The Pink Polo Effect

How Kanye’s Yeezus Era Became the Tipping Point of Hip Hop’s Commercial Breakthrough into High Fashion

The magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire.

That right there is Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point in a nutshell. The book itself might be notorious for serving as the little dictionary of a hyped marketing cult to academics everywhere. Yet, its accuracy in elaborating fashion trends extends far beyond the Hush Puppies loafers’ outbreak of the 90s, say, the role Kanye West’s Yeezy era played in hip hop’s commercial breakthrough into fashion.

Nowadays, it is hard to imagine any brand in its right mind refusing to associate itself with a well-established rapper. However, this wasn’t always the case. Hip hop’s exclusion from the fashion industry dates back to the early nineties, giving birth to brands like Wu Wear by Wu-Tang Clan, Sean John by Diddy, and Dapper Dan’s boutique store in Harlem, all founded to fill in the marketing gap for these outcast creatives desperate to find their way in. However, it was Pharrell’s eccentric approach to fashion that earned his niche critical acclaim and laid the groundwork for all who came after him. While Pharrell’s influence was a game-changer in many aspects, it wasn’t quite prominent enough to “tip.”

But Kanye’s was. Anyone who is familiar with Kanye’s career journey in fashion knows he has been testing the waters since day one; the man even interned at Fendi. However, it’s unlikely that his resume of brand collaborations alone would have gotten him this far without the publicity he and his family built around themselves. Apart from being the ultimate power couple of the early 2010s, Kanye and Kim Kardashian were excellent business partners with assets that complimented mutual objectives. Kanye had the vision, and Kim had the worldwide reach of the Kardashian-Jenner clan, who had been trying to break into the fashion world for years. Perfecting the no publicity is bad publicity game, Kimye became too big of a conversation for the fashion world to ignore. There was no looking the other way anymore, for he had them surrounded, eventually becoming the fifth man to appear on the cover of American Vogue in March 2014.

The Vogue cover, in all its everlasting controversy, was a far cry from a tribute to the couple. It was a strategic move from a perishing medium aiming to utilize Wests’ hype. When the editor-in-chief was asked to elaborate on her decision, she explained, “Kim and Kanye were a part of the conversation of the day. And for Vogue not to recognize that would have been a big misstep. I think if we just remain deeply tasteful and just put deeply tasteful people on the cover, it would be a rather boring magazine.” Nevertheless, it served its purpose on both ends; the Wests were officially “en Vogue” and being en Vogue was still a thing.

The one thing fashion has been unable to figure out for the longest time was to find ways to appeal to younger audiences. That’s where Kanye stepped in when he released Yeezy Season 1, the first apparel collection from his collaboration with Adidas, in 2015. He effortlessly managed to populate an army of streetwear fanatics (aka hypebeasts) by selling them a lifestyle, arguably a personality, in the form of highly in-demand products. His success with filling this marketing gap urged the industry to recognize the influence rappers have on the demographics they were eager to reach and realized working with them might be more efficient than trying to make Jennifer Lawrence Miss Dior. Lawrence might have been America’s sweetheart at the time, but people didn’t want to be her. They didn’t aspire to live the lifestyle she claimed and had very little interest in it. Yet, everyone religiously kept up with the Kardashians, including Jennifer Lawrence. Kids carried around Kanye’s tour merch like it was haute couture, listened to his songs on repeat, and chanted his lyrics along with the brands that happened to be in the song.

And just like that, Kanye tipped.

Hip Hop’s commercial breakthrough single-handedly helped democratize fashion, meaning their customers no longer consisted of older upper-class people. Following the success of Yeezy, demand for streetwear fashion, which originated from hip-hop culture, started skyrocketing. Trends began tricking up instead of down. Over the years, the designs of big couture houses shifted into a more contemporary space to adapt to the evolving environment (ahem, Burberry). It got so big that even forgotten brands like Fila and Champion regained momentum as they found themselves partnering with high-tier names like Fendi, Off-White, and Vetements.

Kanye’s influence didn’t only change what people wanted to purchase and be seen in. He paved the way for numerous rappers who have been knocking on the fashion industry’s doors for years. Without the fear of association, brands started partnering with hip-hop artists left and right. Take ASAP Rocky’s 2016 Dior Homme campaign or Lil Uzi repping Jean Paul Gaultier- rappers became fashion’s most valuable assets in no time. However, the biggest triumph that came out of Kanye’s breakthrough was none other than his protégé Virgil Abloh. The 39-year-old Chicagoan shook everyone to their core with Off-White and was appointed the creative director of Louis Vuitton in 2019 despite lacking a technical fashion resume.

The durability of inclusion in fashion remains in question, as it is hard to tell whether the fashion executives utilized hip-hop’s influence as a means to an end or if they sincerely embraced these creatives as a part of their industry. There is no way of knowing if rappers will still receive invitations to industry dinners once rap gets replaced with a newer, more influential genre. It’s too close to call, but for now, they seem to be okay. Especially with thought leaders like Virgil and Rihanna establishing their brands and becoming key players in the industry, it’s safe to say that even if hip-hop hits another curve, it’ll have plenty of momentum behind it.