Fashion Double-Feature: Fashion and Music Collide
Posted on 25th Nov 11 by Jo Linehan | 
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“…The fashion/music love children are a mixed bunch. Good, bad and just plain ugly they have come and gone and will continue to do so…”
There have been way too many cautionary tales in our life time of the ‘crossover’ career gone bad; Arnold Schwarzenegger for Californian governor, anyone? And now there is a new wave of crossovers emerging as fashion and music collide in new ways. But how is it shaping up? Is it an exciting new industry showcasing the diverse talents of fashion and music creators or another example of industry egos believing the can turn their hand to anything again? I decided to weigh up the evidence.
Burberry, the billion dollar design house and creator of the iconic Trench coat’ has just announced that they will release a single to coincide with their new fragrance ‘Burberry Body’, of which Rosie Huntington Whitely is the face. Now, i’ve smelled Burberry Body and it’s yummy, Rosie Huntington Whitely (in case you have been living under a rock) is GORGEOUS and Burberry also have Christopher Bailey (an incredibly talented designer) at the helm of their megabrand. They’re also an incredibly innovative design house, one of the first to live stream a fashion show on their website and last week they were the first ever to live stream their collection via Twitter feed so it’s not surprising they are pushing the boat out on this in many ways … but why bother adding a signature sound to their campaign? Surely they have enough going for them to ensure the fragrance will be a sell-out already?
According to Christopher Bailey, “we wanted to create an iconic soundtrack that reflects the sensuality and attitude …mood and spirit of the Burberry Body campaign perfectly.” The song is an acoustic version of Rosé by Brit band The Feeling. Frontman Dan Gillespie-Fills is as excited to be a part of the project as Bailey is, adding “it was an honour to work with Burberry on this campaign; the brand that has a great connection with music.” Listen to the song and see the campaign here.
Meanwhile, switching from the opposite team is Kanye West, who this week showed his first collection in Paris. The rapper/producer has long been a front row fixture at fashion week and an avid supporter of the industry. In the past he successfully collaborated with both Nike and Louis Vuitton to release his own sneakers and almost released a collection, Past Tell, in 2009 before postponing until now. After rumours of fashion internships and the support of big names like DSquared2 Olivier Theyskens and Jeremy Scott, West finally showed his collection DW Kanye West last week to less than lukewarm response. Quotes included Long Nguyen, “I feel bad, actually, that there wasn’t anything to grab on to. But you can’t just dump some fox fur on a runway and call it luxury.” And of course the last word in all fashion judgement Anna Wintour who simply said: “Ask someone else.” Yikes!
Personally I think it’s a tough one because critics were going to be incredibly harsh no matter what West had turned out. At the same time, a rapper turned designer who was unknown and had created the collection probably wouldn’t have had the chance to debut on Paris fashion week, so he had a responsibility to live up to the expectation and opportunity he had. Will he conquer the critics and fashion world yet? Let’s wait and see.
This all seems a little dubious so far but fear not! The crossover has had some extremely positive results too… in the form of one Spice Girl. Yes, Victoria Beckham (a.k.a. Posh Spice) was ripe for the verbal-abuse picking when she announced she was releasing a small collection of haute wear. Everyone was scoffing in their lattes about what in earth she would come out with; cut off denims? Neon belly-tops? And then she brought out her debut collection in 2008 dumfounding and stunning the world with her impeccable taste, attention to detail, fine quality garments and genuinely incredible design. That shut us all right up. Not only that, but Victoria really is the designer behind the process, the business and creative brain behind the operation.
So there you have it! The fashion/music love children are a mixed bunch. Good, bad and just plain ugly they have come and gone and will continue to do so. Cliff Richard collection for Topshop anyone?
Tags: fashion, singles, The Feeling
