Sowmya Krishnamurthy
Fashion Killa: How Hip-Hop Revolutionized High Fashion
Published by Gallery Books
02 April 2024
There are certain things in this life that naturally go together, as if inextricably linked by some unspoken rule. Peanut butter and jelly. Hot dogs and baseball. Midnight and true crime documentaries. And, of course, hip-hop and high fashion.
For decades, the pair displayed a seemingly effortless fusion of culture, forever associating Adidas with Run-DMC, Tom Ford with Jay-Z, and red-soled Louboutins with Cardi B. Even her current and inevitable success Nicki Minaj “FTCU” instantly graces his viral hook with Dolce & Gabbana. But there is a rich tapestry of history that precedes lyrical designer laundry lists, one that author Sowmya Krishnamurthy painstakingly brings together in her book Fashion Killa: How Hip-Hop Revolutionized High Fashion.
Krishnamurthy's latest work chronicles the love affair between hip-hop and high fashion, documenting the two entities' mutual admiration and collaboration, without ever revealing the cultural appropriation that has long plagued their relationship. While Fashion Killa profiles key brands that were crucial to the hip-hop wardrobe—Tommy Hilfiger, Ralph Lauren, and Chanel, for example—the book's greatest strength is in highlighting equally important players like Dapper Dan, Karl Kani, and Walker Wear, who historically have received less recognition in the often whitewashed wardrobe of the fashion world.
While reaching as far as nineteenth-century Harlem, Krishnamurthy is judicious with her choice of details, never allowing Fashion Killa to be bogged down by the weight of the rich fabrics depicted on its pages, yet leaving room for focal color displays. (These include — but are not limited to — a timeline of Kanye West's dismissal from the fashion world, the story of Jennifer Lopez's Versace ensemble at the 2000 Grammy Awards that spurred the invention of Google Images, and this gem of a quote from Snoop Dogg: “It's called a manicure, not a bijoux.”)
Sparkling as a statement pin and stylish as a pair of Cardi's “bloody shoes,” we'd call it the perfect accessory, but that would mean the story Krishnamurthy chronicles here is a mere flourish. Make no mistake. Fashion Killa it's a runway-worthy main event. (www.simonandschuster.com)
Author Rating: 9/10
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