by MIKE CHAIKEN
CTFashionMag.com
There was a moment in the 1980s when hip hop street style—full of track suits and Adidas—started to transform to something other.
This shift was probably best epitomized by De La Soul (“Me Myself and I”) . All of a sudden street-style began to incorporate more than the Kangol and gold chains uniform. Bits and pieces of psychedelic ‘60s gear began to slip in sideways to the look just as the trippiness of the Summer of Love also slipped into the beats.
Animated People by Kojo Owusu-Ansah evoked visions of De La Soul in its runway show at Hartford Fashion Week April 21 at the Colt Armory in Hartford.
The collection definitely had a street wear vibe. But the approach—with its sartorial mash-ups and patchworks—was more outsider than insider in its approach to the aesthetic. Like a lot of streetwear Animated People recognized the importance of branding—in this case, a cartoon spaceman, that reoccurred on several of the garments. But he also demonstrated his creativity that was coherent but took the garments in new directions. This was streetwear by way of outsider art.
PHOTOS by MIKE CHAIKEN
