Aaliyah
Most people wouldn’t expect a girl who was wearing low rise pants and male underwear to make a fashion statement however, for Aaliyah this was her staple. Aaliyah was a famous female R&B singer who not only was known for her music but her unique sense of style. She influenced many people to start wearing low rise jeans with male briefs that are visible as a way to contribute to the streetwear style and also celebrate her tomboyish elements.
