Over a decade ago, the chief executives working for British luxury fashion house Burberry were worried that their unexpected off-brand association with “Chavs” in their home turf would corrode their overseas brand power overseas. Its instantly recognizable camel, white, black and red check pattern would eventually find its way back to chicness – and on the shoulders of British A-listers like Keira Knightley, Kate Beckinsale and Kate Middleton. Across the Atlantic, the brand’s historic prestige and blue-blooded English heritage inspired its way into the onstage and offstage wardrobes of several notable hip hop luminaries, and into several rap verses (Jay-Z himself drops the brand’s name in two songs and suggested that Beyoncé wears Burberry to swim on special occasions). If then-CEO Christopher Bailey (now president and chief creative officer) considered himself to be, in Nicki Minaj’s words, one of those "certain designers [that] feel they're bigger than rap or hip hop", he expressed no sentiment of the sort.
In 2017, hip hop has displaced rock as the dominant music genre and sales in China are more important than ever. Burberry has been diversifying the models it hired for ad campaigns and runway shows since 2013, but had not made any symbolic grand gestures to woo Chinese consumers in the past. Enter Kris Wu: a tall, good-looking and modelesque Chinese Canadian who grew up in Guangzhou and Toronto, an ex-K-pop star with an aesthetic preference for West Coast rap. When asked about his decision to have Wu serve as the brand’s first ambassador in China last year, Bailey issued a press release stating that “Kris is a modern day artist who works seamlessly across all these different worlds from music, to fashion to film, which really resonates with us as a brand and which inspired me to want to work together”. His status as an internet-breaking millennial influencer was probably another part of the equation.
Bailey’s decision does not seem to be an entirely opportunistic grab for Chinese yuan via Wu’s mainland celebrity clout – Burberry collections since 2015 were characterized by the blending of classic English styles and contemporary streetwear trends. Wu himself has proved to be a high fashion style chameleon, mixing luxury streetwear brands and avant-garde designs from cutting edge high fashion brands. Market analysts report that the partnership has been unquestionably lucrative – but does his recent "branded song" go beyond mere brand promotion?
It may seem foolish to expect too much depth from a hip hop song about fashion, but examples that imbue a rapper’s fashion choice with the weight of biography abound. There’s Cardi B’s hard-won, hard-edged stripper pride in "Bodak Yellow" ("These expensive, these is red bottoms, these is bloody shoes”): verses that made it to Pitchfork's list of the 15 lyrics that defined 2017. Kanye West's quest for recognition from industry fashion plates has led to questionable yet intriguing Malcolm X wordplay on multiple occasions. It is Frank Ocean, however, who has arguably best elevated the symbolic weight of a fashion brand name-drop. In this department, few tracks can compare to enigmatic, nocturnal and beguiling "Nikes", as well as a poignant interpolation of Joni Mitchell in Chanel’s double-C logo: ‘My guy pretty like a girl/ And he got fight stories to tell/ I see both sides like Chanel’.
The stylish music video for (Burberry made) does a slick job of juxtaposing British nostalgia, vaporwave imagery and flattering lighting that showcases Wu's trendsetting fashion choices. His relaxed flow his smooth, the triple hi-hats are on-trend and the beat is pleasantly moody. The lyrics, however, unfortunately fall flat. How many times do you need a reminder that “high fashion ain’t cheap” from someone who “just might buy you a rose”? If Wu wants to realize his dream “To really make it global, really make it in the States", he really needs to elevate his lyrical prowess.
