fashion

InTheRough for LifeOfLanie - How To Style: Glasses by Alex Young

Lanie is the Jack of all trades. Better known as LifeOfLanie, the YouTube sensation, beauty guru, fashionista, and socialite has the unique ability to capture and set trends-- her InHerRoughStyle features are perfect examples. After browsing her YouTube channel call her your personal stylist and cosmetologist, her inviting personality only makes her brand more relatable. This makes her a valuable ambassador for companies like See.Saw.Seen Eyewear, who task Lanie with styling five different pair of glasses in her latest video. She does the project justice from beginning to end, outfitting a blue and white romper with tortoise frames. See for yourself below. 

The soundtrack to Lanie's "How To Style: Glasses" video is curated by InTheRough. ITR provided Lanie four options of playlists to insert in her video, each trying to fit her preferred edm, hip-hop, and r&b vibes. While the video does not include all four options, they are available on ITR's SoundCloud profile and OfficeVibes.

Pharrell Williams Awarded the 2015 CFDA Fashion Icon Award by Alex Young

Last night at the CFDA Fashion Awards (Council of Fashion Designers of America), Kanye West presented to Pharrell Williams the 2015 Fashion Icon Award. His speech was funny, gracious, and meaningful, you can read it below as a reference. Pharrell is a creative genius. His fans, consumers, and those passing by are reminded of this thanks to his ever-present, and always relevant work. Whether he is singing on the radio, performing at festivals, executive producing an album, running Billionaire Boys Club, collaborating with adidas, show stopping on the red carpet, or writing a book Pharrell speaks through his inspirations. Evidence of this is overwhelming, but two specific instances stick out.

Nobody will forget the 2014 Grammy's, the year of Pharrell's hat. People were quick to roast or praise him for his bold fashion statement, but the genius behind the piece came from a genuine place. The oversized bowler hat is a vintage Vivienne Westwood, an English fashion god, from a collection drawing inspiration from the Wild West, an era of expansion and imagination. Those words, expansion and imagination, fully describe Pharrell and his work--who else has a 24-hour music video? While some saw his hat as a statement piece, it is simply an artist thinking outside of the box to convey a message. Places and Spaces I've Been, Pharrell's book, is a collaborative conversation. It contains insightful conversations he has had with friends, colleagues, and people he respects on their contribution to popular culture. The early part of the book features a chat with Jay Z. You can tell how intrigued Pharrell is with him, you literally feel P absorb the valuable information from Jay. In his speech at the CFDAs Pharrell passionately accepts, "I'm not a style icon, I'm just inspired." Pharrell uses his influences and relationships to create in a way that imagines inspiration. Watch his acceptance speech for the Fashion Icon Award below.

Kanye's Speech: What's up, CFDA? You know how Obama brought out the angry version of himself? I'm sort of like the angrier version of Pharrell. [Begins rapping the first verse of "New Slaves."] That rap wasn't written from a good place. That rap was written from an extremely frustrated place. There's a gross misconception about the idea of a celebrity creative — my mom's gonna be mad if this is the wrong way to word it, she's an English professor — that somehow, especially in this room, takes away the idea that there's any ideas. Adidas gave us both an opportunity because they gave us celebrity deals. But the opportunity to create just a little bit more, just to think a little bit more. It is very difficult to break perception.

Fashion has to be the hardest high-school that I ever entered. But at least I had a big brother — a junior, a senior that was there when I was a freshman, that had already worn the tight jeans and went to the fashion shows and had been called too hip-hop to be at the fashion show, and then got called too fashion to be in the hip-hop video. And when we got early cyberbullied, he'd be there, right there, in Paris, to talk me through and keep me going. And have me not give up after my first collection that sold out, $6,000 shoes, was completelydestroyed by the fashion [Establishment]. I totally respect Fern [Mallis]'s voice.Have a voice. Express yourself. That's what our agenda is, expression. Something worth fighting for, no matter what someone might say. Someone who tells you, because you're the No. 1 athlete in the world, you can't express yourself. Pharrell has always been my style idol, and there would be no me, no A$AP, without Pharrell being the nicer version of Obama. So, I know you got scared after the length of my previous speeches that this would go equally as long, so without further ado, to my style idol, and tonight's recipient of the Fashion Icon Award, Pharrell Williams.

'Fresh Dressed' Documentary Examines the History of Fashion in Hip-Hop by Alex Young

Hip-hop and fashion have formed a marvelous union ever since the genre's inception. Hip-hop and rap began as a movement for African American youths in New York and Los Angeles to be whoever they pleased.

Being "fresh" in Puma jumpsuits, baggy jeans, the latest Ralph, Jordan sneakers, and big gold chains accompanied the music that expressed individuality and freedom. Director Sacha Jenkins dives into this mentality, aesthetic, and lifestyle in the documentary, Fresh Dressed. The film taps archetypes Pharrell Williams, Kanye West, Sean Diddy Combs, Big Daddy Kane, and Nas, who is also an executive producer, to chronicle the trends, business models, and tastemakers of fashion in hip-hop.

Pre-order Fresh Dressed now and get it on Vimeo On Demand June 26th. Enjoy the trailer above.

Rihanna Ever the Trendsetter by Maxwell Young

I bet we see more pink silhouettes filtering into the lines of fashion designers and labels.  Why? Because Rihanna.  

Over the past several days, RiRi has been strutting around New York City promoting the upcoming animated movie, Home, as well as her concept album, which serves as the movie's soundtrack.  If Rihanna's Giambattista Valli pink pouf gown for the 2015 Grammys wasn't telling enough, head-to-toe tonal pink outfits have been a recent staple for the Barbadian songstress.  Above, Rihanna sports a pink barbie suit and fur scarf--cautionary to the unpredictable weather transition from winter to spring--as well as a Sean John tracksuit that is reminiscent of the early 2000s hip hop scene.

It's interesting how cyclical trends can be.  I look at denim shirts, baggy pants, and clip-on sunglasses and wonder why I feel so nostalgic.  The truth is, my earliest memories of clothing and fashion in general were around these trends during the late 1990s and early 2000s.  If anything, fashion is not just a form of self expression, but a way of holding on to precious past memories. 

Home, the DreamWorks animated film is set to debut on March 27th.  Check out the trailer here.

Life in Color: An Examination of Today's Contemporary, Black Archetypes Ed. II by Maxwell Young

At InTheRough, it is our job to discern the latests trends and developments in urban culture.  A large part of our content is news-based, but what makes us unique are the insights into the importance and understanding of what we write about and how it fits into the greater fabric of urban culture.  Cognizant of this need to inform and educate, as well as the celebration that is Black History Month, InTheRough presents Life in Color: An Examination of Today's Contemporary, Black Archetypes.  Over the span of this month, InTheRough will be creating a series of editorials showcasing black individuals who have assumed pioneering roles in varying industries or facets of society that lack or misinterpret the black experience.


As New York Fashion Week is well underway, I found myself thinking about the black experience within fashion.  As I gathered my thoughts to create this piece, I could only name a few black individuals who have had significant involvement in the industry: Tracy Reese, founder of her eponymous label, has created looks for many celebrities including First Lady Michelle Obama; Shayne Oliver is the founder of the hyped label Hood By Air; Olivier Rousteing is the current creative director of Balmain; and Naomi Campbell, who needs no introduction, is one of the most iconic supermodels of the 20th century.  But past this, what is our history?  Do collections and fashion labels created by Jay Z, Diddy, and Kanye West count as viable fashion projects or are they merely market capitalizations on fame and popularity?

In fashion, the black aesthetic is largely misconstrued.  A lack of diversity on the runway with just 6% of last New York Fashion Week's looks being represented by people of color, as well as the lack of prominent black designers and tastemakers has pigeon-holed the black influence to streetwear and its connection with hip hop culture.  In a world where A.P.C.'s Jean Touitou can overstep and cite his relationship with Kanye West for an overtly racist design concept or where white models dawn black face as a form of artistic expression, Street Etiquette's refreshingly educational and informative take on style is vital for any change in rhetoric.

From its inception in 2008, Street Etiquette has occupied an entirely new space in the fashion industry.  Well groomed and well dressed black gentlemen had rarely been showcased, after all; the general consensus was that all we wore were baggy pants, hefty jewelry, and white tees.  But, by creating unique and thought provoking editorials, such as Slumflower, where 18 black individuals dressed in tailored suits are juxtaposed with the backdrop of urban decay, SE has showcased the fashionable, multi-faceted black man in ways that not only raise important societal questions, but that are largely neglected by mainstream voices.  Founded by Joshua Kissi and Travis Gumbs, Street Etiquette has changed the sartorial narrative surrounding black individuals.

In examining Street Etiquette and the scope of the business, I cannot definitively say that they are the only archetypes of fashion.  I cannot confidently articulate my beliefs that they are the influencers who are going to change and improve the corrupt foundation of the fashion industry.  The problems that have been prevalent since the 1990s--the lack of diversity and representation--are embedded in euro-centric beliefs that frankly have not changed.  Street Etiquette has circumvented these predicaments by presenting new perspectives of the black experience that the industry currently lacks. 

At the same time, though, what I have noticed is that black fashion in itself is an entire subculture of the fashion industry at large.  It is as such because of this constant neglect and misrepresentation.  Black fashion, whether it be through Tracy Reese's rise to prominence or through Shayne Oliver's immense impact on streetwear, has found a way to coexist and gain relevance in an adverse world.  These individuals and their establishments may be black, but they represent the multicultural experiences that continue to be ignored.  The black experience is not limited to high fashion and it is not bound by the parameters of hip hop culture.  To discuss one archetype as a symbol of this fashion subculture is to suppress its vast history and influences.