The evolution of fashion through the ages has been gradual, bringing significant and notable changes in some areas, such as in relation to clothing, jewellery, makeup and hairstyles, which characterize certain strata or social groups They find in the so-called looks the way to identify and stand out from the crowd.
This evolution has marked specific periods and decades, such as the sixties when the miniskirt was imposed, or the eighties when wide jackets and/or dresses with the remembered shoulder pads were worn, and women used to curl their hair to show off their hair.
This is how groups of young people have emerged, which have imposed dress styles or characteristic looks that have distinguished them, which not only implies the way of dressing or showing themselves, but also involves the lifestyle, their customs and preferences, ways of talking, move and behave.
These groups live mainly urban and are visible in public places, standing out among the crowd for their clothes, accessories and hairstyles; they are young people who seek novelty and difference by rejecting the conventional, in order to reaffirm themselves with the approval and companionship of their peers, those who share their style, creating even their own languages and typical modes of expression adapted to their needs, in some cases they find great acceptance and in others they tend to provoke rejection by a part of society.
Within these groups are for example, reggaeton, geeks, hip-hoppers, dreadlocks, punks, rudeboys, emos, hipsters, colombias, metalheads, neo-fascists, antifascists, darks, goths, tribalers, cholos, rockers, skinheads, among many others , with a large number of variants and/or hybridizations according to the socio-cultural context of the country or region where they live.
In this context, some of these groups of young people tend to demonstrate a marked rejection of the customs, styles and behavior of previous generations, which usually also reject their lifestyles, and do not accept the new values that they bring with them. However, in some cases there is a process of understanding and acceptance, or they end up merging styles, as can be seen in music, or the resurgence of past trends that are updated and adapted by the new bearers, until they become part of them. same.
But the existence of these movements or youth groups has an effect that goes far beyond the inevitable generation gap, because these young people seek their own and exclusive identity, as well as establishing a sense of belonging that sets the standards through the musical affinities, lifestyles , ways of dressing, ways of speaking and behaving, to mark compelling differences not only with previous generations but also with other contemporary groups.
According to the French sociologist Michel Maffesoli these groups are known colloquially as urban tribes, a term used to identify them and that has had a broad expansion globally, also ensuring that the end of the modern era has arrived, to make way for a process where the human being will radically change their lifestyle, where social networks play a determining role.
Now, within the aforementioned groups, the reggaetonists have imposed a style that has spread throughout the world, although it also has many detractors, who cannot stand their music, let alone their clothes and ways of speaking. Reggaeton, like many other urban tribes, marked its beginnings as a trend in the musical field, coming from reggae and influenced by hip hop, it is a style that could well be defined as a mixture between these two tendencies.
Therefore, the reggaetonists are represented by the lovers of this musical genre, which the musical specialists link not only with hip hop, but affirm that it is nothing more than a fusion of reggae, rap and several Caribbean rhythms and had as commercial epicenter to Puerto Rico, framed in a symbology that includes basic letters that do not expose great feelings or ideas, with explicit sexual allusions, even many are limited to a few expressions repeated until exhaustion, finding the main attraction in sticky rhythms that are danced, although there are exceptions through more kitschy styles that invite romance and feeling.
However, it is also said that reggaeton emerged in Panama from reggae in Spanish with teachers of the so-called “flow” as the General, who knew how to combine the movement of the body through sticky topics with simple lyrics such as “You boom boom”which was imposed in many countries, giving fame and making his characteristic style was quickly imitated by millions of young people, who wanted to wear the classic military jackets that were influenced by the eighties pop style of the moment.
Later, when the music of “El General” expanded to Puerto Rico, the real reggaeton explosion occurred, producing less sophisticated and more urban changes in terms of clothing and accessories used to combine
In Puerto Rico reggaeton was cooked in an underground scene revived by rhyme battles commanded by scouts better known as Dj Negro and Dj Playero. The evidence of these encounters shows a good handful of young Puerto Ricans highly influenced by the hip-hop scene of New York, dressed in the typical loose shirts and drained rapper pants, Basque with scarves and simple chains, very Big Boy style.
It was only the coming of the new millennium with the expansion of the reggaeton virus at the international level so that the bling bling would settle with all its power to make the image of the representatives of the more sophisticated scene. So we saw Ivy Queen and the girls of the Factory reborn replicating the feminine fashion of the new decade with silvery shades, metallic clothes and tufts of colors in the hair.
We also saw Hector el Bambino singing school love with a “good boy” look, with well-pressed zebra shirt and pants, classic “Transition” glasses accompanied by the share of bad guys from that collaboration: Don Omar with his iconic braids and Tito with his New York rapper look.
a worldwide explosion of DaddyYankee fueled by its gasoline and its Fine neighborhood in 2004, he consolidated his reggaeton image by excellence. Bomber jackets over hood sacks; flat visor caps preferably with the logo of the New York Yankees; shimmering glitter accessories; gold and diamond in ears, neck and wrist; basketball tennis; tattoos up to the neck and almost always surrounded by half-naked women.
Nowadays the PrettyBoy of reggaetón, better known as Maluma, has given himself the luxury of conquering the scene with his impeccable image and his looks of “dandyboy”, very close to the style of Pitbull. The paisa walks with a lot of poise and elegance thanks to costumes that make him look irresistible either with his formal looks from him or in his “dirty boy” version of him, fresher and more relaxed.
If we refer to the dress of the reggaetonists, we should point out that this is similar to the classic hip hopers who wears extravagant and wide clothes, but they are less loose, even in some cases it is quite tight, especially when they sport pants and/or shirts. They also tend to show short hair almost to the point, with designs on the skull that simulate different shapes and shaved eyebrows, ready to dance the famous reggaeton to the rhythm of the typical “perreo” that distinguishes this musical style.
For this reason, reggaeton combines music and clothing to create a lifestyle, and through the famous “perreo” they perform a simulation of the sexual act in which the woman takes the initiative with very suggestive movements, which has been a reason for drastic criticism from the more conventional, who see in this dance an anti-value that has generated changes in the behavior of young people, which in many cases go beyond inappropriate behaviour, bringing negative consequences in the family environment and/or Social.
Despite the rejection of some sectors of society, cannot deny the great influence it has achieved in the music industry and night, which has had a direct impact on both male and female fashion, creating a great movement that includes jewelery and all kinds of accessories such as lenses, shoes, handkerchiefs, haircuts, which marketing can take advantage of enormously to impose trends that bring millions of profits not only to famous artists who impose their style, but to companies that manufacture a large amount of garments and objects destined for to satisfy the wide market of lovers of reggaeton.