Style of Sound: 6 Black Artists Who Challenged Gender Norms Before Harry Styles

From Prince to Young Thug, Black musicians have been exploring androgyny for decades. Here are a few highlights.

From the stage to the runway, The Style of Sound is a series that explores the intricate relationships forged between your favorite artists and their iconic fashion statements.

Written by Katy Vanatsky

I was, am, and forever will be a Harry Styles stan. And, I will be the first to admit that I did repost the iconic picture from Vogue of him in a dress on my instagram story (along with a copious amount of cat heart eye emojis). However, we shouldn’t put Styles alone on a pedestal without addressing the history of androgynous fashion. From a movement largely spearheaded by Black artists, their erasure ignores their contributions to a decades-long movement and the courage and ingenuity it took to drive it.

Little Richard

Photos courtesy of Getty Images and Ralph Morse

Little Richard’s late-1950s peppy hits such as “Good Golly Miss Molly” and “Tutti Frutti” earned him his widely recognized title as a founding father of rock and roll. Even if his name didn’t initially ring a bell, you’ll surely recognize “Tutti Frutti”’s signature line: “A wop bob alu bob a wop bam boom.” But his undeniable influence didn’t stop there. Little Richard is also known for his flamboyant, flashy, and often bedazzled wardrobe that perfectly complemented his joyful and unapologetic nature. He even wore thick makeup and wigs, further challenging the principles of conformity that defined the era. Unfortunately, another defining characteristic of this period was discomfort with the idea of interracial relationships. When asked why he chose to take on a gender-bending persona, he told Jet Magazine, “I wore the makeup so that white men wouldn’t think I was after the white girls. It made things easier for me, plus it was colorful.” For Little Richard, androgynous fashion was not only a form of self expression, but a defense mechanism against racist backlash.

Prince

Prince melded feminine and masculine styles in his wardrobe, as well as pop, soul, and rock music genres with effortless flair. Whether wearing a brightly colored suit, or five inch heels and a mini dress, Prince always kept his signature facial hair, usually a thinly trimmed mustache or goatee. Throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s, many members of the LGBTQ community, as well as others who viewed themselves as outsiders, looked to Prince as a role model of individuality, someone who showed them it was okay to be themselves. One way he expressed this exploration in gender was through his adaptation of the Love Symbol. Prince placed the symbol on many of his album covers, had guitars made in its shape, and later even adopted it as his stage name (the media often referred to him as “The Artist Formerly Known as Prince”). Throughout his career, Prince used fashion, as well as his lyrics and career choices, to uplift those who struggled to find the freedom to be themselves.

Andre 3000

Photos courtesy of Sony Music and Frank Micelotta

Outkast’s experimental blend of hip-hop and funk drew attention to Atlanta’s budding rap scene, countercultural to the hip-hop purists of New York City. Andre 3000 wanted to reflect this boldness in his style, explaining that, “As the sound got a little wilder, freakier, and funkier, so did the clothes.” He famously sported a white shift dress for the single cover of Outkast’s “Miss Jackson” in 2000 and has gracefully pulled off his fair share of long, blonde wigs. During the 2014 Outkast Reunion Tour, Andre 3000 performed in literal fashion statements: black jumpsuits printed with sayings like “thinking deeply about shallow sh#t” or “across cultures, darker people suffer most. why?” Throughout his career, Andre 3000 has utilized his wardrobe as a megaphone for messages of equality, confidence, and nonconformity.

Young Thug

Photos courtesy of 300 Entertainment and Calvin Klein

Young Thug’s utter disregard for masculine fashion norms is epitomized by his iconic 2016 Jeffrey album cover, in which he wears a floor-length, periwinkle gown tumbling with ruffled layers. Despite some blatantly homophobic uproar regarding the cover art, the album was extremely successful, making both Rolling Stone and Pitchfork’s end of year charts. Prior to the album’s release, he modeled Calvin Klein’s 2016 women’s line, and posted an image from the campaign wearing a black pinstripe dress, appropriately labeled “I disobey in #mycalvins.” Thugger shares in a promotional video for the clothing line that, “In my world, you can be a gangsta with a dress or you can be a gangsta with baggy pants. I feel like there’s no such thing as gender.”

Jaden Smith

Photos courtesy of Bruce Weber and Stefanie Keenan

Jaden Smith rocked both dresses and skirts for Louis Vuitton’s SS 2016 womenswear collection. But the rapper-actor-designer likes to challenge gendered fashion rules on his own time too — for instance, wearing a white skirt with a black tuxedo jacket to his high school prom, and a floral t-shirt dress to Coachella. In an article with GQ from 2015, Smith explains how he dresses to match however he feels inside, and likes “wearing super drapey things so I can feel as though I’m a superhero.” Smith’s unapologetic individuality and self-determination are seen by designers as defining features of a new generation of style. A generation which former artistic director of Louis Vuitton, Nicolas Ghesquière, describes to the New York Times as “one free of manifestos and questions about gender,” one that breaks free of societal burdens and simply does what it wants.

Lil Nas X

Lil Nas X exploded into the public eye in 2019 with his country-rap hybrid hit “Old Town Road” that topped charts for 14 weeks. The openly-gay 22-year-old loves to wear bright colors, sparkles, and fringe along with his cowboy hats, putting a fresh spin on western style. For Halloween 2020, Lil Nas X captured media attention once again by dressing up as Nicki Minaj in the hot pink, giraffe print jumpsuit from her “Super Bass” music video. The costume received harsh criticism from fellow artists such as 50 Cent, as well as twitter users and conservative organizations concerned that his costume would manipulate the minds of children. In line with his reputation for tasteful twitter clap-backs, Lil Nas X responded to these critics by posting, “it’s november 2nd and grown men are waking up to have group discussions about a costume i wore on halloween.”