Swagger Like Us: Black Millennials’ Perceptions, Knowledge, and Influence of 1980s and 1990s Urban Fashion Brands

Abstract

In New York City in the late 1970s, the Black community created hip-hop, a significant cultural phenomenon, which has since spread around the world. Our research is centered on the revolutionary hip-hop fashion movement in Black history as it relates to Black millennials’ experiences of fashioning their bodies. We examine the perception of Black millennials who are attending or have attended historically Black colleges and universities (HBCU) and their knowledge and perceptions of prominent Black-owned, urban fashion brands that emerged in the 1980s and 1990s. Additionally, we seek to understand how or if these brands influence Black millennial consumers and their stylistic choices today. We used a qualitative approach and conducted 14 in-depth, semistructured interviews. Based on analysis of the data, we identified four themes: awareness of urban styles; ambiguous perceptions; 1980s and 1990s urban style influence; and awareness of cultural appropriation. We offer implications to the apparel industry.

A Missing Site of Black Beauty History: The Black Beauty Supply Store

“…They understand the cultural relevance of Black style and celebrate it. They also recognize that they are not given enough credit for their stylistic innovations because of the widespread cultural appropriation of styles originating in Black communities, which are generally regarded as “ghetto until fashionable” (Johnson et al, 2020). The claim that Black women possess different beauty ideals than the Eurocentric mainstream in the U.S. is not new (Makkar & Strube, 1995; White, 2005; Winfield-Thomas & Whaley, 2019).…”