MUSIC ARTISTS AND THEIR BRANDS

NEW SONG, NEW ALBUM AND A NEW HOODIE?

Musicians have a history of utilizing their influence to kickstart their own successful fashion brands. BY: EVAN HUNTINGTON

For a number of years, celebrities have found many ways to capitalize on their cultural influence by branching outside of their respective industries. Particularly the case with popular musicians, many musical artists have sought creative expression and new monetary opportunities through the creation of their own fashion brands. This gives fans a new way to support their favorite artists. Successfully accomplished by several music icons, here are a couple of artists who have been able to spread their creative brilliance to a new fashion frontier.

Tyler, the Creator

Over the course of his decade-long run as one of the most unconventional acts in hip-hop, Tyler Okonma has cemented himself as a serious force to be reckoned with in the creative world, beyond music as well. The rapper-designer has made a unique presence in the fashion world for quite some time, beginning in 2011 with the release of his own curated streetwear brand: Golf Wang. Displaying graphic-heavy designs that reflect his skating, LA streetwear roots, Tyler has practically given fans direct access to his own wardrobe, an eccentric fashion sense he has been known for since his teenage years.

While Golf Wang has been going strong all these years, Tyler decided to level up his game with the recent debut of a new luxury brand, Golf le Fleur, taking his fashion style to new heights. The collection includes high-end apparel items, including: mohair cardigans, button-ups, sweater vests and polos under a consistent pastel palette of light blues, oranges and washed-out greens. While no apparel items have been officially released, the announcement of the brand was quickly followed by the release of his first-ever fragrance, French Waltz, a unisex floral musk, as well as a line of nail polish, coming in a baby blue, orange and glitter.

On Dec. 4, 2021, Tyler celebrated his new Golf le Fleur collection with a Flintstones-inspired pop-up shop on a mountaintop in Malibu, California, turning into an invite-only event in which his friends could experience his new products first-hand. From LA skate punk to luxury style icon, Tyler, the Creator demands your attention and is proving himself to be a force in fashion as much as music. His unpredictable nature within all artistic endeavors will leave the world in awe of what he will do next.

Pharrell Williams

It’s hard to find someone in the music industry with as impressive of a career as the music icon himself: Pharrell Williams. Being one of the most in-demand producers since the early 2000s, collaborating with hundreds of other artists and being the man behind countless hit records, Williams has surely established a legacy for himself in music, but he has never wanted to stop there. Known for his deeprooted involvement in fashion, whether creating his own or serving as a primary cosigner of other up-and-coming labels, Williams has been revered as a trendsetting style icon as much as a music mogul.

His personal fashion journey dates back to 2005 when he and his manager Rob Walker teamed up with Japanese fashion designer Nigo to create the streetwear brand Billionaire Boys Club. With its skate-centric focus, bright colors and classic astronaut logos, the label quickly became one of the most hyped streetwear brands at the time. In the following years, Williams and Nigo created ICECREAM, a footwear subsidiary of the Billionaire Boys Club label, known for its graphic motifs of diamonds and dollar signs as well as its vibrant color palette.

ICECREAM eventually grew beyond footwear and fleshed out into its own fullfledged clothing line. Over the years, Williams has collaborated with a myriad of other brands and designers, including A Bathing Ape and Human Made — both created by close collaborator Nigo — as well as Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Moncler, Uniqlo and Adidas. Williams has always been known as an artist who has worked with nearly every musician under the sun, and the same can be said for the fashion industry as well.

Kanye West

Arguably one of the most influential figures in pop culture in the 21st century, Kanye West has become a true icon of American culture through his acclaimed, highly successful music career and, in recent years, his booming success in the fashion industry. His direct involvement in fashion collaboration began in 2007 when he signed a deal with Nike to design his own sneaker, and in 2009, the Nike Air Yeezy was released to the public, coming in three colorways.

Facing issues with Nike regarding a fair royalty payout, West officially left Nike in 2013 after the release of the Air Yeezy 2, and he soon joined forces with Adidas to continue to fulfill his vision. In February of 2015, West’s first footwear collaboration with Adidas officially debuted with his original Yeezy Boost 750 shoe, garnering unprecedented hype and skyrocketing resell value.

By October of 2015, the highly-anticipated “Yeezy Season 1” clothing collection with Adidas officially released, the first full apparel collection from this collaboration. The line was known for its stripped-down, baggy look and its military aesthetic with its flesh-toned color palette. The Yeezy partnership with Adidas received massive success upon its initial debut and continues to acquire much hype among sneakerheads and fashion enthusiasts.

Today, with more of a focus on footwear, Yeezy and Adidas have created dozens of sneaker models that continue to amass a lot of attention. Most recently, West struck a 10-year deal with Gap, announced in the summer of 2020, to create the new “Yeezy Gap” line of apparel, hoping to bring the retailer out of a sales decline. Nearly a year later, Yeezy Gap launched its first piece, the “Round Jacket,” as a surprise drop with little warning. A thick, puffy jacket in a solid blue colorway, Yeezy Gap was officially underway and has now released several more jacket colorways, as well as a line of solid-colored hoodies that were released later that fall.

The star power and societal influence musicians have in our culture is something many artists have taken advantage of, most notably by becoming a part of the lucrative fashion industry. In an age of self-branding, these stars have channeled their creative passions and forms of expression in new outlets and have carried their artistic identities into fresh forms.

A&C Where dreamy indie meets pop punk

With roots in Portland, Growing Pains brings a unique sound to the local music scene.

BY KRISTA KROISS • TWITTER @KRISTAKROISS

Portland band Growing Pains plays at the Alder House in Eugene on Oct. 31, 2021 with Eugene bands Novacane and Candy Picnic. (Ian Enger)

You wouldn’t think The Smiths would mesh well with My Chemical Romance, but local band Growing Pains is here to prove you wrong.

The four-piece band from Portland, Oregon, has been a part of the Portland music scene since their high school days, meeting at a franchise and performanced based music school called School of Rock (yes, it’s a bit like the movie). But fans shouldn’t just thank the School of Rock in Portland for the band’s formation — in a way, fans should thank emorock band Joyce Manor too.

“When we first met we all bonded over our love of this band Joyce Manor,” guitarist Carl Taylor said. In fact, it was Taylor’s Joyce Manor t-shirt that first led guitarist and vocalist Jack Havrilla to strike up a conversation with Taylor while at School of Rock Portland. The pair started making music together, later picking up fellow School of Rock student Kyle Kraft as their drummer, and then the final piece of the puzzle: bassist and vocalist Kalia Storer.

“The moment that I think of when we first formed, I was in a practice room at School of Rock,” Storer, also a student at School of Rock, said. “I turned around, and they were in the doorway.”

Turns out the trio was so impressed with Storer’s talent they asked her to be in their band on the spot. The four got their first gig from their music instructor Sonia Weber, member of Portland band Alien Boy, who got Growing Pains on the bill with her own

Everyone else will have their vision, and it will end up being a mix of four different visions."

CARL TAYLOR Growing Pains guitarist

band along with some touring bands. After that gig, the group dropped out from School of Rock to focus on Growing Pains.

“We realized that it’s a lot more fun to play your own songs live,” Taylor said, noting the School of Rock program consists of three month cycles that didn’t give them enough creative freedom. The four gravitated to the musical potential having “complete creative freedom” could give them.

Fast forward to today, Growing Pains currently performs at both house shows and professional venues in Eugene and Portland. Its debut album “Heaven Spots” was recorded by Edwin Paroissien at Echo Hill Studios and released in 2020 but not without pandemic-related challenges.

“It was pretty weird recording in lockdown,” Taylor said. “It’s like all of these people that you’re super close with, but then you’re wearing masks and distanced.”

Taylor also added that, while the album was being recorded, it was the time when raging fires covered the West Coast.

“The skies were literally red when we were recording,” Taylor said. “It was like we were recording during the apocalypse.”

Storer also described facing challenges with mental health during the recording session, even being brought to tears while recording the song “Houseboat.” Fortunately, Storer is able to look back and consider it simply a funny story about the song.

Since this adventurous week in the studio, the group has worked on some new material with no definitive release dates. When asked about Growing Pains’ songwriting process, Taylor was unsure about calling their songwriting “a process,” as it would imply that they follow certain steps to write a song — which is not the case.

“For songs I write, I will write an entire song out, and I will have a specific vision,” Taylor said. “Everyone else will have their vision, and it will end up being a mix of four different visions.”

Taylor elaborated on this when discussing the band’s musical style, describing the blend of genres and musical tastes that makes the band original.

“For the song “Houseboat”, I wrote it to be jangle pop, like the Smiths,” Taylor said. “And [the band] really wanted it to be like a pop punk song, and that’s why it ended up sounding the way it sounds.” The song has the dreamy guitar lines you would expect in the Smiths, but the powerful drums and tempo of a My Chemical Romance song.

“None of our visions lined up,” Taylor said. “I think that’s why it sounds unique.”

Although indie rock is likely the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of Growing Pains, the band doesn’t consider itself an indie band.

Taylor notes that it’s “obvious” Growing Pains is an indie rock band, “but it feels weird to describe yourself as an indie band.”

Going on to discuss what the definition of “indie” is, Taylor said the word isn’t just about the music.

“I feel like [indie] refers more to the culture around a scene rather than the genre itself,” Taylor said.

Storer agreed, adding the band isn’t a part of an indie culture. The idea of indie culture generally refers to the mindset of actively opposing the mainstream with expression through art, clothes and more. This is why indie rock bands tend to be more experimental with sounds and music than mainstream pop.

“We don’t wear tiny little beanies,” Storer said, referring to the mainstream style of indie culture.

Overall, Growing Pains is a must-hear for any fan of indie music and the Eugene scene – especially those that also love pop punk. While the band doesn’t have any upcoming shows or new releases, you can stay up to date by following its Instagram account: @growingpainspdx. Debut album “Heaven Spots” can be found on Spotify, Apple Music, Bandcamp and SoundCloud.

Portland band Growing Pains plays at the Alder House in Eugene on Oct. 31, 2021 with Eugene bands Novacane and Candy Picnic. (Ian Enger)