The Symbiotic Relationship Between Music, Fashion, and Modern Industry, Summaries of Music

Download The Symbiotic Relationship Between Music, Fashion, and Modern Industry and more Summaries Music in PDF only on Docsity! 1 Music In Relation to Fashion: 2000’s and 2010’s Album Cycles That Impacted the Modern Fashion Industry FMER 430: Capstone Finn La’akea Reyes Dr. Holly Schiller December 2021 2 Music In Relation to Fashion By, Finn Reyes and Holly Schiller, Ph.D. Brown School of Business and Leadership Stevenson University Abstract Music and fashion are both industries that thrive with the success and growth of the other. The fashion industry influences the music industry by acting as a medium for artists to use in the promotion of their albums, giving the artist and promotional cycle of the album an identity and something to distinguish the project from other similar albums. The music industry affects the fashion industry as well as designers by introducing new trends, shifts in the current zeitgeist and pop culture. Fashion can indirectly and directly influence an album cycle or promotion of an album to the same degree an album cycle can create and help fashion trends emerge. There are 8 notable album cycles and the fashion trends from the time span of the 2000s through the 2010s that emerged through direct and indirect influences showcasing the mutually symbiotic relationship of the music and fashion industry. It is important to understand the mutualistically positive relationship between both industries as the understanding of one or the relationship they share, can and will be beneficial for both markets respectively. Research related to this topic includes the analysis of other symbiotic relationships fashion shares with media industries such as social platforms, 5 the fashion is punk and grunge based, it helps create an aesthetic and an identity for the album and artist going through its album cycle. Background The main way music can influence fashion and the zeitgeist of a certain time is through the album cycles of recording artists or known more commonly as “eras” by fans and music critics. A musical era or album cycle can best be described as the allotted time in which an album or body of work by an artist is released and a tour is launched in that span of time (Gabler 2020). Notable features of a musical era or album cycle include the promotion of work, the action taken by the artists, music released, and any significant details within the time of the album’s launch. The relationship between fashion and music is a symbiotic one since each industry thrives with the success of the other, since fashion gives artists a chance to stand out and have an identity and music contributes to the overall zeitgeist the fashion industry capitalizes from (Friedl, 2020). While there are several notable albums in the history of modern music that have impacted fashion, this research identifies 8 notable albums and their cycles that have either indirectly or directly impacted fashion from the 2000s to the present day. It is important to understand how these album cycles in music established permanent and short-lived trends that went on to impact the fashion industry in the present day and likely in more years to come, as both fashion and music continue to thrive and grow. Music and fashion share a special symbiotic relationship that must be understood. These 8 notable albums also created ripple effects such as fashion trends from 6 music videos, red carpet events or zeitgeist contribution within the album cycle that impacted the modern fashion industry which is why it is important to answer the question: “How does a musical artist’s album cycle impact the fashion industry?” Methodology To understand why the relationship between music and fashion is so important, and how album cycles directly and indirectly contribute to the birth or rebirth of trends and changes in the fashion industry, 8 albums were critically analyzed. When analyzing an album cycle, the outfits and looks worn in music videos, red carpet appearances, album covers are examples of how an album directly impacted the modern fashion industry. Music, cultural impact, contribution to zeitgeist and aesthetics in relation to the album cycle were analyzed to understand how album cycles indirectly contributed to the growth of trends fashion industry. There are many albums that have contributed and reaffirmed the strong symbiotic relationship fashion shares with the music industry. What separates these 8 albums is the variety of trends they indirectly and directly contributed to in the 2000s and 2010s. 2000’s and 2010’s Album Cycles That Impacted the Modern Fashion Industry It is important to understand why and how this impacts fashion in the direct and indirect ways many albums have done in the past, since music is one of the main contributing factors to the zeitgeist of a year or even decade, it plays a factor in trends that occur within fashion and for trend forecasters to factor into their copious research (Friedl, 7 2020). An example of a direct way an album cycle can affect fashion is an artist wearing a certain kind of garment during the filming of a music video, tour date or album cover from an artist (Dawson, 2017). Fans will start to replicate this look, and it can sometimes become a trend in the fashion industry. An indirect way fashion can influence or inspire a trend in relation to fashion is through the music being a supporting factor in the zeitgeist and overall direction of trends during that time (Lewis, 2019). For example, if an album cycle consists of 80s synth pop or disco music, it indirectly contributes to and reaffirms the nostalgia and renaissance of 80s fashion during that time (Friedl, 2020). Rainbow by Mariah Carey (1999) Mariah Carey is one of the best-selling female recording artists of all time (Satenstein, 2021). Although a notable figure in the music industry, the voice and music of Carey often overshadows her impact on fashion. Rainbow (1999) (Figure 4) is a prime example of how Carey directly influenced a certain trend within the denim market during the early 2000’s (Fratti, 2017). Although released in November of 1999, music critics often refer to this as Carey’s first album of the 2000’s, additionally most of the components of the album cycle took place in the year 2000. Carey during the filming of her music video for the single “Heartbreaker ft. Jay Z” she had troubles with her wardrobe. Her jeans were not fitting her correctly and with a time crunch to get the video out in time Figure 4 10 Low rise jeans went on to become an integral part of 2000s fashion and considered to be a piece of nostalgia that is being revisited in recent years. The creator of low-rise jeans is often credited to Alexander McQueen, however the popularization in mainstream media of low-rise jeans is often credited to Mariah Carey (Fratti, 2017). Although not her most memorable or critically acclaimed album, Rainbow (1999) went on to become one of Carey most influential culturally and in the fashion industry and is a prime example of how musician’s album cycle can directly impact fashion and long-lasting trends that occur within the time of an album cycle. Love. Angel. Music. Baby. by Gwen Stefani (2004) Gwen Stefani of “Hollaback Girl” fame originated from the band, No Doubt. The band was extremely popular and has sold millions of records worldwide. Stefani eventually launched a solo career after her rapid growth in popularity as an artist. Stefani launched her 2004 debut album titled Love. Angel. Music Baby. (2004) with massive success, spawning multiple hit singles such as “Whatcha Waiting For”, “Bubble Pop Electric”, “Harajuku Girls” Figure 6 11 and more (Figure 6). It quickly became one of the most defining bodies of work from the 2000s decade and is often associated as the quintessential 2000s pop album with the signature electric-pop sound with an RnB twist. This album went on to impact fashion and multiple trends directly and indirectly in both positive and negative ways (Ledbetter, 2017). Stefani wore a plethora of 2000’s fashion in her music videos and red-carpet events. She wore low rise jeans, spaghetti strap tops, multiple layers, oversized reflective shades and barrettes as an outer layer or top as some of the most notable pieces Stefani contributed to the popularization of. Because of these looks in music videos and red-carpet events, this album cycle is one of the most notable from the 2000’s due to its significant contribution to 2000’s fashion and culture from that decade. The current resurgence of 2000s fashion in 2021 is very reminiscent of multiple Gwen Stefani looks from her album cycle (Figure 7). Stefani along with other artists like Aaliyah, Missy Elliot, Paris Hilton, and Mariah Carey are often considered blueprints for 2000s fashion in multiple ways due to how they embodied every trend set, Stefani being the most notable (Ledbetter, 2017). This album cycle also had a distinct sound to it sonically and emanated the genre of pop the 2000s were centered around, which is often associated to the culture and therefore fashion of the 2000s, it serves as a perfect time capsule according to Rolling Stone of everything to do with the decade it was made in from the songs, the fashion and controversy (Ledbetter, 2017). Figure 7 12 In addition to all the praise this album has received for its significant contribution to music, pop culture, and fashion, it also received a fair amount of controversy that also links the album negatively with the darker sides of the decade it was created in. Stefani had multiple hit singles on this album, a notable single titled “Harajuku Girls” (Figure 8) has been heavily criticized with cultural appropriation in the aesthetic and fashion of the music video (Henderson, 2021). The song and video featured lyrics that fetishize Japanese women and Japanese fashion. Stefani would wear kimonos, hair sticks and Japanese hair brooches during some read carpet events and was called out for cultural appropriation instead of appreciation (Henderson, 2021). In addition to this, Stefani also had 4 Asian Women follow her around in revealing forms of traditional Japanese clothing such as kimonos (Matlow, 2007). She would refer to them as Love, Angel, Music and Baby like the name of the album. They could not talk unless given permission by Stefani and had to act overly stereotypical during red carpet events. This directly and negatively impact 2000s fashion and the fashion industry (Henderson, 2021). Being one of the more notable forms of blatant cultural appropriation, Stefani became a catalyst for appropriation in Japanese and Asian fashion (Matlow, 2007). Notable celebrities and brands that have contributed to Japanese cultural appropriation include Katy Perry, Avril Lavigne, H&M, Topshop, and Figure 8 15 become more mainstream in fashion. The band directly contributed to the conversation of what is appropriate in fine jewelry and how religion plays a role in fashion (Bartkowski, 2014). Although Madonna started this conversation in the earlier parts of her career, Evanescence contributed to the conversation of religious imagery used in fashion in the 2000s. The action of performing with religious symbols on jewelry by a mainstream group was considered taboo at the time since the use of religious symbols and imagery as a fashion accessory was becoming a mainstream conversation that is still currently being debated today (Bartkowski, 2014). The Fame Monster by Lady Gaga (2009) Stefani Germanotta, better known by her stage name Lady Gaga cemented her name in both the music and fashion industry in the late 2000s with her debut album The Fame (2008), which later was rereleased as The Fame Monster (2009) a year later (Figure 11). The album received critical acclaim as a beautiful blend of dance pop with an experimental element. The album also spawned multiple top hits including “Just Dance”, “PokerFace” and “Bad Romance” 2 of which have been certified diamond (Iddon, 2017). Gaga has been notoriously linked to fashion and is one of the reasons why the everyday person would agree that fashion and music share a symbiotic and close relationship. 16 Gaga is one of the most recognized figures in pop music and in the entertainment industry. She is of the most notable artists that is sometimes recognized by her style and fashion more than her music and records. Her performative exaggerated, and provocative fashion has gone on to influence other artists’ album cycles more than the casual fashion market (Iddon, 2017). Gaga has done extremely performative and outlandish outfits in relation to the album cycle of The Fame Monster (2009), most notably she arrived to the VMAs in a dress made of meat, in a giant glass egg carried by her backup dancers for the Grammy’s and even a dress made entirely of mirrors for the MNet awards in Tokyo (Newbold, 2021). These looks among a wide variety in Gaga’s career have changed how media and fans of both fashion and music view the relationship between music and fashion. When a Lady Gaga album was released, the question that followed was “Did you see what Lady Gaga was wearing?” (Newbold, 2021). This allowed for designers and recording artists to capitalize off the success of Gaga and the publicity she received for her outlandish outfits and performances involving her fashion and style. Fashion became a vital tool for artists to use during their album cycles to generate public media attention and buzz for the upcoming project by the artist, in addition to showcasing a fashion designer’s work. Figure 11 Figure 12 17 Although mainly impacting pop culture and luxury fashion, Gaga has also greatly contributed to the normalization of androgynous and drag fashion (Iddon, 2017). At the 2010 MTV Music Awards, Gaga wore a black suit with dark under eyeshadow to emanate a man’s complexion along with sideburns, a cigarette in hand with her hair tucked behind a short wig (Figure 13). She dawned the alter ego “Jo Calderone '' for the entire award show. This caused Gaga to be scrutinized and being called transgender and a cross dresser. This, in turn, contributed to the mainstream media’s view on drag since it was a first time for a lot of viewers to see a straight cis-gender woman in drag (Newbold, 2021). This ensemble contributed to the normalization of drag and as a statement that drag was not an art form exclusive to the gay community or gay men specifically. In a 2021 interview with Paper Magazine, professional drag queen Ru Paul cited this as one of the most important and inspiring moments in which a celebrity has helped the drag community through fashion and expression. Lady Gaga is known as one of the most vocal celebrity supporters of the LGBTQ+ community and her fashion choices have supported and amplified this. The Fame Monster (2009) had so many notable moments that helped change the relationship between music and more specifically album cycles with fashion and how much of a cultural impact one simple outfit can do for the artist and the fashion industry. Figure 13 20 also affected the resell market greatly and changed how a lot of brand collaborations function, a great deal of which use the drop culture system. West did not invent drop culture; however, it is important to note that he did popularize it after the massive success of the launch of his Adidas Yeezy Boost sneakers which he did in the later parts of his album cycle to go along with the concept of his album which was inspired by architecture (Hughes, 2021). The Yeezy sneaker was also inspired by architecture, and often related to the album of Yeezus (2013) as a byproduct of his inspiration (Hughes, 2021). Ultraviolence- Lana Del Rey (2014) Lizzie Grant, also known by her stage name Lana Del Rey is an indie pop singer songwriter that is extremely celebrated in the music industry. Her work is described best by a 2014 Pitchfork Review as “Something out of old Hollywood that makes you want to slow dance forever in a feeling of nostalgia and reverence”. Her music is often described as an aesthetic and how she can transport the listener back to a more retro period of music with her soft vocals combined with orchestral instrumentals. Rey is often described as an artist that glamorized old Hollywood in her music with lyrics that make the listener feel like they are back in the 1940s and 1950s (Davis, 2017). Her music became extremely popular on social media sites such as Tumblr, Instagram, and Twitter due to her debut album Figure 17 21 Born to Die (2010) released just a few years later. Ultraviolence (2014), her sophomore album (Figure 17) continued this trend of old Hollywood nostalgia by making music videos shot on an old analog film cameras featuring old cars, vintage fashion, and references to that period (Powers, 2019). Her music has since changed in storytelling but Ultraviolence (2014) heavily impacted social media fashion and the recreation of nostalgia in fashion. It has become one of the first albums to impact social media through its album cycle (Powers, 2019). Rey’s music from Ultraviolence (2014) was one of the first to cause trends online, most notably on Tumblr and Instagram, both video and music sharing apps centered around aesthetics and cohesive profile pages known as feeds. Users would replicate vintage fashion looks from the 1940s-1950s, most notably the old Hollywood look for women consisting of slim full body dresses, pearls, a mink coat, and a small coin purse. Male users would replicate the 1950s greaser aesthetic complete with black leather jackets, white cotton shirts, slim jeans, and biker boots and controversially cigarettes. Since Rey’s music inspired an aesthetic online and users were quick to replicate the glamorized old Hollywood look, a cigarette was a common accessory (Verduzco, 2020). Rey’s music caused users to want to embody that fashion aesthetic and teenage users would purchase cigarettes to replicate this since it was trending (Figure 18). Rey was criticized by parents for glamorizing things that should not be and promoting cigarettes as a fashion Figure 18 22 accessory rather than drug (Davis, 2017). Rey was also criticized by animal rights activists known as PETA for her excessive use of fur and leather accessories in her videos and the negative impacts it could cause if the market for those items were to increase (Davis, 2017). Rey was also notably opposed to designer, early in her career, and made it known in her album cycles and red-carpet events with wearing affordable clothes and sharing her love of fast fashion. Being a rarity in the celebrity world by admitting this, Rey became known as a down to earth celebrity that promoted fast fashion over designer. Everything mentioned on creating an aesthetic through the fashion of Rey’s videos was done on a smaller budget since Rey was a small indie artist at the time (Verduzco, 2020). Social media users would look up exactly where Rey purchased each item and managed to sell out a few items she used in the video multiple times after restocks (Powers, 2019). Most notably a white dress from Dillards, and a Leather Jacket from Topshop were sold out after multiple restocks. This is an example of how an album cycle can affect the popularity of a select number of pieces used during an album cycle for a recording artist. Rey also continued Madonna’s legacy with her use of an American white wedding dress in her music video for the title track “Ultraviolence”. In the video, she received similar criticism to Madonna for her inappropriate use of the wedding dress Figure 19 25 that year and 30% alone in June of 2016. In 2018 wigs were on the rise and made a massive comeback in casual fashion by influencers such as the Kardashian sisters. As they capitalized on the trend, Jepsen among other influences were recognized for being an early adopter to this resurgence in wigs and trends in relation to the wig industry. This is one of many examples of a social media challenge going viral and affecting another industry. Like Lana Del Rey, Jepsen committed to a retro aesthetic by featuring all individuals in her music videos to wear vintage clothing that emanated the world she was trying to recreate from the 70s and 80s (Figure 22). Many saw this as Jepsen’s minor attempt to recreate a retro or nostalgic feel with her music and music videos. However, innovators and early adopters saw this as an early and slowly growing trend within both music, fashion, and lifestyle. Rolling Stone dubbed Emotion (2015) as one of the most important albums from the 2010’s from its delayed impact culturally in elements such as music, fashion and makeup. Emotion (2015) has since been labeled as a subversive and innovative masterpiece culturally by critics and Jepsen’s impact is still being felt in present day even in at the peak and at the laggard stages of this trend (Torres, 2019). Wings By BTS (2016) The Bangtan boys (translated from Korean) also known as BTS is a Korean boy band with a massive international fanbase called the BTS Army. Consisting of 7 members, this Figure 22 26 Korean boy band broke onto the scene initially with their debut album Skool Luv Affair (2014), but it wasn’t until their 2016 album release Wings (2016) (Figure 23) that they started to impact pop culture, music, and fashion greatly (Nittle, 2018). Their impact was direct since it revolved around the evolution of the streetwear industry like how Kanye West did with Yeezus (2013). Although BTS debuted earlier, their 2016 album is what catapulted them into mainstream popularity internationally. Wings (2016) introduced BTS’s signature music and fashion style to the Americas, parts of Europe and Australia. During this album cycle, BTS wore Korean streetwear which was a style not yet introduced outside of Korea, Japan, and parts of China (Baig, 2020). This style was like American streetwear however it featured men wearing makeup, abstract designs, more androgynous pieces such as skirts as well as crop tops and heavy amounts of jewelry (Figure 24-25). The reason this was integrated into the American and European streetwear markets is for the massive popularity of BTS. All these qualities of Korean streetwear and more broadly Asian streetwear have been blended and integrated with the image and aesthetic of American streetwear that Kanye West helped form (Baig, 2020). Because of this it helped Figure 24 Figure 23 27 usher in the normalization of foreign trends impacting American or local trends in the fashion industry in addition to promoting femininity in men’s fashion (Nittle, 2018). The BTS Army is often compared to “Beatlemania” which was the peak in popularity in the 1960s for British boy band The Beatles and resulted in airports being flooded upon their arrival to a country, albums being sold out and most notably the dedicated loyalty of their fanbase (Nittle, 2018). The reason why this relates to BTS is that any items worn by BTS in their music videos Wings (2016) and other album cycles would sell out almost entirely regardless of the price (Kim, 2020). From designer Rick Owens shoes to Puma tracksuits BTS’s fanbase has changed how celebrities get endorsements and sponsorships from fashion brands since the success of BTS. Brands often seek artists instead of simply being featured when it is a trending artist or one with an extremely loyal and large fan base like BTS. It reiterates the symbiotic relationship between the fashion and the music industry and how they contribute to the success to each other. This is one example since BTS can increase sales for certain pieces for fashion brands in a music video or YouTube vlog, BTS gains a portion of the identity for their album cycle to be distinguished from competing groups or albums (Baig, 2020). Discussion Figure 25 30 comeback in retail and social media. The tobacco industry was also affected due to cigarettes rising in popularity as a fashion accessory. The relationship between music and fashion is shown in these various album cycles, as perfect examples of how fashion is impacted by music but more specifically by album cycles and musical eras. Conclusion Given these 8 album cycles as examples of the mutually symbiotic relationship between fashion and the music industry. Album cycles can directly and indirectly influence trends and contribute to the zeitgeist of a certain period. From Mariah Carey’s direct impact by abruptly and spontaneously deciding to DIY cut her jeans into low rise jeans to Carly Rae Jepsen indirectly impacting the fashion industry and zeitgeist of the 2010s by releasing an 80s inspired album that helped start a trend in fashion for nostalgia. Fashion is impacted by a multitude of media that includes music. The music industry shares the rare and symbiotic relationship with fashion that allows for both industries to benefit off the other when the counterpart succeeds. The success of an album cycle has a cultural impact that is felt for years to come, not only for the music industry, but also for the modern fashion industry. This is seen by the Yeezys album cycle by Kanye West, an album that revolutionized streetwear and athleisure wear for both men and women Since fashion and trends are born from changes in pop culture, when an album cycle succeeds it creates trends or contributes to a genre of clothing through impacting the zeitgeist of a period or year, that brands and designers capitalize from. This is how the music industry can benefit fashion. When fashion is implemented into an album cycle for example The Fame Monster by Lady Gaga, it gives the 31 album, the cycle and era an identity. This identity can contribute to an artists or albums success in the industry. This is how fashion can benefit music. With this clear and important symbiotic relationship supported by evidence, it is important for both the music industry and fashion industry to understand said relationship for both industries to continue to thrive and grow from each other. With the importance of the relationship between fashion and music, other media are also important to study. This includes fashion's relationship to film, television, social media, blogs, and YouTube vlogs. Media, more specifically music, in relation to fashion is a direct and indirect contributor to a multitude of trends from culture impact, the revolutionization of a genre or style of fashion, zeitgeist contribution in both positive and negative ways. In the words of recording artist Rihanna, for the benefit of both the fashion industry and music industry, “please, don’t stop the music”.