Rhymes--the chief clothes rack for Bushi--joins a fashion lineup

Rhymes--the chief clothes rack for Bushi--joins a fashion lineup that includes such high-profile predecessors as FUBU, Karl Kani, Russell Simmons' Phat Farm, Sean "Puffy" Combs' Sean John line, and Master P's No Limit wear.
Unlike most artist-represented clothing lines, Bushi is actually designed by the artist; Rhymes designs Bushi with partner Rashib Boothe. It's touted as apparel that cuts across age, gender, and other demographic lines and includes urban, sport, and couture designs. "We don't just put our brand on something made by someone else, and we include couture because it's never designed to fit black people," Rhymes says.
"FUBU has set an example," he adds. "They've made it clear that the now cats can do it just as good and created a clear lane for more of us."
The Bushi men's line launches in November with 40-50 pieces, according to Rhymes. He also notes, "There will be minor piece amounts in the women's line to create anticipation for that launch, sometime in late 2000."
Anticipating a future flood of wannabes, Rhymes warns, "It's one thing to want to do it but another to actually make it happen." Though he maintains his fashion and music projects as "separate entities," Rhymes notes that "hip-hop is a culture like Buddhism or any other. There's a dress code that goes with the spirit and cultural significance. Hip-hop has brought much to fashion. It ain't just pants hanging off the ass no more."
Among the pioneering firms responsible for bringing hip-hop's fashion culture to the forefront is FUBU (For Us, By Us), founded in 1992 by Daymond John, J. Alexander Martin, Carl Brown, and Keith Perrin. "Other clothing companies don't believe in the [hip-hop] lifestyle; they don't understand it," maintain the four hip-hop fans from Hollis, Queens, New York. Unlike other street-gear labels, FUBU is completely owned by the quartet--all of whom are under 30.
The FUBU story began with a $20 tie-top knit hat that John bought in '92. "Carl said, 'Why did you buy that, D.? You could make that,'" recalls Brown. "So we started making them with the FUBU logo and did well. When J. came back from Desert Storm, he said, 'You're onto something, but let's take this to the next level.' People think it just happened, but it took a while."
The first FUBU line was only 1015 pieces. After refinancing the Hollis house they shared for $100,000, the foursome bought sewing machines and hired seamstresses. Today, the company grosses more than $350 million in annual sales worldwide.
Key to that success is FUBU's hiphop link. Rather than taking the usual print-ad route, FUBU's owners began advertising through the community-even walking onto hip-hop video sets and asking rap icons to wear their clothes. A major player in that strategy was Hollis neighbor LL Cool J.
"I saw them a lot over the years," he recalls during a break in a FUBU photo shoot--only his second print ad for the line. "One day, they asked me to pose in a shirt. I thought it was terrible. But they came back later with another shirt, and it was incredible. I wore it in my videos, on the street, and boom! Now I wear FUBU all the time ... FUBU represents hip-hop's struggle: to make yourself better, to make something out of nothing. FUBU is for everybody. You don't have to be a hiphop fan to love these clothes."
Last month, FUBU staged the four-day "FUBU Y2G" in St. Martin/St. Maarten. Billed as the "ultimate style, music, and fashion extravaganza," the event attracted such musical artists as Mary J. Blige, Deborah Cox, Destiny's Child, and the Gap Band. Meanwhile, the year 2000 will see 30-plus FUBU retail stores springing up all over the globe, including South Africa. yanzic0619.
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got busy learning the nuances of these young consumers' lifestyles and values and the dynamics of their social lives

"The thing that resonates with him is this results orientation," said Jamie Lockard, director of advertising. "You get a sense of urgency from Gordon. Which is good, because it makes every person want to see accomplishments and results."
Accomplishments and results were crucial when an internal segmentation study in 1997 uncovered the sad fact that VF's market share was declining among younger consumers: The plethora of new designer, niche and department store jeans brands were collectively spelling trouble for the two dominant players, Lee and competitor Levi Strauss. While Lee was a desired brand among women in their 30s and known for its fit quality, it was well-populated, fashion-seeking Generation Y who it really needed to reach.
"Our competitive set in jeans had changed," Harton said. "More brands were being sold. We needed to develop subbrands targeted to segments of consumers to better compete with these niche brands."
Harton's team, and Collins specifically, got busy learning the nuances of these young consumers' lifestyles and values and the dynamics of their social lives. One pleasant surprise: Generation Y hadn't formed strong loyalties yet. "They were open to new brands, or older brands offering something new," Collins said. "They thought of us as a brand for older people, but were open to hearing what Lee had to say."
Additionally, they wanted "authenticity, .... durability" and "genuine" traits in their jeans. These clues directed Lee back to the past--to the 110-year-old company's archives, that is--to examine whether its heritage had any equity among the demo. Many focus groups later, Lee chose to leverage three vintage elements that expressed the desired brand personality: the term "dungarees" for its kitschy-yet-cool rebel appeal; the '40s slogan "Can't Bust 'em," which was eventually chosen as durable Dungarees' tagline; and Buddy Lee, a doll used in Lee's promotional displays from the 1920s through the '50s.
But Buddy almost didn't make the first cut. "We thought it was too silly [to test]," Collins said. "We drew out 60 slogans and taglines and campaigns and Buddy Lee. We just laughed every time we saw him." Fortuitously, the doll remained in the test, and the kids went wild. "They liked that we weren't trying to be the sexiest thing out there," Collins said. "That we weren't trying to be a designer jean or something the brand was not."
"We almost didn't show a doll to 18-year-old men," said Lockard, laughing, "and we are really glad we did."
Back in 1997 during the planning stages, Harton headed the brand management team that along with Lockard and Collins included Kent Pech, now vp-consumer marketing, the sales team head who was crucial in convincing retailers why Dungarees was good for the Lee brand and their stores; and Toni Strutz, director of market trends, who's job was taking the research and broader trend material and interpreting it into fashion. On the ad agency side, the account and creative groups at Lee's longtime shop, Fallon McElligott, Minneapolis, worked alongside the company through each step of the process.
Once apparel styles, brand attributes and imagery were selected, the next step was getting the word out. In devising the creative, Lee's challenge was how to stand out among the pack competing for the demo's dollars.
"It wasn't challenging from a brand perspective--we'd done our homework and they were very open to the brand," Lockard said. "But a lot of people wanted them, and the noise level you have to break through is so much greater. Our mantra was, 'Snap their heads back. Get them in a surprising way.' And allow them to discover the brand and invite us into their world, not push something to them."
Eschewing the TV route--that would come later--phase one allowed Gen Y to discover the mysterious Buddy Lee via wild postings in urban environs. In spring 1998, Fallon's shots of the denim-dressed doll were plastered throughout metropolitan construction sites. To pique curiosity, there was no logo, tagline or brand association--just the impish Buddy.
Next, a teaser TV campaign shed more light on this "Man of Action," as he was now billed. Spoofing the action-movie trailer genre to a T--narration was by Don LaFontaine, the deep-voiced theater trailer man--ads previewed The Buddy Lee Story, a "movie" to run graveyard on Comedy Central and other cable channels. A humorous two-part, six-minute recap of Buddy's rise and fall and rise again, the film introduced viewers to the doll's personality traits while serving as right-on satire of formulaic star biographies a la VHl's Behind the Music or the E! True Hollywood Story. Fallon's back-to-school ads were the clincher. Drawing upon Buddy's "genuine" integrity and altruism to solidify the jeans' durability positioning, Lee showed the strong, silent do-gooder braving his way through ridiculously comedic disasters--a mighty twister, an exploding car and an airplane freefall--to help his fellow man. yanzic0619.
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fashions worn by `Law & Order' actress Angie Harmon

A clotheshorse follows the red-carpet trail and takes us along for the ride
For Angie Harmon, who plays assistant district attorney Abbie Carmichael on NBC's Law & Order, one of the joys of stardom is getting the chance to look fabulous at parties and premieres. "I'm playing dress-up," the Dallas-born former model says gleefully. "I just happen to be dressing up in Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci, Calvin Klein and Richard Tyler." When special events loom, Harmon, 27, often gets a hand from L.A. stylist Jessica Paster. "Angie has great taste," Paster says. "I just make it easier for her." Although Harmon returns many of her outfits to the designers, the 5'9" actress has amassed a personal wardrobe so huge that it spills over into the spare bedroom of her L.A. home. "Come to the house sometime--I'll show you how much she loves clothes," offers her boyfriend, textile executive Beau Nellor, 26. Not that he minds. "She's a head-spinner," he says.
  Diamonds aren't always this girl's best friend. "There's something so sexy about a woman with a chunky man's watch," says Harmon of her stainless steel Swiss Army timepiece. Even wearing a gown, "I'm not afraid to throw something casual in there. I don't want to be unapproachable."
  Harmon doesn't suffer for fashion. For April's VH1 Divas Live '99 show in New York City (above and left), she chose this $1,315 outfit--Vivienne Tam pants, Gucci top and shoes--for its comfort. "This was a concert," she says. "Do you want to be in a little tight skirt? No. How do you sit when Tina Turner's doing 'Proud Mary'? I was practically standing on my chair."
  One of the perks of celebrity is borrowing jewels. The $200,000 diamond cuff Harmon wore with her Randolph Duke gown to June's American Fashion Awards in Manhattan is courtesy of Fred Leighton.
PHOTOS (COLOR): Though she's convinced she "can never get enough" Kate Spade handbags, for now Harmon has just this one, which she carries constantly. That rules out any tax deduction. "If I wear something to only one event, it can be deducted," she notes. "If I wear it anywhere else, then it can't."
  Harmon loves having "an excuse to put on something like this,"
she says of the Dolce & Gabbana dress and Jimmy Choo boots that she wore to the VH1 Fashion Awards last fall.
  Gucci's fringed and beaded top made Harmon's heart race when she first saw it. But the $2,800 price tag almost stopped it. When the design house gave her a custom version to wear to its May party in L.A., "I stood there squealing, 'Thank you, thank you!'" says Harmon, who has already decided to wear the outfit again on New Year's Eve. She's celebrating in Australia with Nellor.
  Harmon doesn't worry about running into someone else wearing the same outfit. "I would never allow that to happen," says her stylist Jessica Paster, who gets assurances from designers that the clothes they lend Angie are one-of-a-kind. At the SAG Awards in L.A. last March in this Richard Tyler gown, "I felt like a princess," says Harmon. "You walk out in these fabulous outfits and people take your picture. That's not horrible."
 For a May awards show in L.A., Harmon mixed a black Versace Istante dress, casual sweater, jeweled Manolo Blahniks, her Kate Spade bag, Kenneth Cole sunglasses that "make me look like a movie star," and the silver rings that "I wear everywhere." Style is "more relaxed" in L.A. than in New York City, where Law & Order films, she says.
 Even stars like bargains. Though she paid "about $500" for the Parallel jacket that she wore to Law & Order's 200th-episode party in New York City last March, Harmon later got a full-length version for $100 at a closeout sale.
  Her Manolo Blahniks are "pieces of art," says Harmon. "You might as well set them on your coffee table." To keep track of her 75 pairs of shoes, she tapes Polaroids of the contents to each box.
  Harmon is philosophical about returning borrowed clothes like the flowered Marc Bouwer she wore to a Whitney Museum benefit in Manhattan in March. "If you wear something twice," she says, "everyone's on your case." She doesn't want the wrong kind of attention. When she forgot to remove the bandage on her arm after a doctor's visit, she worried what the press might make of it. "I can just see it now," she says jokingly. "Angie Harmon--heroin addict and not afraid to show it."yanzic0613.
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Hudson, wearing a chocolate brown embroidered chiffon column dress, had no sooner arrived at the Ara Pacis when she spied her next red-carpet look

Located on the eastern banks of the Tiber River, the bold linear structure is the first example of contemporary architecture in central Rome in almost a century.
In a symbolic gesture, Valentino placed his 1990 Peace dress - with the word peace embroidered on it in 14 languages - high in front of the altar.
The museum's striking lines and endless stream of natural light wasn't lost on the designer, who relished the chance to showcase his work in such a spectacular venue.
"I love to share," Valentino said, following the exhibit's opening on Friday night. "I wanted to give Rome the opportunity to see my couture collections."
Guests like Sarah Jessica Parker, Jennifer Hudson and Elizabeth Hurley swooned at the various groupings of dresses, which evocatively framed the altar. "I wish I had a U-haul to take them with me," Anne Hathaway said with a laugh, taking in a towering display of Valentino's signature red frocks (66 in all) and other styles demonstrating his mastery of ruching, beading and embroidery. "Seeing his body of work together like this makes it so apparent why Valentino is such a genius."
Hudson, wearing a chocolate brown embroidered chiffon column dress, had no sooner arrived at the Ara Pacis when she spied her next red-carpet look: an ivory vintage gown with rings of pearls looped around the shoulders.
The retrospective - from the simplest one-shouldered sheath to an intricately sequined pastel dgrade number - expressed the timelessness of Valentino's style.
The designer had few kind words for certain trends and eras during an earlier press briefing, describing grunge as "outrageous," criticizing the Eighties for unflattering proportions and describing minimalism as "an offense to women," and adding, "It made them look like little nuns running around."
The exhibition, which runs through Oct. 28, dazzled Karl Lagerfeld, who usually derides such backward-looking exercises as funereal. "I think it's beautifully done," he said. "It looks fresh. It doesn't look like a bunch of old dresses, and that's what impresses me." The exhibition was curated by Patrick Kinmonth and Antonio Monfreda, who placed the dresses on clusters of golden mannequins, some with arms raised out to the altar reverentially.
On the lower level, Valentino paid homage to today's goddesses. He showcased a sampling of some of his most iconic celebrity dresses, including the canary yellow taffeta gown Cate Blanchett wore to the 2005 Oscars. "I love beauty, and I love the feeling of serenity," Valentino said. "I've always looked to give my best, and I think I have succeeded." yanzic0614.
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Dress is a product involving multi-sensory imagery

Dress is a product involving multi-sensory imagery (Eicher, 1995). As such, dress is capable of stimulating more than one sense. Although sight is considered the primary sense in face-to-face interaction, dress can elicit reactions from all five senses. Fabric textures stimulate the sense of touch, lipstick stimulates the sense of taste, fragrances stimulate the sense of smell, and some jewellery and fabrics (e.g. rustle of taffeta) stimulate the sense of hearing (Eicher and Sumberg, 1995). Dress provides a multisensory experience consisting of sensory information available through sight, touch, kinesthetics, smell, hearing and taste (Fiore and Kimle, 1997). Sensory information such as colour, fabric, pattern, shape and texture influences how fashion styles are perceived. Interpretation of sensory information is dependent on aesthetic rules (e.g. International Journal of Consumer Studies ISSN 1470-6423 International Journal of Consumer Studies 31 (2007) 589–596 © The Authors. Journal compilation © 2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd 589 principles of design such as balance, scale and unity) as well as social and cultural rules (Kaiser, 1997). Codes consist of a system of rules relating to one subject. An aesthetic code consists of design rules embodied in the elements and principles of design as well as social and cultural rules regarding dress. An aesthetic code enables dress to communicate meaning (Kaiser, 1997). Social and cultural customs provide the means to interpret some sensory information conveyed by dress. Cultural differences may be influenced by the subjective nature of some design principles (e.g. harmony) (Davis, 1996). Understanding the meanings associated with dress is a complex process because meanings stem from the blend of aesthetic codes with social and cultural customs. Individuals manipulate aesthetic codes and the attached symbolisms, within social and cultural contexts, as they engage in the process of appearance management (Kaiser et al., 1995). The fashion process involves change in cultural forms such as dress (Eicher and Sumberg, 1995). ‘Fashion change is intricately linked to changing ideas about aesthetic rules’ (Kaiser, 1997, p. 231). Aesthetic codes are culturally derived and change with fashion despite the design principles (i.e. balance, emphasis, proportion) basic to their nature. The fashion process evolves in stages prompted first by the introduction of new styles or variations of existing styles. Fashion designers manipulate aesthetic codes as they create new styles; a meticulous adherence to aesthetic rules is not adequate to create successful styles. yanzic0525. 
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Hu ronko motifs may have been originally viewed as a substitute for protective leather amulets, commonly found on hunters' and warriors' gowns

10 Stamps in active use by Dunto Kamara of Bafodea Town, including four made for the raffia palm core: spider, star, clock or watch, cross, and one thin bamboo-tube stamp of a circle at one end and a half circle at the other. 11 Sums Mannio of Bafodea Town wearing a hu ronko and cutting a rising sun or All Peoples Congress (APC) design. Less common Bafodea motifs, sometimes unnamed, included a large S, a reverse S, a large W in a variety of positions, and a fence design {Fig. 16). A few artists placed black triangles at or near the edges of their shirts (Fig. 9). A man from Kabate village near Bafodea Town apprenticed with the blacksmith Sunduku, an early Bafodea Town hu ronko artist, acquiring the idea of decorating from him but not the skill. Later he learned to decorate on his own, doing so for three years. He continued to stamp while in the military for seven more years. 1 counted nine motifs on three of his decorated hu ronko; only the cross was similar to other Bafodea chiefdom motifs; some others suggested military insignias (Figs. 17-18). Opala obtained twenty-five motifs that he collected in Limba country, some from Bafodea {1978:21); about half of them similar to those that I noted. I also saw hu ronko motifs on Yalunka shirts {Figs. 4-5), though I did not analyze them, including a broken circle and inverted "Vs" stacked on top of one another. Hu ronko motifs may have been originally viewed as a substitute for protective leather amulets, commonly found on hunters' and warriors' gowns, as Michael D. Jackson suggests above. Or they may have been attempts of a largely nonliterate people to capture the magical protective powers attributed to Arabic writing.'^ Against that idea, it is possible that the development of decorated hu ronko in Guinea and northern Sierra Leone was a reaction to increasing Islamic influence. yanzic0527.

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Other designers describe the new looks as being simple and structured

"People worry about their jobs in a difficult climate. So even if companies say it's a casual workplace, people are thinking they had better dress to impress. They're going to look the part."
As a result, consumers are going to be "over the sack dress, the Empire waist and the maternity dress.
"We'll see a lot more tailoring and body-skimming, a lot of the garden party look with ruffles and florals. And while we'll still see neutrals, grays, whites and skin tones, I've been surprised by the neon colors, like lime green. Spring will also be about hats, and lots of lace and mesh."
Buckingham said the trend has already been up and running in London, in what she described as the "piano lounge look."
"It's really about getting dressed up. It's going to carry over to the U.S. as well, because people want to dress up and have fun. We peg Generation Y as the 14- to 27-year-olds, and we call them an optimistic generation. They feel good about themselves and they want their fashion to reflect it."
Other designers describe the new looks as being simple and structured.
"Pieces are becoming more architecturally interesting," said Anna Barthelme, designer and co-owner of Los Angeles lines Lily McNeal and Dear Pruitt.
"There is more pleating, pintucks, stitching. Everything is in the details right now. There are wonderful, clean lines that are so elegant. For Lily McNeal, we're going streamlined with soft color palettes, magentas, caramels and spring greens. In Dear Pruitt, it's a little more urban and edgy, with silk screenings like a beetle on a flower. The pendulum is swinging the other way, and to do a collection that will sell you have to have the key trends combined with great basics." Lily McNeal retails from $97 to $300, and Dear Pruitt from $300 to $600.
For Kelly Nishimoto, another Los Angeles designer, it's going to be all about color. "Bright candy colors, lots of fuchsias and electric blues, bright greens and lemon yellows, anything that's catchy and fun," said Nishimoto. "It's a summer for people to breathe, relax and not take fashion so seriously. Everyone has done and overdone the bubble look. People will want to get back in shape and look cute in a short dress again. My motto is it's got to be feminine, flowy, comfortable and sexy. It's going to be a season for individuality, and it's going to be real pretty." Nishimoto's line wholesales from $17 to $159.
Denim designers agree - even those at the helm of premium denim lines, a category that has, supposedly, had its heyday.

"I keep reading that premium denim is in the toilet, but it hasn't happened yet," said Mel Matsui, owner of the Christopher Blue line in Seattle. "The wide leg is the new skinny and tops are all about soft and drapey. Eco is key - anything that's green and environmental." The line retails from $150 to $200.
Certainly, eco-friendly lines are a burgeoning micro trend in next spring's new offerings.
"There will be a focus on bamboo and hemp as more lines go green," said Kellie Kefalas, market analyst at trend forecasting company Directives West in Los Angeles. Other predictions include puff-sleeve bomber jackets; Crayola colors of red, yellow, blue and green, and skirts that are everything from mini to maxi in length.  "There's going to be a print and pattern explosion," said Kefalas. "And there's no question that the dress is the print star - plaid, checks, feminine florals, bold tropicals, graphic patterns, metallics, sequins, embellishments. Frilly feminine, bows, froufrou - from charm school to fantasy romance, anything goes." yanzic0605.
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