Why Today’s Musicians Are More Into Fashion Than…Music – The Wall Street Journal

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Since the release of his debut album over two years ago, Lil Uzi Vert has trickled out a couple follow-up singles and lent a verse to the odd song by other rappers. In those two years, he’s focused much of his creative energy on Instagram, where the 25-year-old rapper has posted over 70 “‘fit pics.” These outfit posts—which often consist of multiple images so his 10 million-plus followers can really soak up the details—capture the 5-foot-4 rapper in designer looks. One week, he’s boarding a jet in a Saint Laurent American flag sweater; the next he’s posing poolside in head-to-toe Louis Vuitton; in yet another he’s wearing a shiny red bucket hat and more chains than Mr. T in his chain-zealot heyday. These posts are challenging and shaping fan perceptions of Lil Uzi Vert. He is not just a rapper; he is a fashion influencer. (Through their representatives, all the musicians mentioned in this story passed on the opportunity to comment or did not respond to requests for comment.)

Other stars who’ve conquered Billboard have been actively rebranding themselves as social-media-savvy fashion plates. In March, Justin Bieber announced that he was stepping back from music to focus on family and his health, but has also found time to catalog his many outfits on Instagram. “My style is impeccable,” he captioned a post showing his heavily-tattooed frame in an unbuttoned shirt, his khakis pushed low enough to reveal his underwear’s “Calvin Klein” waistband. For other additions to his feed, Mr. Beiber just photographs his clothes laid out on the floor like a ’tween organizing his outfit before the first day of school.

You’ll find more polish and no shortage of magazine-quality fashion photoshoots in the Instagram feed of Beyoncé, whose last solo album came out in 2016 (she did produce July’s “The Lion King” soundtrack). Among the top tier of pop artists, however, Rihanna may be the most prolific poster of late: Over one 8-hour period last week, the Barbadian star dropped five outfit posts on her Instagram. Having launched her Fenty fashion label with

LVMH

this year, the singer is clearly focusing on style, laughing off questions about her next album’s drop-date at media appearances.

Stars use “Instagram to stay relevant, to give their fans updates, to show that they’re still there,” said Allen Onyia, one half of the fraternal duo behind Upscale Hype, an Instagram account that tracks celebrity outfits. It’s no longer enough for a musician to release an album every four years—fans overstimulated by the current mediascape will forget about them and move onto whoever is scaling the Spotify charts that week. Outfit posts can sate an impatient, distracted fan base. At least up to a point: For every Instagram comment praising Lil Uzi Vert’s “drip”—which is to say, his swagger—another begs him to release his second album.

Rappers have long flaunted their fashion bona fides via their lyrics, sprinkling references to Gucci, Dior and Prada throughout songs. But Instagram offers rappers a richer, more visual medium in which to flex and flash. They can draft a member of their entourage to snap a pic, then post it on Instagram and reap thousands of likes. Listeners needn’t imagine what a star’s Louis Vuitton footwear looks like; they can ogle the shoes right on their phones. Using Instagram as a platform to peacock rare clothes speaks to rap’s “competitive” nature, said Jian Deleon, editorial director at HighSnobiety, a website that covers the intersection of street and high fashion. “I have it, and you don’t” is the message many such posts send, particularly for Lil Uzi Vert who regularly mugs in hard-to-find, decades-old, archival items from niche designers like Yohji Yamamoto and Vivienne Westwood.

These artists are asking fans to respect them for something beyond music. As Lil Uzi Vert told GQ magazine in an interview in its latest issue, referring to his outfit posts, “Honestly, in my heart, I think I do this better than music.” To an outsider, Lil Uzi Vert’s outfits, or Mr. Bieber’s or Rihanna’s, may appear extreme, but for the most part fans seem to react positively to these posts. “I want this fit so bad,” “Love this fit,” “Fit is [insert fire emoji]” read some of the comments on a recent Justin Bieber outfit post. According to the social-media tracker SocialBlade.com, Beyonce’s account is the 4th most-followed on Instagram, Mr. Bieber’s ranks 8th and Rihanna’s comes in at 22nd. The clothing and the brands that stars wear have inspired “fandoms unto themselves,” said Mr. Deleon.

Though Lil Uzi Vert remains a notable exception, many of these musicians are now parlaying their Instagram success into budding fashion businesses. In his shots, Mr. Bieber often showcases clothes from Drewhouse, his fashion label. Beyoncé sprawls out on an expanse of Adidas shoes in a recent post to languidly announce her partnership with the sneaker company. Lately, most of Rihanna’s uploads depict her modelling items from her line Fenty.

Stars today often use Instagram to tease or market other products outside of their music, said Upscale Hype’s Mr. Onyia—creating more ways for fans to connect to the artists between albums. But if you can’t countenance Fenty’s $400 hoodie, you can always throw Rihanna a like on Instagram to express your still-feverish support.

Write to Jacob Gallagher at [email protected]