R+P Post 13: Influences and inspiration from art, fashion and culture

We have been influenced heavily by the style of R&B artists, particularly from the 90's period, because we are trying to look more at traditional, old school R&B. In addition to this we have also looked at the film and television industry, in particular the "cute but socially-awkward nerd" characters. These characters are intelligent yet awkward but also lovable which is a mix of traits we would like our artist to potentially have. We hope that the overall styling will be a mix between 90s R&B fashion and modern TV influences.

90's R&B Fashion
Typical features I've noticed have been chains and hats and white t-shirts. There were also a lot of leather jackets and sometimes leather trousers. Accessories such as fancy watches and sunglasses are also common. Below is a mood board of images representing 90's R&B fashion, including artists such as Usher and R Kelly.

We would like to include elements of the fashion style and make it more modern and relevant to current fashion trends. For example the chain can be simple yet effective instead of one that's very big and in your face. Instead of a white vest top we could use a short sleeved V-neck or muscle-fit t-shirt. Additionally elements such as the hat can be altered so instead of a baseball cap or snapback we could use a fedora or trilby or even a beanie. I also think that we would probably use darker, less patterned clothing to keep the look casual.

TV and Film
We really liked the idea of our artist being slightly awkward as it challenges the idea that music artists are all confident and bold and instead makes the artist more relatable. Recently in film and television there have been more and more characters that are intelligent but awkward however still incredibly likeable and also good-looking. Examples include Stuart from the film The Internship, Barry Allen from TV show The Flash, Jack Hodgins from TV show Bones and also Spencer Reid from TV show Criminal Minds.

Examples from Films and TV Shows

Styles and items of clothing that I am inspired by from the above characters include the beanie, muscle t-shirt, rolled up sleeves and the messy hair look. I would really like our artist to be styled in a similar way.