KARL KANI VEST
1989
CROSS COLORS JEANS & T-SHIRT
1990
Personal style is an important facet of identity construction. It gives individuals the ability to present themselves in a curated and intentional way and can be used as a medium of resistance. In the1980s and 90s, when preppy American brands like Ralph Lauren and Perry Ellis were symbols of status and power, Black and African American designers began to create their own brands that better reflected the lived realities of their communities. Falling under the broad umbrella of “street style,” these brands were heavily influenced by hip hop and the politics of the 1980s. Similar to the 1940s zoot suit, popularized by Black and Latinx youth in New York and Los Angeles, the oversized, logo-centric aesthetic of street style was a way to send a message and to create new style paradigms that countered those trickling down from runways and magazines.