Hip-Hop Fresh Posted on 25 Jun 23:06 , 0 comments
"Being fresh is more important than having money. The entire time I grew up I only wanted money so I could be fresh."
-Kanye West
Just finished watching the trailer for Fresh Dressed, a documentary set for limited release in theaters June 26, 2015. Two things immediately came to mind after I finished viewing
- I feel extremely disappointed that I'm just finding out about it
- I can't wait to see it
Right now it appears that the nearest theater showing Fresh Dressed is two hours away in San Diego, so I plan to watch this piece online and I'm super-excited to sit down and take it all in.
Back to being disappointed though. I would like to believe at this point (because I haven't actually watched the whole thing yet) that this is probably a very pivotal piece of American history. You have a handful of (mostly men) artists who emerged from New York and other 'urban' neighborhoods in the late 1980's through 2000 who have greatly influenced the fashion world since then. Many would disagree with me - fashion isn't necessarily viewed as important to masses of people. As someone who respects it as art though, I want to see the full representation of contributions and the depth of culture that it embodies.
We see the likes of Kanye West on every tabloid across the world on generally a daily basis. Daymond John sits comfortably every week on network television, weighing in on which businesses will thrive or fail. Love them or, you know, the opposite, these two men literally made something out of nothing and glimpses of their genius can be seen on every runway across the world. They may or may not have gotten it right every single time, but there's no denying that the world's eye has followed their every footstep in baggy pants and bright colors.
West and John are commercially the most recognizable (hip-hop) artists and designers of the moment, but all credit is due to Sacha Jenkins, who both wrote and directed Fresh Dressed. He pulls together many important names to hip-hop fashion - Damon Dash, Daymond John, Karl Kani, Nas and Pharrell Williams to take us on a historical journey through its origins. This is important work to help us understand hip-hop in the fashion world and beyond.
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