Hip Hop Today

Today, hip hop fashion is in a very different place than it was 30 years ago. Consumers have made hip hop fashion a billion dollar industry, but it would not be possible it the genre had not borrowed from some very unusual places over the years.

Hip hop artists Jay-Z and Russell Simmons saw the success of Puffy's label and decided to start their own clothing labels: Jay-Z began RocaWear and Russell created Phat Farm.

Modern Day Hip Hop

Eventually seeing the loads of money that could be made from hip hop clothing, Puff Daddy decided to capitalize on the demand and began the clothing label Sean John.

Beginning of a billion dollar industry

What started in the 1980s with the Kangol and Adidas would explode in the mid-to-late 90s, as demand for brand name hip hop clothing would increase dramatically. Labels such as Fubu in 1994 were made specifically to cater to the growing consumers of hip hop fashion.

West Coast

While East coast rappers mimicked movie gangsters, West coast rappers adopted an 'urban gangsta' look. They wore custom suits, but they also wore tighter shirts, much more jewelry, and bandanas. Most of the clothing had a distinctive 'street' feel.

Mafioso

As the mid 90s arrived, hip hop fashion would settle into the identity that the 90s' period of the genre would be known for. 1994 marked the meteoric rise of popular East coast rapper the Notorious B.I.G. Biggie Smalls was declared the savior of East coast rap, as the rap game had been dominated in recent years by the likes of West coast rappers Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg.

As Biggie shifted some of the power back to the East coast, he and his producer, Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs, would establish a new trend for hip hop: mafioso. Mafioso hip hop was product of the gangsta rap would had taken the place of the motivational, cautionary tales which hip hop began with. Biggie and Puffy's wardrobe were inspired by the mobster movies which they crafted their personas around. This look included custom suits, gold chains, and gator shoes. And once again, a hip hop fashion trend was inspired by what came before.

1990s Begin and women in Hip-hop

As the 90s came along, there were a lot of 'left overs' from the previous decade. People were still wearing baseball caps backwards and wearing oversized clothes. Hip hop artists such as The Fresh Prince and TLC were known for wearing such clothing, and women were beginning to find a place in hip hop fashion.