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Jean-Doris Muhuza

Final Draft

Ms. Tronrud

May 4th, 2013

Conceptual Consumption: Black America’s Indulgence of Italian Fashion

Among the great authors of the 19thcentury, the most influential was humor writer Mark

Twain. He left this earth with many lessons from his written pieces. But what most resonates is

his saying: “Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.” Take

Kanye West for example, a man who truly embodies Twain’s quote. In any appearance Mr. West

makes, he is first identifiable by the clothes he wears. As you watch Kanye West, accompanied

by Jay-Z, destroy a Maybach and customize it with pyrotechnics, it is difficult to ignore his

designer jeans and Riccardo Tisci attire (GQ). Kanye has worn Italian high fashion to the point

that he influences much of the black community in America to purchase similar attire. There is

an attraction between the Italian fashion industry and the black community that both benefits the

industry, and transforms the black identity in both positive and negative ways. By exploring the

way the fashion industry works, the history of both Italy and the interest in fashion within the

black community, and the influence of social media, one can see how black Americans obtain

control of their identity but abuse it to have a negative connotation.

1.) Understanding the Industry

Like any industry there exist groups that work for the sake of its prosperity. The fashion

industry focuses on its designers but needs models, agencies, tailors, photographers, fashion

schools, retailers, and magazines for people to purchase the designer’s clothes. Their clothes are

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based upon three principles of style: Haute Couture, Prêt a Porter (ready- to -wear) and High

Street fashion (Alhassan, line 11). Haute Couture, all of which are custom made, consisting of

high end clothes costing between 25,000 to millions of dollars, takes days producing one fabric

because of the personalized attention to detail (Alhassan, lines 14-15). Not many people however

find haute couture practical, which is why ready to wear clothes are more affordable and varied.

Unlike haute couture, ready to wear clothes are designed to fit people of all sizes, giving the

designer more revenue. The most affordable of these styles is high street clothes that are mass

produced in foreign countries and highly publicized on television. Designers collaborate with

high street fashion for the purpose of starting a trend (Alhassan, line 28).

Since the Renaissance, Italy has continued to make fashion revelations in design and

texture, grabbing the world’s attention. As a result, blacks in the United States followed such a

revolution of self-expression. Previously, blacks were identified as outcasts because of the

history of slavery in the United States. With the help of popular icons in pop culture, blacks have

been able to redefine themselves in society. But such freedom of expression leads blacks,

especially younger members of the black community, to wear Italian high fashion without

understanding the message associated with wearing certain clothes. Italy shared a similar

struggle that blacks overcame in the United States. The same way black Americans fought for

freedom over slavery and oppression, Italian’s fought for independence and control in the

fashion industry. Perhaps it is this unified sense of triumph that draws the black community to

Italian fashion.

Competing with Paris, Florence made great strides during the Renaissance to gain an

upper hand in the global fashion take over. Incorporating French culture, Italy did not fully

develop an identity until their iconic Italian leather based couture became infamous around

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countries like London, Japan, the United States, and its competitor France. It was not until Italian

designers began incorporating leather into their designs that the country was on the fashion radar.

The iconic Italian leather materials were easily used to make garments because of its

accessibility. The vast amounts of hides located in Italy provide the necessary environment for

the country to finance a leather business, making Italian leather the best quality leather

(wiseGEEK). Before reaching this entrepreneurial revelation, the country transformed not only

its cities, but cultural habits as well.

Four centuries prior to Mark Twain’s era, Italy underwent a major change: from feeble

medieval buildings made of wood into bright renaissance cities made of marble (Life in Italy).

But this change brought a new, wealthier class that flaunted their wealth with tailored clothes,

and imported couture, establishing haute couture. In retrospect, the division in social classes

developed during Italian’s fight for unity. The division among tyrannical Milan, the republics of

Florence and Venice, the Kingdom of Naples and the monarchial Italian South prevented the

country from reaching full prosperity (Baron 14). The feuds among each subgroup escalated to

an inner war, in which allies formed among different divisions. Fortunately the war had

positively affected the Italian economy. During this inner conflict among these subgroups,

France worked closely with Florence, what is now one of the fashion capitals of the world. In its

endeavors to maintain control against other subgroups in the country, the Florentine government

sought protection from the King of France. The desire for unity essentially brought Italy and

France together in a shared belief of fortitude, establishing a forum to share multiple techniques

clothe production.

In the early 1950s, Milan fortunately played the role of “the financial and industrial

capital of Italy” (Foot 1). With an increase in immigration, Milan gained workers and capital for

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factories. Such a spark of success quickly dwindled down as fewer immigrants entered Italy. As

the population of entering immigrants decreased, so did production (Foot 3). Moreover, citizens

went without work. Restless from the lack of employment, its citizens took action. Riots and

protests emerged in the streets of Milan, which negatively affected the once prosperous factories.

Each one gradually shut down as the riots grew (Foot 3). Although facing a time of distress, the

Italian community optimistically focused on other parts of its culture. One, if not the most

profitable, of these cultural aspects was the fashion industry. In the 1960s, Milan was the center

of Italy’s creative industrial design revolution with a majority of its profits coming from Prada,

Versace, and Armani, all of which are haute couture brands (Foot 3). The obstacles Italy faced

are similar inner conflicts present among races in the United States.

The fashion industry, focused on its designers and producers, can not prosper without its

consumers. The consumers of this industry range from noblemen to rednecks. A certain

demographic of consumers, the black community, has shown significant changes in the style of

fashion purchased among its people. From buying high street clothes, most affordable among

poor blacks, black Americans have shifted to buying brand name clothes in an effort to imitate

haute couture, a trendy style popular among the community in the 21st century. Luxury goods

consumers have displayed extreme loyalty to the most exclusive brands even in difficult times

while consumers at the lower-end of the industry continue to consume “near-luxury” items

offered by luxury goods brands like Tiffany and Polo Ralph Lauren (Nguyen 7). A new sense of

pride, gained from overcoming the struggles of slavery and discrimination, brings about a

dressing style that illustrates heightened value in both identity as well as clothes. Ultimately, the

more the clothes cost, the more valuable the person conceives to be worth. Although reluctant to

collaborate with high street fashion companies because of fear of lessening the value of her line,

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Donatella Versace incorporated her line with H&M for reasons of exposing her line to a different

demographic. It is a constant exposure to high couture that leads to an obsession of high fashion.

This is evident in much of the media, where rappers like Biggy Smalls mention couture brands

like Versace. Such is the case in his song hypnotize. After learning about Italy’s history in the

development of the country’s focus on fashion, one takes an overview look into the history of

black Americans to see the link between blacks and haute couture.

2.) Redefining social conceptions

In Jordan Roll’s book The World the Slave Made, Roll discusses this concept of

hegemony as class antagonisms. Hegemony is defined on dictionary.com as leadership or

predominant influence exercised by one nation over others. As was antagonism relevant during

the Civil Rights, so is it practiced today. The power of antagonism is abused when one finds the

antagonized person incapable of actively reacting. Such a person is put into an environment that

favors the person antagonizing because of the frame of the environment. Roll writes, “Only

possession of public power can discipline a class as a whole, and through it, the other classes of

society” (Roll 32). In the 1850s, slaveholders set laws and regulations that kept them in power.

Consequently, slaves accepted their roles in society as chattel and perceived the slaveholder as

the superior controller of all chattels. It was not until slavery ended in 1964 that the journey to

redefining black identity commenced. With the abolishment of slavery through the 13th

Amendment came landmark events in black history that increased rights for black Americans.

Among these events are the inception of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which gave black men

equal rights to white men, the Civil Rights Act of 1965, permitting black Americans to vote, and

the Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Ed, integrating educational institutions among black

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and white students. Each event allowed black Americans to gain an identity of self-worth,

proving to themselves and the world that they deserved better living conditions. Although

convinced that they were equal to their white counterparts, black Americans felt as if they did

not dress the part. With national brands accounting for 30% of U.S. wholesale apparel sales,

blacks were unaware of international apparel that other people were buying (Nguyen 2). It was

not until the use of media became common among the fashion industry that blacks became

exposed to such apparel.

Most, if not every, American household contains a television set. According to

Nielson.com “more than half the homes in the U.S have three or more TVs. These sets permit the

transmission of news and entertainment. Fashion, a combination of both news and entertainment,

has made it possible for the households to learn about fashion from different countries. Among

these countries exists Italy. Previously mentioned as a part of the fashion industry, media and

other companies serving that purpose, help expose the work of Italian designers to the American

culture. Although much of America conformed to this new wave of fashion, blacks could not

participate in this trend because of low income. Blacks, who born poor but grew wealthy, quickly

changed the community’s inability to join the fashion revolution.

Known for his infamous “banana boat song,” Harry Belafonte was an icon for fashion-

forward black Americans. He established a new image representing blacks as well dressed

intellectuals. Born in the impoverished neighborhood of Harlem, Belafonte patiently prepared for

his opportunity for the world to recognize him. In desperation to leave the violent conditions in

his home, Belafonte became “a mainstay of the civil rights movement of the ’60s” (Keillor).

Although living in a time of social chaos, Belafonte’s mother exposed him to a rich culture.

Growing up, Belafonte dressed for Sunday church in a blue suit and watched performances by

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jazz legends Count Bassie, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, and Ella Fitzgerald at the Apollo

Theater (Keillor). Blue, conveying importance and confidence without being somber or sinister

(About.com), complemented Belafonte’s character. In a time of uncertainty as to whether the

civil rights movement would succeed and whether blacks could possess ownership to their

identity, the community needed the confidence of Harry Belafonte to prove that it was possible

for black people to overcome a cruel environment. His noticeable style came to be the trademark

of a new generation of blacks that much of entertainment loved to publicize. Belafonte is

exposed of taking part in the fashion bomb in different media forms from New York Time

articles to his own television special “Tonight with Harry Belafonte.”

Harry Belafonte was a huge influence in the black community. But as times changed, so

did the public’s interest in different forms of entertainment. Music that Belafonte played started

to lose taste. Much of the black community went from playing Jazz instruments to rapping hip

hop and rap. Many magazines tried expanding their customers to new readers. It was not until

fashion magazines like Vogue used celebrities, also known as taste-makers, to mix and match

haute couture with high street fashion.

Kanye West has intertwined himself with the rap community and Italian high fashion to

the point that he is among the ultimate taste-makers for many fashion magazines. One of his

songs represents Mr. West as an advocate for both the black community and the fashion

community. It is in his well-known song Champion that Mr. West says “I don't see why I need a

stylist…When I shop so much I can speak Italian.” Kanye understands the role he plays as an

ambassador between these two communities. However, he lets this responsibility get the best of

him. The chorus of that song consists of the lyrics “Yes I did, so I packed it up and brought it

back to the crib…Just a little somethin' show you how we live.” The fame Kanye attributed with

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his music, and fashion, has lead him to be an egotistical celebrity that sends a message of

exaltation that’s indorsed by the clothes he wears.

3.) A new generation

Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois in a moderately affluent home with former activist

Ray West, and Professor Donda West as his parents, Kanye West never truly understood the

meaning of poverty. Unlike most black people living in miniscule apartments, surviving off of

EBT cards, the west family lived comfortably in the suburbs of Chicago. With the resources

from his parents, Mr. West was able to produce music and later start his career as a rapper. It was

not until 2009 that he revealed his interest in fashion to the world by first designing shoes for

Louis Vuitton, a popular brand among the black community. This was 6 years after a growth in

the apparel and footwear industry. Despite the unemployment rate rising to 6% in April from

5.8% in March, industry analysts were still optimistic of revenue gained from fashion (Nguyen

5). Kanye West created this facade of a struggling black American overcoming the struggles of a

dangerous city. Although facing the adversities of prejudice in Chicago, Mr. West was fortunate

enough to have the financial support that many black American families do not have.

But despite such hardships, Mr. West recognized the impact he had made in the black

community. In William P. Dudding’s “Soldier of Culture: A Literary Analysis of the Works of

Kanye West,” it is evident that Mr. West acknowledges the role he plays when saying “I realize

that my place and position in history is that I will go down as the voice of this generation”

(Dudding’s 2). Mocked by comedian Stephen Colbert, The Mo’Kelly Report, and the media,

Kanye West was seen as a joke to have taken on the role of representing an entire generation.

Yet, much of the black community believes in his façade. So much so that people want to be a

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part of this generation that wears designer jeans and brand name clothes from haute couture

designers.

Much like Kate Smith’s adaptation of Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America,” Kanye

West’s fashion choice was a misrepresentation of Harry Belafonte’s fashion choice to push

towards a better community. Dudding notices a lost generation while Smith profited from her

song. He writes, “By accepting the song with such enthusiasm, Americans willingly walked with

blind loyalty into a group of ideals that failed them.” Similarly, the black community falls prey to

Mr. West’s message of empowerment through fashion. As his albums generate money for him to

publicize fashion in his music videos, the public strives to dress like Mr. West. Failing to

understand that he can afford to frivolously spend money on personal chefs and $3 million on

studio time, the younger generation of this community imitates Mr. West’s spending habits.

Cathy Horyn exposes a bad habit within the community when she comments “black women

spend $20 billion a year on clothes.” Clothes have become such a necessity in the black

community that by the year 2015, African-Americans will be spending $1.1 trillion a year on

products and services (City-data.com).

Although there is no doubt that some members in the black community waste their

money on expensive clothes, others continue to invest wisely, Nikolai Roussanov, a finance

professor at Wharton, found differences in fashion expenses in the black community. Despite

concluding that blacks spend more on visible purchases, Roussanov understands that for some

black people, their fashion choice is a way for them to gain employment. Some of the black

community sees this trend of fashion expenses as a means of competing for jobs. However, the

problem still lies in a majority of the black community.

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The conceptions of fashion have gone from styles and designs made for the appeal of

luxury to clothes that represent a desire for changing cultural conceptions. Black Americans have

transformed an Italian focus of economic prosperity as a means of identifying themselves as a

race with historical value. As one dissects this cultural redefinition through the mind of an

extremist like Louis Farrakhan, it is difficult to ignore a lost sense of prioritization that exists in

the black community. Economical activist, Louis Farrakhan, sees the problem and urges the

majority to join the mentality of the minority. Farrakhan mentions that “After integration, the

black economic infrastructure began to dwindle until it was totally destroyed,” and he was right

in saying that. Much of the youth in black America spend their time imitating the styles of the

affluent celebrities they see on television, thinking that their image is improved by wearing

padded leather shoes. This leaves a small demographic of successful black entrepreneurs that

know how to spend their money, leaving a good impression for the black community. Tulsa,

Oklahoma, and Durham, North Carolina are just two shining examples of a perfected black

economic infrastructure with hundreds of black businesses and professionals practicing their

trades (Farrakhan). The community must acknowledge this struggle for redefinition and make

necessary changes to improve the identity of the American black person. There are no longer

limitations that antagonize blacks. The community must follow leaders like Belafonte as role

models for a richer society. Only then can the black community redefine its race as both

monetarily and intellectually valuable.

Works Cited

Alhassan, Zainab Imichi. “Understanding The Fashion Industry- Where does Nigeria

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Stand?” Elle Magazine. May 2011. Article

Baron, Han. “The Crisis of the Early Italian Renaissance.” Princeton University Press.

1993. Print

“Conspicuous Consumption and Race: Who Spends More on What” UPenn.edu. May,

2008.

Horyn, Carthy. “Conspicuous by Their Presence.” New York Times. 6/18/08. Article

Dudding, William P. “Soldier of Culture: A Literary Analysis of the Works of Kanye

West” Claremont McKenna College. 2011. Print

Farrakhan, Louis. “WAKE UP BLACK PEOPLE!” EmpowerNetwork. February 2013.

Print.

“Fashion: Spotlight on Statistics.” Bureau of Labor Statistics. June, 2012. Print

Foot, John. “Milan since the Miracle: City, Culture and Identity.” Berg: Oxford

International Publishers. 2001. Print.

Keillor, Garrison. “The Radical Entertainment of Harry Belafonte.” New York Times.

October 2011. Print

“Life in Italy During the Renaissance.” The Magnificent Times of Art and Culture. April

20th, 2010. Print

Nguyen, Vi. “Analysis of the Luxury Goods & Apparel and Footwear Industries.”

Department of Marketing. October 2003. Print.

“Rank as World’s 16th largest consumers.” CityData.com. Article. 10.2006

Roll, Jordan. Roll: The World the Slaves Made. Random House, Inc. 1974. Print.

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Fashion.” Ed. Valerie Steele. Vol. 2. Detroit: Charles Scribner's Sons. 2005. 254-256.

World History In Context. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.

“What Is so Special about Italian Leather?” wiseGEEK. 5/5/2013. Blog

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fashion industry.” Oxford International Publishers. Ltd. 2000