While it is not considered one of the four original elements, fashion has been an indelible part of hip-hop from the beginning.
How an artist looked was oftentimes just as important as how an artist sounded, something that has only intensified as hip-hop and high fashion have become intertwined.
That was never my thing.
As someone that has only recently stopped dressing like it’s 1994, I didn’t think I was the right audience for Fashion Killa by Sowmya Krishnamurthy (Gallery Books), even if it had a hip-hop slant.
I was completely wrong – and completely enthralled by this book.
The subtitle is How Hip-Hop Revolutionized High Fashion, and while that’s true – Krishnamurthy lays out how high fashion made its way into hip-hop and, invertedly, how hip-hop made its way into high fashion – it is so much more.
The book is not relegated to simply clothing. Extensively researched, it’s actually a brief history of fashion, drugs, pop culture, rap magazines, artist-helmed clothing lines, and anything else that intersected with hip-hop, featuring a cast of characters too colorful to be fictional – Dapper Dan; LL Cool J; Karl Kani; Tupac Shakur; Tommy Hilfiger; Lil Kim; Ralph Lauren; Kanye West; Nigo; Pharrell.
This is the part of the review where I usually drop one or two (sometimes even more) critiques and gripes about the book, something I thought the author could have done better or an angle that should have been pursued. I have none here. The book is somehow both thorough and succinct and Krishnamurthy’s writing is the perfect blend of online and book writing – more polished and detailed than an internet essay but elevated, with a smooth and easy approach with enough humorous editorial asides to prevent it from becoming banal.
Dapper Dan’s “knock up” style of putting fashion house logos on different clothes. The different fashions between coasts and regions. The influence of hip-hop on the runway. The younger generation of male rappers subverting gender norms by proudly wearing dresses and kilts. All of it comes together in Fashion Killa to prove, once again, that hip-hop culture is far more than just the music.
Fashion Killa is available now.
I was provided a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
Christopher Pierznik is the worst-selling author of nine books. His work has appeared on XXL, Cuepoint, Business Insider, The Cauldron, Fatherly, Hip Hop Golden Age, and many more. Connect on Facebook or get in touch at CPierznik99@gmail.com.
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