Black leather jackets, Nike Air Jordans and denim are just some of the biggest fashion trends that originated from Black culture and have influenced modern fashion in the U.S.
In fact, many may be naively surprised that the music they’re listening to and the fashion trends they’re following historically derive from African American influence.
“It’s very interesting because [there’s] a lot of people that actually do blackfishing,” said SJSU alumna and freelance model Cameo Walker. “I see that’s a common theme where people will take things from Black culture, but they never want to say it came from Black people or they’ll rebrand it as something, like, they’ll give it a different name [like when] Kim Kardashian puts on cornrows and calls it ‘box braids’.”
Blackfishing is a term used to define someone who pretends to be Black or alters their appearance to look ethnically Black, Walker said.
Blue denim fabric was a staple of Black youth fashion during the civil rights movement in the ’60s.
Young Black activists such as Martin Luther King Jr. were often seen wearing blue jeans and were viewed as “thugs’’ and “rebels,” according to a December 2020 Smithsonian Magazine article.
Today, blue jeans have been whitewashed in mainstream fashion with thousands of people on social media platforms including TikTok, Twitter and Instagram referring to them as “trendy” and “fashionable.”
Still, there’s a double standard when it comes to how Black people and white people are treated when they wear similar outfits, said Dr. Travis Boyce, SJSU associate professor and department chair for African American studies.
“So, when we look at dress codes . . . like going to a nightclub where ball caps and sneakers are not allowed,” Boyce said. “You see also some double standards where white males wear ball caps and sneakers, but they’re admitted
into [nightclubs easily].”
These labels and stereotypes were apparent in the case of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, who was fatally shot and killed by George Zimmerman on Feb. 26, 2012.
Zimmerman claimed he acted in self-defense because Martin looked “suspicious” wearing a dark gray hoodie, according to a March 24, 2012 NPR article.
Boyce said casual fashion is evolving into a mainstream look, but there are still important symbolic elements when it comes to who is dressed in the outfit, like in Martin’s case.
“The same thing [with] the politics of the hoodie with Trayvon Martin, that plays into some of this stuff,” Boyce said. “I think these things matter. It’s a comfortable thing to wear [and] it looks nice too, but also there’s a symbolic element of the hoodies as well.”
Martin’s case sparked a “hoodie movement” in which multiple celebrities including basketball players LeBron James and Dwyane Wade wore team hoodies in pregame warmups to express solidarity with Martin’s family, according to the same NPR article.
Today, supermodels such as Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner, as well as social media influencers like Charlie D’Amelio and Addison Rae, follow trends like wearing baggy jeans, head scarfs, hoop earrings and sneakers. They have influenced American youth to also follow these trends.
“I think it’s undeniable how modern fashion has been influenced by Black culture,” said political science junior Kadence Sky Walker. “If you look back, baggy clothes, the things rappers wear, even just the things that the Black culture is about [have] become a part of popular
culture today.”
Sky Walker said Black people used to be disregarded and ridiculed for their physical features, but now we see those same features being glorified.
“Even now we see Black culture is heavily influencing, even in places like Asia,” Sky Walker said. “With popular culture, we can see a lot of like Asian rappers playing [into this trend] who reference heavily [with things like] Jordan [sneakers] and Black culture here today.”
While Black culture continues to expand, it can be said that Black people are not acknowledged enough in what went from a scrutinized image, to popular culture.
Sky Walker said more people should recognize the significance of Black people’s contributions as well as the role they have played in creating a culture that’s so prevalent in global society.
