![]() The collections were seemingly sold out everywhere. Given the collective’s fervent following, demand was high and Odd Future merch and Golf Wang pieces were suddenly stocked at notable boutiques around the world. Tyler championed self-expression through clothing.įans heard the message loud and clear. Better yet, you could look good wearing them. He showed that it was totally acceptable to wear baseball raglans, thigh-grazing shorts or pink hoodies with obscene slogans regardless of who you were. It wasn’t that what he wore was absurd per se, but that it was absurd for him, a budding rap star, to wear it. Yet, as Tyler’s stature grew, his absurdist style was accepted-and eventually, replicated. Loud and impossible to miss, there were Tie-dyed T-shirts with giant cat faces on them, bright tube socks just like those Tyler wore, and Microsoft Paint-esque graphics. Odd Future merch and earl Golf Wang pieces shared a common thread. While available online, the Fairfax flagship-similar to Supreme on Lafayette Street-embodied the label and, in turn, Tyler’s own sartorial influence. Boasting an aesthetic that somehow combined Supreme, prep and middle school nostalgia, the line’s bright pastel color palette was totally unexpected, but surprisingly welcomed. Whenever he was spotted on the block, Tyler always wore Odd Future merch or original designs from the fledgling Golf Wang line. Originally intended as a temporary pop up on Fairfax-right alongside Supreme and Vans-Tyler was often at the shop himself, meeting fans, causing mayhem or just hanging out. ![]() In November 2011, shortly after Tyler and Odd Future started making waves, the collective opened the Odd Future store. Instead, Tyler doubled down on his own aesthetic. Tyler just happened to make hip-hop rather than skateboard, and he wasn’t going to eschew what he was comfortable in just to adopt some rapper stereotype. He dressed like your typical LA skater, because that’s exactly who he hung out with. ![]() His early career sartorial choices were simple-T-shirts, patterned camp shirts, a box logo here and there, Vans with tube socks, tasteful use of jewelry and of course his patented Supreme 5-panel. That said, Tyler’s wardrobe was not limited Supreme. Google search data points to Tyler as overall the largest driver of Supreme-related searches from 2011 through 2015-more than A$AP Rocky, Travis Scott, Justin Bieber and Chance The Rapper, respectively-and he is still a consistent contributor to this day, though some of the buzz has faded. While Tyler is clearly not solely responsible for Supreme’s meteoric rise over the past decade, he clearly plays a role. The Odd Future front man rarely ever took off his signature 5-panel, and became so closely associated with the brand that in 2011, he starred in Ollie Magazine’s Spring/Summer Supreme editorial. During that time period Supreme was a part of Tyler’s everyday wardrobe. The “Yonkers” video wasn’t an abnormality. He did not gravitate towards the store for any reason besides that fact that it was literally where he and his friends shopped and hung out. For Tyler, like many skate-affiliated teens in Los Angeles loitering on Fairfax Avenue, Supreme was mecca. Back then, a Tisa snapback was arguably “cooler” than the Supreme cap that Tyler wore-at least, amongst the hip-hop set. Jordan Brand was at its apex and Supreme, while already undeniably cool, had nowhere near the same international recognition-drops didn’t even necessarily always sell out. Rappers still primarily wore gaudy high-fashion, Balmain and Givenchy in particular. To fully appreciate Tyler, The Creator’s impact, it’s crucial to understand hip-hops relationship with fashion in the beginning of the decade. Today, Tyler is a multi-hyphenate creative dabbling in numerous endeavours and boasting tremendous influence. No longer just a rapper, today Tyler more closely resembles world-recognized polyglots like Pharrell Williams and Kanye West. In the eight years since “Yonkers” debuted, Tyler has transformed from a Supreme-clad rapper from Los Angeles to become the face of a new era of streetwear, launching his own brand and collaborating with countless others in the process. That said, Tyler’s cultural impact-tied as much to clothing as it is to music-is undeniable. While Tyler has a successful musical career, Pitchfork points out that the Odd Future collective, Tyler included, “were neither the first alternative rappers nor the first shock rappers nor the first DIY rappers.” While Tyler has had an impact on the sound of his contemporaries, he hasn’t radically altered the hip-hop landscape.
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