Nowadays fashion influencers are the likes of A$AP Rocky, Kanye West, Pharrell Williams, Travis Scott or Rihanna.
In the 90s their names were TLC, Destiny's Child, Snoop Dogg, Mary J Blige, Usher, Aaliyah and everyone was wearing Tommy Hilfiger, or even better, Tommy Jeans, its younger and sportier label, founded in 1996.
Meanwhile, the "men on the street" began to give life to hip-hop, a genre born on the street, and thus, it was preferred that the artist resembled the fan... also in their looks.
With 1990, things changed and the movement embraces a more "aspirational" aesthetic, finding the perfect union with the audacious sensitivity of many rappers in the preppy evolved attitude of the NY brand, characterized by color blocking, oversized logos, wide jeans a low waist, down jackets and polo shirts.
It is 1994 when Snoop Dogg performed at Saturday Night Live wearing a rugby tee with red, white and blue colors and in big lettering "TOMMY".
Over night the sales of the head skyrocketed and all the biggest stars of the R&B and pop world, choose Hilfiger for their looks. The merit of this success goes to a revolutionary insight for the time: taking the zeitgeist of the 90s, its streetstyle, and inserting it into classic clothing items, and understanding that hip-hop was one of the most marketable, fresh and powerful tools at the disposal of the Elmira designer.
All ideas that have influenced the future generations of labels (the greatest example is the collaboration Louis Vuitton-Supreme). In this way it became a must to brand the garments and make them truly ICONIC, taking back more than ever the tendency to link the celebrities of the moment to the image of the brand, just as it was for Snoop Dog in the 90s.
Hilfiger was one of the first designers to implement this theory, creating an unbridled hype in the golden age of hip-hop. Jermaine Dupri, Method Man, En Vogue, Destiny's Child, Usher, but also Gwen Stefani, Britney Spears, Kate Hudson, Mark Ronson and all the other big acts of the day, were in love with the Tommy style, wearing the clothes, taking part in their shows, played a leading role of its advertising campaigns.
If, however, there is a character that truly embodies the brand and the 90s at the same time, that is Aaliyah.
Beautiful, young and talented, the girl (died prematurely when she was only 22) became, in 1996, a muse, face and more important supporter of Tommy Jeans. The red, white and blue band top, with the baggy jeans that let you glimpse the designer briefs became symbolic pieces of the era, part of one of the most iconic outfits inherited from the 90s. Her influence is still powerful in the style of contemporary artists such as SZA, Rihanna or Cardi B and the TH suits worn by Aaliyah are one of the obsessions preferred by Millennials that make the star live in thousands of posts.
Tommy Hilfiger wanted to be a rock star like Mick Jagger.
He ended up dressing the hottest hip-hop stars of the 90s, thus transforming his brand into an American icon and shaping the taste of entire generations, from everyday people to celebrities like Bruno Mars, A$AP Rocky or Gigi Hadid still love and buy it.
All this makes us understand one thing: the Tommy Jeans culture of yesterday lives on, and still influences today fashion, precisely for this reason, being inspired by the past can be the secret key to tomorrow's success.
To immerse yourself deeper into 90s vibe, nss has created for you the perfect playlist: a mix of pop, hip-hop and cult songs from those years: listen to it below!
