Musicians are often a muse for fashion designers. It’s a dynamic that is evident in Gucci’s new campaign for its fall tailoring collection. Starring A$AP Rocky, Iggy Pop and Tyler, The Creator lollygagging together in a California mansion (complete with exotic birds), the trio brings to life the Italian fashion house’s panache for combining classical cuts with a heap of eccentricity.
Several songstresses, however, are putting in motion plans to debut fashion collections and partnerships of their own.
Musician Rita Ora debuted Thursday a collaboration with ShoeDazzle, the online membership program owned by TechStyle Fashion Group that offers monthly curations of footwear and handbags based on members’ style preferences.
The capsule collection offers fall silhouettes like over-the-knee boots, hikers, loafers and stiletto booties in a myriad of on-trend uppers designs like faux croc, lace-up details, chain embellishments and animals prints such as snake and leopard. Shocks of hot pink and cobalt blue as well as black-and-white newspaper print popularized by John Galliano during his tenure at Christian Dior add to the collection’s stage-ready presence.
A catalyst for this summer’s animal-print and bodysuit trends, rapper Cardi B appears to be building an empire inspired by her hit “WAP,” a sexually explicit track featuring Megan Thee Stallion. TMZ reported that Cardi B—who currently stars in Balenciaga’s fall campaign—filed the paperwork last week to trademark “WAP” for items like clothing, footwear, and accessories, as well as alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.
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The rapper has already tested the waters with WAP-themed merchandise. Following the release of the song’s salacious music video, Cardi B bowed a line of water-resistant gear like pink-and-black umbrellas and ponchos emblazoned with the serif WAP logo. The collection now includes sweats, tees and jewelry.
Cardi B’s WAP partner in crime Megan Thee Stallion is developing her own fashion deal. The 5’10” rapper took to Instagram this week to confirm a partnership with online fast-fashion player Fashion Nova to create a line of jeans for tall women.
In a caption for a photo that shows Megan dressed in a pair of distressed, ombré blue flare jeans, she wrote that the jeans are the first samples and that the collaboration is “coming soon.”
Social media and celebrity collaborations have been a key in Fashion Nova’s rise to prominence. Last year, the Los Angeles-based company’s second collection with Cardi B reportedly made $1 million on the first day of its launch.
Rihanna, who knows a thing or two about making profitable apparel collections, is preparing for the Friday launch for her Savage x Fenty Vol. 2 show on Amazon Prime. The fashion show-meets-concert-meets-visual art extravaganza will present the musician’s fall range of size-inclusive lingerie and feature a diverse cast of models, actors and dancers.
The show will also mark the debut of Savage x Fenty for men. Designed in collaboration with rapper Christian Combs, the son of Sean “Diddy” Combs who is back in the fashion spotlight with his Sean John brand, the men’s line will offer boxers, boxer briefs, satin loungewear and more.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Rihanna said the show will offer a reprieve from chaos. “People need a little bit of hope, they need a little bit of happiness, and if we can bring a smile to their face and a little bit of fun while they’re stuck at home, it’s a desire and an honor to be a part of that,” she said.
And iconic music magazine, Rolling Stone—which is owned by Penske Media Corporation, the parent company of Rivet and Sourcing Journal—is taking a nostalgic route for its new journey into fashion.
The publication debuted this week an online shop that offers two T-shirt collections. The first line features T-shirts with covers of albums by musical legends Jimi Hendrix, Elton John, Janis Joplin, Joni Mitchell and Willie Nelson. The second collection of tees and hoodies is centered around the Rolling Stone logo and its evolution from 1967 to today. Retail prices range from $35-$60.
Money moves
Musicians are at the helm of many of the top-earning celebrity fashion business, according to a new report by U.K. digital marketing agency Digitaloft.
On Thursday, the company reported celebrity businesses in fashion rake in more than $3 billion in revenue, based on estimates culled from a variety of sources like Owler, Forbes and Bloomberg.
Among the most successful, Digitaloft reported, are Kanye West’s Yeezy line, generating $1.3 billion, and Jessica Simpson’s The Jessica Simpson Collection, which has made a cool $1 billion.
Rihanna lands on the list twice, for both her Fenty fashion house with LVMH and Savage x Fenty collection. In total, the brands have made more than half a billion dollars.