Sowmya Krishnamurthy

Helio-Tropes

Sowmya Krishnamurthy is an accomplished journalist based in New York, originally from Michigan. She is the author of ‘Fashion Killa: How Hip Hop Revolutionized High Fashion,’ available now from Simon and Schuster / Gallery Books. Her work has been featured in Rolling Stone, XXL, Essence, Complex, Highsnobiety, Playboy, The Village Voice, and Time. We dive into the intersection of fashion and hip-hop and the impact they have had on each other, starting in New York City over the past 50 years. She breaks down the importance of Harlem’s own Dapper Dan, luxury laws, how the hustlers were the first street fashionistas/micro-influencers, what 'Ghetto Fabulous' meant, and rap's relationship to luxury. We explore the questionable but undeniable sartorial impact of Jay Z along with Yash's Rocawear velour jumpsuit era...all the way to rappers wearing dresses, the Lo-Life’s, Polo, Tommy Hilfiger’s fall from grace, Karl Lagerfeld, and Lil Kim’s 'Hardcore' provocative fashion influence. We take a closer look at Tupac's Versace drip, the irony of Camron's pink fur, and Biggie's lowkey hypebeast roots as one of the first rappers to be photographed wearing BAPE. All of the above and more on this special episode.