It is absolutely true that the hip-hop community now more than ever influences mainstream fashion choices that trickle down to the biggest names in the industry. Not only are rappers some of the strongest brand ambassadors, celebrities are now launching their own business ideas in the world of fashion and beauty, like Rihanna’s new make up line. Here are some of the biggest collaborations this year.
• Drake wore Stone Island like loyalty on his Boy Meets World tour which gave the brand celebrity credibility.
• Frank Ocean (who features on A$AP Rocky’s “RAF” track) and Kendrick Lamar have both fronted Calvin Klein campaigns.
• Travis Scott has worked with Alexander Wang and Helmut Lang.
• A$AP Rocky collaborated with J.W. Anderson on a capsule collection and appeared in Dior Homme campaigns.
• Pharrell has walked the runway for numerous Chanel’s Métiers d’Art shows and is now a co-owner of G-Star Raw, along with his own Billionaire Boys Club label.
• Kanye West’s Yeezy collaboration is one of the most in-demand shoe brands in the world.
• Drake dropped his “Signs” single in collaboration with Louis Vuitton at the brand’s Spring/Summer 2017 menswear show and caused a 104 percent spike in searches for Moncler’s Maya Red puffa jacket with his 2015 hit “Hotline Bling,” which has now been viewed 1.2 billion times on YouTube.
Business of Fashion further assessed Lyst data to gauge their influence on consumers, measured through product searches driven by their music videos and consumer search traffic to their brands and collaborations. The Lyst Index ranks the world’s hottest brands and top-selling products by tracking 4.5 million data points per hour from over 65 million annual consumers, five million products and 12,000 brands.
Kanye West secures the number one spot followed by Pharrell and Nicki Minaj.
Minaj’s social posts, and 83 million Instagram following created more than $14 million in earned media value for brands including Chanel, Gucci and Versace, according to Tribe Dynamics. However, Minaj has yet to effectively impact the fashion industry with her own line.
Cardi B ranks in fourth place in their ranking of influential rappers. Despite having no collaborations or campaigns, she has created an estimated $4.5 million media value in 2017 to date, and the massive 217 percent spike in searches for Christian Louboutin shoes since June is attributed to her “red bottoms, bloody shoes” hit “Bodak Yellow.”
-Compiled by Mariam Nihal
