Fashion: Music’s Final Frontier?

Musicians have historically been held in high regard for their contributions to the arts, with composers like Beethoven and Bach being considered almost legendary, symphonic geniuses. But as society has evolved alongside technology, musicians are now some of the biggest, richest celebrities in the world. Along with this immense fame, many popular musicians decide to branch out and dabble in other money-making ventures, like food, liquor, and fashion.

Artists owning their own alcohol brands

isn’t a far jump and just makes plain sense, as musicians and booze tend to go hand in hand. Diddy has made millions with Ciroc, and though Justin Timberlake’s 901 Tequila is lesser known, it’s

won quite a few awards for its taste and production.

Musicians have also been buying up small portions of sports teams for the last two decades or so (Usher owns part of the Cleveland cavaliers, while Fergie and Venus and Serena Williams hold some of the Miami Dolphins), and opening their own restaurants (Diddy and JT both own their own eateries as well as their liquor brands). There have been a few failed (and very odd) ventures though, like when Bob Dylan was in a Victoria’s Secret commercial, or when Snoop Dogg endorsed Norton Anti-Virus computer software. While a lot of these business investments turn out well, the past 5 years have proven one avenue the most lucrative: fashion.

With entire television shows dedicated to celebrity outfit hits-and-misses and meticulously curated Instagram OOTDs, fashion has never been more important to the general population. Many celebrities have taken notice of this, and in turn designed and produced clothing lines that (often for a hefty cost) can bring the look of fame and luxury to the lives of us average folk.

FENTY x PUMA f/w 2016 ready to wear

As New York Fashion Week winds down, and the latest collections of musician designed clothing lines being released, it’s impossible to go on social media and not see clips from the Yeezy Season 4 show or snapshots of the newest Rihanna x Puma sneakers. In the past two years, Kanye has released four Yeezy clothing lines, and added over $155 million to his personal fortune (though he did have a few failed clothing lines in the past). Rihanna was named creative director of Puma, and has completely revitalized the brand, boosting sales and elevating the brand into the realm of high end fashion houses like Chanel and Tom Ford.

It appears that rather than musicians signing clothing deals with Kmart or Sears (ahem, LL Cool J), investing the time, money, and creative energy into a high-end fashion line is proving to be extremely lucrative. So musicians, go forth and design questionable looking shoes and plain hoodies that cost over half a semester’s tuition, cause in the end you’ll get richer and I’ll have another celeb perk to lust over.