Music Notes: Denim Shares the Stage with Influential Musicians

If music and fashion are at the crossroads of youth culture, then strong, gritty, sexy, rebellious, relatable denim is at the intersection.

From the relationship between The Sex Pistols and the late Dame Vivienne Westwood, which led to the punk movement in the 1970s and kindled a love for skinny jeans and DIY fashion in young people to pop princesses Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera making low-riding jeans a sartorial symbol of the Y2K era, musicians’ imprint on denim runs deep.

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Denim’s ties to music are further evidenced through the decades by rock legends like Bruce Springsteen, who played to the everyman by donning worn-in Levi’s on his “Born in the U.S.A.” album cover in 1984, or by the patched and repaired jeans key to Kurt Cobain’s iconic grunge style. Off stage, Justin Timberlake and Spears struck red carpet gold in 2001 when they matched in a Canadian tuxedo and denim gown. On stage, Beyoncé’s star shone even brighter in countless bedazzled denim looks throughout her 2023 “Renaissance Tour.”

Pharrell Williams’ appointment as Louis Vuitton men’s creative director last year introduced a new dimension to music and fashion’s relationship. The renaissance man has already leveraged his role as a platform for other musicians like Tyler, the Creator, to have a seat at the table.

“Denim has always had strong connections to culture, always dictating the fit of the times we live in, standing for a certain effortlessness and coolness, and now there seems to be a bigger desire to experiment more with denim in a fashion sense and expressing a certain boldness,” said Piotrek Panszczyk, co-founder of Area.

Beyoncé and Taylor Swift are among the musicians who wear the New York City-based brand’s embellished denim. Premium shopping app Lyst reported that searches for Area’s crystal-embellished black jeans spiked 331 percent in less than 24 hours after Swift wore the jeans to the Super Bowl LVIII in January.

“I think fashion has been getting more pop, so people seem to be more interested in expressive treatments, embellishments, and ideas, versus only looking cool,” Panszczyk said. “So now at festivals and concerts, you really see people amping up the way they dress, often using denim as a vessel for this.”

Grunge and rock are frequent themes in R13’s collections. The brand’s Spring 2023 lookbook was even staged in an AI-generated version of Glastonbury.

“A musician’s fashion sense is amplified by their sound, strengthening their identity. And authenticity resonates with the masses,” said Chris Leba, R13 founder.

This has resulted in the past decade’s uptick of festival fashion and the success of brand deals at events like Coachella and Glastonbury. There were hits and misses along the way, but musicians’ access to custom and designer fashion for the stage is influencing how festivalgoers dress themselves.

“At present, music and musicians continue to heavily influence fashion through personal styles showcased on stage and their social media channels,” said Christian Juul Nielsen, Aknvas creative director. “Their aesthetics often suggest vibes more than trends, which is inspiring to look at when designing.”

He isn’t the only designer inspired by the relationship and influence of celebrities throughout the design process. More than ever, musicians have become muses for fashion designers and houses, evident in the number of rappers and pop stars in front rows, campaigns, and sometimes on the runway.

Acne Studios tapped Spanish singer-songwriter Rosalía for its Fall 2022 campaign. Versace linked up with “Hoodini” singer Dua Lipa to co-design a vacation collection in 2023. Sam Smith made their catwalk debut at Vivienne Westwood’s Fall/Winter 24-25 show in Paris earlier this year.

Juul Nielsen added, “Denim is a cornerstone of the intersection between music and fashion. It’s a versatile fabric that has been used by musicians across various genres for decades. Denim’s rebellious yet timeless appeal perfectly complements the edgy aesthetic often associated with music culture.”

This article appears in Rivet’s Spring Issue. Click here for more.