Music's Influence on Fashion | Culture

Music and fashion are often two interchangeable influences on society as a whole – and it’s no secret that the former has helped shaped the latter throughout the last five decades of the 20^th century, through to the present day.

There was the Vivienne Westwood-dressed Sex Pistols in the 1970s that came to define the punk movement and create an aesthetic that is still very much adopted and adapted to this day; Madonna and her lace-corseted, tulle skirt look that has become almost synonymous with 1980s style; Kurt Cobain with his lumberjack shirts and dishevelled hair that gave the ‘90s grunge; and Kanye West redefining the preppy polo shirt in his College Dropout days.

Being highly creative and influential, it’s no wonder that music has been as adopted by the industry as it has. This season music's influence on fashion has been most realised in Coach’s SS17 collection, with British designer Stuart Vevers taking his penchant for Americana to the next level with none other than the King himself providing inspiration.

Alongside the fringed leather jackets, quilted jackets and general girl-gang-meets-Little-House-on-the-Prairie vibe, Elvis and his fans were front and centre in this collection. It was an update on Karlheinz Weinberger’s images of Swiss teenagers donned in makeshift Elvis memorabilia in the ‘50s and ‘60s, with large-plated belts, t-shirts plastered in cut-out images of the icon’s face, and medallion-style necklaces paying homage to the singer.

The influence continued with studded creepers, elevated moccasins and workwear-style jeans, while delicate, sheer floral dresses added a sense of contemporary romance.