How Outkast’s Expression Reshaped Hip-Hop’s Fashion World
Outkast broke all the rules in hip-hop with their jazz and funk Southern sound that redefined the genre and molded southern rap culture. This is what put them in a league of their own and celebrated in a historic moment, being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this past weekend. But the recognition is not only about music; it goes to their overall expression and their bold duality of Southern Black culture, not only in hip-hop but also in fashion.
Antwan “Big Boi” Patton and André “3000” Benjamin have always had a balanced duality when it came to their flows, rhythms, and lyrics. As Outkast grew to be the Southern funk-rap duo that rooted Atlanta and southern culture on a global scale, their threads often aligned with historic Southern fashion culture as well, while staying unique to themselves.
Outkast took their Atlanta roots of streetwear, mixed with southern dandy and avant-garde, and created an eccentric, imaginative style we’ve come to know and love.
Early in their career in the mid-90s, the duo often wore popular streetwear. As the group grew in popularity, they incorporated turbans, knitted hats, threads, bold colors, and vivid prints into their style, making their wardrobe and fashion choices just as outlandish and pioneering as their musical sound.
Just like their sound, you can’t really pinpoint Outkast to one fashion-forward style. As their music played with sounds of funk, flair, and jazz, their looks would also range from Afro-futurism, funkadelic, and Southern dandyism. The duo would often experiment with accessories too, from beaded jewelry, colorful and large shades, headbands, wigs, beads, furs, jumpsuits, and large medallions.
The two would also stay true to their own individual styles— with Big Boi often wearing long braids, furs, and unique streetwear elegance, and André often sporting more Afro-futuristic funkadelic wear from wigs, gloves, and unique, colorful patterns.
Outkast never separated music from fashion, as each one often told a much deeper story of their southern roots. Atlanta, once hailed as Black Hollywood, and Southern culture has always been far recognizable from its sound to its style. The rap duos’ influence not only made a mark in the music industry but put Southern culture on a radar that it had never seen before. Their fashion decisions inspired not only other musicians but also fashion designers, and looked further into the history of Southern fashion culture.
In true Outkast form, there isn’t a credited stylist or curator linked to their unconventional fashion choices. But their unique curation is something else that sets them apart in the hip-hop world. It’s difficult to imagine today that their daring and vivid styles, from fashion to rhymes— weren’t celebrated in the mainstream when they first came to the scene. And, we all know what led André 3000’s cultural claim, “The South got something to say.”
