2010s Style, Trends Revisited: Social Media Explodes, Stars Brand Themselves
The second decade of the 21st Century opened the floodgates for musicians who had become – by the demands of the Internet and social media – jacks of all trades in all creative industries. Artists like Kanye West, Lady Gaga, Beyonce and Rihanna helped to pave the way for gender-bending, boundary-crossing performers that transcended time and genre.
“Once you get into the 2010s, once you get into now, you can see all sorts of people who are unafraid to be themselves – on record or in the way they look,” says Rolling Stone contributing editor Joe Levy. “[It’s a time] where hip hop is not going to be afraid of skinny jeans anymore. It’s not going to be afraid of slightly androgynous stuff. And so you get this incredible moment that goes along with the millennial embrace of the non-binary.”
In the last episode of our six-episode documentary series connecting music and fashion, we look at how social media, personal branding and the avant garde all influenced the way musicians created personas to interact with their fans, often in real time.
“There’s no line. It’s all blurred. That’s the beauty of the Internet,” rapper A$AP Ferg says. “It kind of just took us back to square one, where it was just like, creation.”
See other episodes in the series below.
Watch 1960s Style, Trends Revisited: British Invasion, Hippies, Woodstock
Watch 1970s Style, Trends Revisited: Disco, Punk Rock, David Bowie
Watch 1980s Style, Trends Revisited: Prince, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Early Hip-Hop
Watch 1990s Style, Trends Revisited: Grunge, Hip Hop Golden Era
Watch 2000s Style, Trends Revisited: Teen Pop, YouTube Stars, American Idol