Style Icon: ‘Half man Half amazing’
Queensbridge rapper Nas is notorious for his lyrical talents since he exploded on the scene with his 1994 classic ‘Illmatic’. The MC may seem as an odd option as a style icon but my first style influence as a little girl was the man himself, and between the years of 94-99 his style amplified a military motif with looks revolving around waterproofs and combat wear. The first image I spotted of Nas was in one of my brother’s old ‘Source’ magazines sporting a quintessential Nas ensemble; a huge black puffa jacket with his signature woolly hat synched in at the top like a garden gnome. All I can remember thinking was that he was the coolest ‘mutha’ I had ever seen. Around that time, for non-school uniform day, I styled myself with a black and yellow Michigan tracksuit (I wanted a Tommy Hilfiger one but my mum thought it was inappropriate for an eight year old to wear labels) a black puffa jacket, fake Timberland boots from shoe express, topped off with the gnome woolly hat while I proudly recited the members of the Wu-Tang Clan to the boys in my year group.
Here are some key looks from Nas circa mid-nineties:
