The year’s top fashion trends in hip-hop, as seen on YouTube
Fashion and music are inextricably linked. And they always have been, from Michael Jackson’s shiny glove to Pharrell’s vintage Vivienne Westwood hat. It’s not uncommon that a musical artist is the pioneer of a fashion trend, or even a fashion movement, it’s all about the universe the musician creates. And between Gen Z and millennials’ attachment to social media and penchant for the hip-hop genre, the interaction between fashion and music has never been so rapid fire. Cite Kanye West and his namesake brand Yeezy comes to mind; cite Tupac and one pictures a red bandana and gold chains.
These associations exist largely thanks to music videos, an art form in its modern form taking off in the 1980s with the rise of MTV. Today, music videos are diffused across social media to be watched on YouTube and other platforms by millions of fans, and with each album release it seems fans expect at least one or two videos to follow. Fashion brands haven’t let these numbers escape them: in Travis Scott’s music video for the song SICKO MODE, for example, he mentions the brand Nike, and has since been collaborating with the sportswear giant on their signature Air Force 1s. Moments like these speak to the power of images over fashion trends. So what are some of fashion’s major trends in hip-hop music videos in particular?
Fashion trends in the past year’s hip-hop music videoson YouTube
To answer this question, Heuritech analyzed over 600 of the most popular hip-hop music videos on YouTube across 2019 and 2020 in the US and France. Heuritech applied its in-houseimage recognition technology to do so, a method which allows for the detection of over 2000 attributes and products in each frame, like texture, color, model, and much more. Over the past year, five main trends stood out in some of hip-hop’s top music videos:
1. FUR
Of the music videos analyzed, 18% featured some sort of fur, most often worn on coats. It’s a classic look: big fur coat, ostentatious jewelry, hype entourage. In Dadju’s video for “Sous Controle” featuring Niska, the rapper walks into a mansion sporting a long fur coat before jumping into the song itself. In Yo Gotti’s video for “Put A Date On It” featuring Da Baby, Gotti stands at the head of a long dining table donning a red coat embellished with a fur collar. The fur coat is a symbol of beyond-rich, it’s why the look fits in so well with the hip-hop universe. Fur is a status symbol that’s stood the test of time, even in modern rap.
2. NEON & FLUORESCENT
From neon yellow to lime green, fluorescent colors were heavily featured in 2019 and 2020’s rap videos on YouTube with an 11% share. Featuring Nicki Minaj and Ty Dolla $ign, Megan Thee Stallion’s breakout video “Hot Girl Summer” is filled to the brim with girls in neon green, pink, blue, and more, with some of the set props even awash with fluorescence. Rich the Kid’s video for “Save That” includes children dressed in neon, dancing through a grocery store to the rapper’s music and even joining him to dance at times, equally dressed in a brilliant yellow. At times fluorescent colors tend to communicate a sort of futuristic, almost technological mood, while other times they evoke unbridled energy and enthusiasm. Rich the Kid and Megan Thee Stallion include neon colors as a way to transmit each mood through their music videos, respectively.
Curious about the rest of hip-hop's top fashion trends? Check out the full article here!