Love affair between fashion and music

Michael Jackson impersonator Hector Jackson (centre) dances with thousands of other fans to "Thriller" in celebration of the late singer's 51st birthday in Mexico City August 29, 2009. Music and fashion both have a flair for showmanship and performance, a union aptly and profoundly expressed to the contemporary world through Michael Jackson. Thriller, we all agree, was a life changer. MJ’s style is said to have been heavily borrowed from Liberace. PHOTO/FILE

What you need to know:

  • In “A Kind of Incestuous Relationship” designer John Varvatos, author of Rock in Fashion says, “Music and fashion have had a kind of incestuous relationship since the 50s. It started with people like Elvis Presley and pop icons like James Dean. Then it exploded in the MTV days. Now, with the internet, it’s instantaneous.”
  • MJ’s style is said to have been heavily borrowed from Liberace.
  • His collaborations with fashion was the true game changer from a Jackson 5 centrepiece to that Beat It red leather jacket, white socks and moccasins, sequins, white glove to the Balmain military jackets. MJ was not just a music icon, but a style icon.
  • Emmy Kosgei has a fashion line and wears her creations in and out of her music videos.

It was Justin Timberlake who said it at the New York Fashion Week 2010 during the launch of his clothing line William Rast: “I think we all want to dress like rock stars.” As of 2012, William Rast was worth $50million (Sh4.4bn).

There is a seductive, intense, passionate, forever kind of relationship fashion has with music. One that is hyper-excitable with envelope-pushing tendencies.

In “A Kind of Incestuous Relationship” designer John Varvatos, author of Rock in Fashion says, “Music and fashion have had a kind of incestuous relationship since the 50s. It started with people like Elvis Presley and pop icons like James Dean. Then it exploded in the MTV days. Now, with the internet, it’s instantaneous.”

On www.wallblog.co.uk, an apt truth is writ. “Fashion and music have always walked hand in hand, with musicians often being the driving force behind the latest fashion trends. From something as simple as a band t-shirt to a more immersive association with punk or hip hop culture, fashion and music are inseparably intertwined as a means of self-expression for the sub-cultures of society.”

THE KING OF POP

Music and fashion both have a flair for showmanship and performance, a union aptly and profoundly expressed to the contemporary world through Michael Jackson. Thriller, we all agree, was a life changer. MJ’s style is said to have been heavily borrowed from Liberace.

His collaborations with fashion was the true game changer from a Jackson 5 centrepiece to that Beat It red leather jacket, white socks and moccasins, sequins, white glove to the Balmain military jackets. MJ was not just a music icon, but a style icon.

Michael Bush, who dressed MJ for over two decades, wrote in his book The King of Style (2012) ... “white socks were so his fans in the back row could see him moonwalk.”

Jackson danced in white socks covered with nearly 5,000 rhinestones (each hand sewn) and high-water pants. Military-inspired jackets became his trademark because the style was worn by royalty during Victorian times as a form of entertainment.

U.S. pop star Michael Jackson gestures during a news conference at the O2 Arena in London in this March 5, 2009 file photo. Military-inspired jackets became his trademark and gave fashion magazines fodder for the next two generations. PHOTO/FILE

By virtue of his aliveness, MJ has given fashion magazines fodder for the next two generations. And, take a sweeping glance at all the top celebrities and their relationship with fashion and how they have used it to elevate their art.

Beyonce, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry collaborate with fashion houses to prepare for tours. Sets and perfomances are designed with clothes in mind. Nothing is left to chance. Musicians are far more likely to start clothing lines, too.

They may not always be successful. Case in point, Jennifer Lopez. But when they succeed, they succeed big. Gwen Stefani’s L.A.M.B line was worth $90 million as at 2012. Jessica Simpson, now called fashion’s first Billion Dollar Baby, was at last count worth $750 million. Victoria Beckham stood at $95 million. The concept of being multitalented is a recurrent theme to celebrities. It is no longer enough to be good at just one thing. You have to turn yourself into an empire.

LOCAL ARTISTES

Closer home, the figures are not as staggering, but the musicians we celebrate have stylish tendencies. Emmy Kosgei has a fashion line and wears her creations in and out of her music videos.

Juliani has been contemplating a clothing line and has this quirky mix of recycled-meets-African fabric thing going.

Nina Ogot designs her own outfits and works with someone to tailor and bring them to life. Suzanna Owiyo has a distinct look with a touch of KikoRomeo.

Celebrity style teams move the world in ways even they may not yet understand. Style carries a social, cultural and sometimes even political impact especially with gender-bending acts like MJs was inclined to be. We love watching artists do their thing. It is the ultimate form of self-expression, makes for great entertainment and most of all, we love the way they move when they move!

They understand what clothes are meant to do. They don’t just cover; they give an identity, they define, they can possess others, they have great, transformative power. 

Lady Gaga performs during the New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square December 31, 2011 in New York. The late Michael Jackson. Music and fashion both have a flair for showmanship and performance, a union aptly and profoundly expressed to the contemporary world through Michael Jackson. Thriller, we all agree, was a life changer. MJ’s style is said to have been heavily borrowed from Liberace. PHOTO/FILE

Musicians are muses, too. Fashion loves Lady Gaga, Madonna, Rihanna and Beyonce for their ability to capture our imagination, their je ne sais quoi and knack for going viral. Music and fashion could just be the marriage that starts to tip fashion into the money-making zone because it demands a merger of left brain and right brain.

And Lord knows we could do with some of that.