High-Fashion Encourages Rappers to Don Kilts

The kilt is happening not only in the runway but also among hiphop’s biggest and manliest stars. It is a strange yet stylish addition to the strictly masculine aesthetics of hiphop ensembles.

Fashion has always been the home of the bold and the daring. Men and women have succumbed to fashion as a crutch to display what they believe in. They say you can look good and flash a statement at the same time. Tons of ordinary and traditional pieces of clothing were revitalized and transformed into fantastic pieces by esteemed designers of today. Customary wardrobe from all over the world have been recognized by these designers. The kimono, turban, keffiyeh, and sari were reinvented by various designers throughout the years and were included in their collections.

Various cultures and the costumes can spark trends, and nowadays men kilts are booming once again by way of rappers like Kanye West. The rapper, who was known to push the boundaries of hiphop music has been spotted wearing a black leather kilt from high-end brand Givenchy at a relief concert for Hurricane Sandy in New York City. West has received equal praise and mocking comments from fashion enthusiasts, fellow rappers to hiphop fans. But whatever they had to say, the kilt is here to stay. It is both a statement and a stylish item.

Actually, men kilts in the high-fashion world are old hat. Jean-Paul Gaultier pioneered the use of kilts on one of his collections in the year 1984. He made his male models wear kilts and it was a success. It quickly became a phenomenon and brought Gaultier in the spotlight. March Jacobs even sported a tartan kilt on one of his 2008 shows. After that adventurous designers who thrive on cutting-edge fashion like Rad Hourani, Rick Owens, Raf Simons and Ricardo Tisci added kilts on their latest collections as well. For his 2013 Fall-Winter collection for men, Yohji Yamamoto revived the kilt. His models strutted along the runway wearing moustaches of all sorts together with their striking kilts. It was a visually outstanding show which heralded the comeback of the kilt.

At this time, brazen personalities like West, who’s closely associated with designer Tisci are starting to get inspirations from this traditional Scottish clothing. New York rapper Theopilus London wore a Rick Owens kilt during Levi’s Fall 2012 Global fashion show. A$AP Rocky, a rapper from the streets of Harlem wore a drawstring Rick Owens kilt and a Hood by Air camo kilt on one of his music videos.

So is this trend a passing fancy for today’s hiphop stars or will the kilt jackets be next in line? But the bottomline is, the hiphop wardrobe, which were once limited to totally masculine looks like baggy pants, tees and athletic sneakers are now broadening its horizons to embrace an androgynous style that may revolutionize the way we perceive men’s wear.

If you want to know more about this particular piece, read up on its histories and its varying styles and prints. In addition, you can also check out the kilts on this site. They are traditional kilts and they are as much a fashion statement as those upscale ones. Yes they all come in a variety of colors and prints and they also look good together with any type of top, from jackets and even plain t-shirts.