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 deep-rooted involvement in fashion, whether creating his own or serving as a primary co-signer 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 full-fledged 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.