Artists become celebrities and icons through a unique quality, their performance or their ability to affect society in some shape or form; part of how they achieve this I believe is through their image, and through mimicking their clothes and lifestyle we, the mere fans, can too share some of this ‘fame’. We can make a statement about who we are and what we believe- in the 90’s buffalo boots (as worn by the Spice Girls) meant girl power, similarly, in the 80’s biker boots and torn t-shirts (a’la the Sex Pistols) told society that you too were an anarchist.

With society more celebrity focused than ever, artists have recognised the profitability of their name and image; turning themselves into brands offering fans clothing, perfumes and underwear designed by the artist themselves. Perhaps the most booming sector of the celebrity/music clothing range industry is the rap and RnB sector with musicians Jay Z, Puff Daddy, Damon Dash, Beyonce, JLo and Justin Timberlake all encapsulating their urban street style into a clothing range available to buy on the high street.

One of the first of these celebrities endorsed brands to appear, and the most profitable is Rocawear, founded by Jay Z and Damon Dash. Rocawear, originally a men’s clothing brand, which now also does ladies wear, children’s wear, footwear, bags and accessories, has an annual turnover of $700 million. If that isn’t enough to keep Jay Z in his bling bling, then the $207 million cash deal he did with Iconix Brand Group in 2007 selling the rights to Rocawear should suffice.

How this urban brand manages to be so successful is through its identification with the fans, with Jay Z still at the design helm Rocawear is producing clothing that he actually wears himself- proof being that his last tour was completely clothed by the brand. There is no doubt that Rocawear customers enjoy the brand because it allows them to replicate the Rap star, yet what happens when Jay Z does eventually retire, falling off the celebrity radar forever? With Jay Z’s image so deeply rooted in the Rocawear brand it will be incredibly hard for another to pick up where he left. It’s saving grace being it’s strong fashion led clothing that does not identify too strongly with the rap genre of the moment- I believe that the existing collections have room to grow and develop, allowing for the brand to adapt to our fickle societies changing tastes.