Adam Kimmel’s Spring/Summer 2011 collection was all about his collaboration with Snoop Dogg, a muse for the designer and, in Kimmel’s words, “one of the most original artists” of recent decades. The designer staged the show in Le Marais, one of the coolest neighborhoods in Paris, and in one of the area’s classic hôtels particuliers—the townhouses that are one of the city’s coolest types of old buildings.
The show featured numerous Snoop Dogg-esque models, who leaned on some of the world’s coolest vehicles: Snoop’s beloved lowriders and a Lincoln Continental bouncing up and down on shocks. Like all of Kimmel’s shows, it was an immersion into an original new world of color, shape, texture, and ambience with a deep appreciation for what Vogue Runway’s review called the culture of “outlaw heroes.”
Two Masters of Style
One of the hallmarks of Kimmel’s work is his fresh, contemporary take on all-American style, and he’s noted for bold experimentation from a base anchored in classic cuts and fabrics. When this design signature merged with Snoop Dogg’s Southern California cool, the result was an artistically distinct combination of each of the two artists.
The show featured pale V-neck sweaters topped by cashmere football jerseys, peak-notch lapels, chukka jackets, classic trench coats, witty pinstriped suits accessorized with cream Panama hats, and a head-to-toe dark blue palette—a Snoop signature—taking the form of a suit with a thigh-length jacket. The Snoop-inspired footwear included black-and-white and dark blue high-tops, desert boots, and classic suede wingtips. Kimmel’s legendary craftsmanship achieved another peak with his fashioning, for example, of a reversible jacket that offered a casual blazer on one side, and a tux on the other. He also created a one-of-a-kind bandanna print. It was emblazoned on cotton silk fabric and used as linings for jackets, hoodies, collars, and cuffs.
Adam Kimmel grew up listening to Snoop Dogg. So, he wanted to draw creative inspiration from the musician in his heyday, to put Snoop’s effortless style and swagger front and center for a new generation.
Early Life and Career
Snoop Dogg was born in 1971 in Long Beach. His mother gave him the nickname when she compared him to the ultra-cool beagle in the Peanuts comic strip. He remains as multifaceted as his music. Snoop sculpted his early lyrics and beats out of the G-funk era of the 1990s, and he soon became a widely recognized symbol of West Coast hip-hop sound and style. He went on to build an empire that made him an entertainment icon, as composer, performer, producer, and creative entrepreneur.
As a teen, he had run-ins with the law. Before getting serious about making music, he was in and out of prison. Dr. Dre became an early mentor, with Snoop featuring on Dre’s single “Deep Cover.” Then his featuring vocals on Dre’s “Nuthin’ but a ‘G’ Thang” and “Dre Day” catapulted him to name-recognition and stardom. In 1993, Snoop’s own album Doggystyle entered the Billboard top 200 charts at No. 1, a feat previously unheard-of for a debut work.
He released his second album, Tha Doggfather, in 1996. This was after he was cleared of all changes in a drive-by shooting that went through a lengthy legal process. His musical and personal styles kept evolving, and his verbal spins entered the lexicon of popular culture.
Later Career
Subsequent albums further built out the Snoop Dogg brand: In the late ‘90s, he released Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Be Told, and No Limit Top Dogg, followed by albums like Paid tha Cost to Be da Bo$$, Ego Trippin’, and Malice N Wonderland.
Snoop’s musical identity has always taken on new creative influences, adding new styles to subsequent albums. There was Reincarnated in 2012, in which he embraced Rastafari beliefs and reggae beats and renamed himself Snoop Lion. Then, again as Snoop Dogg, he released the R&B/funk collection Bush in 2015, and he went back to rap for Neva Left in 2017. He incorporated gospel in a later album.
He’s created music for film, appeared in movies like Training Day in 2001 and Day Shift in 2022, and lent his recognizable voice to live-action and animated features and to the TV series Boondocks. He’s composed and produced for his own albums, and for others’, including Bootsy Collins’ 2017 World Wide Funk. His works have been certified gold and platinum multiple times. He’s received multiple BET awards and nominations, a Prime Time Emmy Award, an MTV Movie Award, 16 Grammy nominations, and numerous other performing arts honors. In 2022, Snoop joined Dre, Mary J. Blige, and other hip-hop luminaries to perform at the Super Bowl half-time show.
Snoop Dogg and Fashion
Snoop Dogg’s fashion sense has garnered its own share of attention since his early days as an artist. People noted the retro hockey jerseys he sported in his music video for “Gin & Juice” for Doggystyle and the pinstripe suits, outsized ties, and bowler hats he donned for awards shows. Another awards look might be an argyle sweater and color-bright pants, or yet another sports jersey repping one of his favorite teams. Then there were his casual looks: gray sweatshirts, a bandana in his signature blue, and a pair of Chuck Taylors.
No matter the occasion or the venue, Snoop has never looked like he was trying too hard, yet he pulled off looks that never would have worked on most other people. That’s another way of saying he’s always been the essence of laid-back cool. Maybe that’s the reason his aesthetic hit all the right notes in Adam Kimmel’s one-of-a-kind but highly wearable collection.
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