Pop Culture Takes Over Fashion

As the world of high fashion continues to evolve and serve as a reflection of the current perspective of beauty, style, and pop culture many of the most esteemed and respected fashion houses and brands once ruled by a hierarchy of designers and social elite have now began to go to new lengths to ensure the authenticity of pop culture in every piece put on the runways of Paris, New York, and London: handing over creative control to the leaders of pop culture. While in the past many designers have somewhat recognized the influence that celebrities have had on consumers and have placed their garments on the backs of our favorite icons for decades, with some of our biggest stars even securing lucrative endorsement deals, fashion houses Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, Dior and brands like adidas and Puma are now taking the concept of stars having power over the image of their fans and potential consumers to the next level as the power of social media has created tangible marketing ability to tens of millions of people on a daily basis for some of our most beloved style icons like Rihanna, Pharrell, Kanye West, Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, Kid Cudi and others. However, rather than simply endorse their favorite products these stars are now collaborating with world renowned labels to change the image of the world on a scale never seen before.

Considered one of our generation’s biggest music stars as well as a style icon, Rihanna is at the forefront of fashion with the likes of Rick Owens, Alexander Wang, and Jeremy Scott all making her a focal point in the presence of their latest collections on social media ever y year with her following of tens of millions of fans clamoring for outfit she wears. Such power of influence has not only led to her becoming the first black spokeswoman for Italian fashion house Christian Dior, ending Charlize Theron’s long reign as the face of the label, but has also led to her being named as creative director of worldwide apparel brand Puma allowing her to bring her unique style to the world. Such once unheard of deals have now become commonplace through the initial collaborations at the house of Louis Vuitton with Kanye West releasing a series of sneakers with designer Marc Jacobs honoring members of his G.O.O.D Music recording company and singer/producer Pharrell Williams releasing a highly sought after jewelry collection. The success of these collaborations has since led other brands to follow suit with fashion label Givenchy since tapping Kanye West for advertisements and a women’s shoe release again honoring his G.O.O.D Music team as well as a collaboration with his former artist Kid Cudi for an exclusive sneaker release.

Not to be outdone, worldwide sneaker and apparel giant adidas has adopted this concept on a much higher scale by through collaborations and entire collections with the likes of Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, Teyana Taylor, Big Sean, Iggy Azalea, Gwen Stefani, 2 Chainz and many more to once again appeal to the consumers of pop culture but to also close the gap between themselves and America’s favorite sneaker and apparel brand Nike. As the influence and various forms of social media continue to grow the rules of fashion world will continue to change, with the fate of pop culture being finally handed over the right people: the stars that created it.