More clarification on the phrase Urban Clothing
At the start of the decade, hip-hop was on fire. Record sales were booming, chart-topping artists seemed to pop up daily and the music generated a whole new fashion look. Musicians and producers like Jay-Z, Sean "Diddy" Combs, Beyoncé Knowles and 50 Cent were eager to extend their brands into apparel, spawning labels such as G-Unit, Rocawear and Sean John. The result was what seemed to be a newly formed urban clothing sector, boosting the industry's revenues by millions.
Today, record sales are plummeting and many music artists' lines are struggling. As hip-hop's popularity has dropped, so has that of the clothing brands that rode the wave, rapper 50 Cent and Marc Ecko parted ways on the G-Unit brand, and independent urban clothing stores have either shutting or being scaled down.
Perhaps part of the reason for this is that hip-hop had to become more mainstream in order to grow — focusing less and less on urban clothing stores and more on department stores and retail chains. That in turn alienated those consumers who wore it because the look was considered to be cutting edge. Now, once-notorious rappers like LL Cool J are doing collections for. Even at their height, these brands often wrestled with the "urban" identification, fearing it would turn off consumers and insisting on being called "streetwear." Now even that is seen by many of them as sneering, as they recast themselves as contemporary brands.
Yet some brands are still growing the secrets of success are clear — they've evolved with their customers, integrated themselves into the mix of other brands in department stores and changed with the trends. And that gives vendors and retailers hope the urban market hasn't gone away but is simply smaller and more focused — and going by another name.
The key to success in the industry as a whole, said David Strumeier, vice president of marketing, licensing and new business development for Wicked Fashions, is to constantly evolve and grow with the customer and he added "Urban today is a lifestyle. It is not just assigned to the 'hood or inner-city anymore. It is a lifestyle that has been accepted by Gen-X and Y. It encompasses celebrity, entertainment and sports. There has been a massive shift over the past 15 years from an inner-city image to an entire lifestyle transformation. We have been working to ensure that our product represents that transformation."
Today, record sales are plummeting and many music artists' lines are struggling. As hip-hop's popularity has dropped, so has that of the clothing brands that rode the wave, rapper 50 Cent and Marc Ecko parted ways on the G-Unit brand, and independent urban clothing stores have either shutting or being scaled down.
Perhaps part of the reason for this is that hip-hop had to become more mainstream in order to grow — focusing less and less on urban clothing stores and more on department stores and retail chains. That in turn alienated those consumers who wore it because the look was considered to be cutting edge. Now, once-notorious rappers like LL Cool J are doing collections for. Even at their height, these brands often wrestled with the "urban" identification, fearing it would turn off consumers and insisting on being called "streetwear." Now even that is seen by many of them as sneering, as they recast themselves as contemporary brands.
Yet some brands are still growing the secrets of success are clear — they've evolved with their customers, integrated themselves into the mix of other brands in department stores and changed with the trends. And that gives vendors and retailers hope the urban market hasn't gone away but is simply smaller and more focused — and going by another name.
The key to success in the industry as a whole, said David Strumeier, vice president of marketing, licensing and new business development for Wicked Fashions, is to constantly evolve and grow with the customer and he added "Urban today is a lifestyle. It is not just assigned to the 'hood or inner-city anymore. It is a lifestyle that has been accepted by Gen-X and Y. It encompasses celebrity, entertainment and sports. There has been a massive shift over the past 15 years from an inner-city image to an entire lifestyle transformation. We have been working to ensure that our product represents that transformation."
Labels: hip hop, streetwear, urban clothing
posted by Unknown at 1:50 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home