Music Genres that Moulded Men's Fashion
Long before the term metrosexual was coined, many scoffed at men who wanted to look pretty and care about their appearances. Male preening was a huge no-no to their 'machoness', and how would a girl feel if her boyfriend "tsk tsk" at her dress and shoe pairing? Or honestly say "girlfriend! That jeans does make your booty look big"?
At first, guys who preferred being separated from their tut-ing fashionable counterparts, simply wore what was easy to wear and pretended they didn't give a fuss about style. But we all know deep down inside there was a huge yearning to look good and wear nice clothes - I mean how else can you explain the sudden burst of men who are not really full-blown metrosexuals, but have a deep desire for style. One thing's for sure, it all broke out when punk, rock and grunge bands broke into the scene. Bands that not only infused identity into their music but also injected personality into their stage ensemble as well.
The Topman Autumn/Winter 09 Collection, Privilege
The collection showcased a savvy, upper class Brit style - reminiscent of the early days of the Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
These bands gave men a chance to look laidback and cool, yet still hone their fashion senses without being ridiculed for their vanity. Now what you wear is not only a testament of your styling skills but also the type of music you might listen too. If you were into grunge, you might be a ripped jeans and plaid shirt wearing kind of dude and if you're a punk fan, then you could also be clad in skinny jeans, silver studs and tight shirts. Hence the term, "jump on the bandwagon"!
Here we would like to feature some of the bands and acts that have influenced men with their music and fashion choices. Musicians that allowed men to be deemed as studs even thought they showed their softer, emo and fashion-conscious side.
Grunge
Grunge wear have long been associated with Nirvana and their former front man Kurt Cobain. The tortured soul was all but a fashion icon, though his devil-may-care attitude made him über cool and highly admired. Nirvana's dress code consisted of thrift shop items, flannel shirts and ripped jeans. Doesn't 'It Smells Like Teen Spirit' already!
A music journalist once said that Nirvana's frontman, Kurt Cobain unkempt style wasn't a conscious attempt but the fact that he was simply too lazy to shampoo
Brit Pop/ indie rock
Brit pop was huge in the mid 80's - and the 90's and so was the style that indies groups were famously associated with. Music wise, The Beatles famously launched Brit pop but bands like the Verve, Blur, Pulp and Oasis propelled the genre's fashion into greater heights. Brit pop introduced preppish, slightly military inspired styles to the world. In Asia, that style was amplified with the arrival of British highstreet brand Topshop and Topman. Soon after, music lovers; turned fashion focus peeps had a medium to dress up like their icons and were seen in clubs and music festival with impeccable and timeless duds.
The Beatles' made the mop top and influenced other pop cultures since the 60's
The famous quartet were known for their smart coats and preppy suits in the 60's. But during the 70's The Beatles displayed the era's free-love culture with bellbottoms, Nehru shirts and colourful attire
Blur's style evolved from shirts, jeans and windbreakers into a more sophisticated look as the band's music progressed
Liam Gallagher from Oasis - with his military inspired jackets, scarves and Wayfarer inspired many. He even has his own label called Pretty Green
Punk rock
When you say punk rock, I say; eyeliner wielding, skintight jeans wearing and spiky-haired boys screaming about political annihilation. Although Green Day weren't exactly the ones that propelled the genre - they were The Clash, Ramones and Sex Pistols - what Billie Joe Armstrong and the rest of the band members did however was infused a certain style to the punk rock scene. And it wasn't just about metal spikes and black numbers anymore but a touch of sophistication with smart shirts tucked into skinny jeans, narrow ties and a whole lot of attitude!
Green Day
Pop Music
Teen idols and boy bands like Backstreet Boys, NKOTB, Jonas Brothers, Metro Station and Hockey are huge influence to young girls. And where there's a gathering of adoring girls, young men are bound to follow suit after catching scent of what these gushing girls regard as sex-symbols. And just like the music, the style may be borrowed from the other genres as well, but seeing that pop culture is exactly what it's named after - popular culture, it's the one trend that will go through a lot of cycle but yet, forever remain concurrent.
The Jonas Brothers
Glam Rock/ glitter rock
Now things are going to get a bit more extreme!
Queen, David Bowie, Iggy Pop and more recently Tokio Hotel and Adam Lambert are all part of the music scene called glam rock. It's bold, brash and very loud in sounds and styles - with lots of leather suits, sequined jackets and latex pants infused into it. Glam rock music and its eccentric clothed, slightly androgynous stars are making a huge comeback and we foresee it lasting as long as either its music or fashion lovers still exist.
Freddie Mercury from Queen
David Bowie and his alter ego Ziggy Stardust
"American Idol Season 8" 1st runner up Adam Lambert. He was even given the moniker Glambert because of his eccentric, glamorous style
Tokio Hotel's lead singer Bill Kaulitz, is such a pretty boy, isn't he? And to think that's his identical twin next to him.
Rap/ hip-hop
When it comes to music influencing the men around us, we can't forget the biggest music and fashion coexisting business - hip hop and rapstars. From blings, collectible kicks and designer jerseys, it all rounds up to one huge moneymaking business. Hip hop artists like Diddy, 50 Cent, Beastie Boys and Jay-Z are as a musically dominating as they are fashion moguls.
The Beastie Boys were fashionably tame compared to the other MCs
Run DMC flaunting their bling
The relationship between fashion and music doesn't end there, for a full experience on how these two subjects influence each other come check out the Topman Presents Couple, Killeur Calculateur, Lovesick Avenue and Twinkies here. Or get exclusive invite to the party here.
But before you start looking for your duds to the party make sure you checklist these below:
Each of the groups performing has also quite a stronghold in fashion. If we were to pinpoint their style of music base on what they wear, we would call out their styles as such;
Just like Lovesick Avenue, Couple's style - although casual, has a strong indie-pop influence to it, the armband sporting Killeur Calculator's style has a post-punk vibe and the mashup sounds of Twinkies also translates to their unique look.
Lovesick Avenue
Killeur Callculateur
Twinkies
Couple
Photos by Shermen Mukhtar
Image credits:
http://www.myspace.com/95590813 / www.tvovermind.com / www.thehollywoodgossip.com / www.fanpop.com / www.telegraph.co.uk / www.frankpicturesgallery.com / www.theblogpound.com / www.sodahead.com / www.mrmusic.com / www.filmweb.nu / www.live4ever.com / www.neblo.com / www.soulbone.com / www.globalpov.com / www.buzzworthy.mtv.com /
