Usually when I think of music artists at fashion week, I tend to think of American hip-hop and R&B stars. Rihanna, A$AP Rocky, Diddy, Ye... And not to forget throw back labels around the late 90's/00's such as FUBU, Baby Phat, Sean John and Karl Kani Jeans.
When I think of black music and fashion, I remember iconic memories of Lil' Kim rocking up to an awards show with her famous blonde versace wig. And Jay-Z's 2003 hit "change clothes" which featured and was also produced by recent Louis Vuitton creative director Pharell, had the likes of Naomi Campbell and Omahyra Mota fighting down the runway. It was an interesting and influential time for music and fashion to intergrate.
But is it all mink coats and platinum chains? We can't pretend that hip-hop and black culture did not pay a huge contribution to past fashion trends, but what's in store for UK black culture and fashion?
How Does UK Grime Come Into This?
The Grime scene has come along way since Dizzy Rascal's boy in the corner and So Solid Crew.
It was all Nike this and Avirex that, but not anymore...
OG grime lyricists Jammer and D Double E were spotted in a few paris shows as well as Santan Dave surprisingly caught walking the LV show. Never in my many years of watching the catwalks did I ever expect Grime artists to be seen attending some of the biggest shows, as the music has been highly criticized for its impact on crime in London.
It was so humbling to see some of the old-school mandem that basically carried the genre and had gone unnoticed in the music scene outside of the UK have access to such events, and why shouldn't they?
MAINS
This month Skepta dropped his 'Mains' debut fashion show at LFW, which showcased illuminous shell suits, shirts accessorised with ties and a daddy & daughter jog to close the show.
Annoyingly, the show was recorded live and was only shown on the brand website. This has not yet been uploaded to YouTube or any other platform for those that had plans to play catch up (aka me).
Awkwardly, myself and other fashion weirdos who did not get to see the show have had to skim through pictures online to try and get an understanding of the vibe. Upsettingly, this does not give me [us] a full feel of the craftsmanship that went into this new urban line and disappointingly, I'm not feeling that amazed by the collection or styling options.
I understand that the trend this year has been 90's/00's which I totally get down with, but nothing felt new and it all seemed a bit borrowed.
I had slight excitement for what I called the rastaman caps, but did this look like something that Tyler-The-Creator had worn in a past life? Yes, yes it did.
Just like Pharell's LV show (and every other show at that), the collection was played too safe. I feel the creative direction wasn't present at all and became an over-hyped, bundle of clothes because we all have love for Skeppy. However, I really did like JME's New York City, embroided, denim 2 piece, but would I have preferred this to be of London's skyline instead? Yes, of course I would. It just makes it another NY inspired brand and would have been such a nice asset to incorporate the Grime/ London culture to this collection.
I have hope that this will not fall into the regular pattern of under-designed "streetwear", and that the label understands their theme and what they want to contribute to the world.
Fingers crossed!
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