Fashion Rewind: A Look Back at Wu-Tang Clan's 'Wu Wear' Clothing Line
Remembering one of rap's first ventures into the fashion world.
From a business standpoint: Wu-Tang Clan ain't nothing to fuck ‘wit. Since their murky 1992 origins, the nine-man group has gone from street corners to science lectures at Harvard University.
Their music needs little introduction—from the samurai-inspired Enter the Wu-Tang: (36 Chambers) to Raekwon’s punchy Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... or GZA’s chess-rap epic, Liquid Swords—their music embodies rap’s core foundations.
Wu-Tang was business savvy from the get-go. The group's leader RZA encouraged each member to get their own solo record deal after they completed their debut, ensuring each Wu-Tang emcee could springboard their solo career. Between the group's first and second albums, Oliver "Power" Grant—RZA's childhood friend and the Clan's executive producer—pitched the idea of a Wu-Tang clothing line.
While the idea of a hip-hop clothing line might not sound ground-breaking today, Wu Wear predates the likes of Sean John and Baby Phat. Wu-Wear wasn't the first hip-hop clothing line; rap fashion mainstays like Pelle Pelle and Karl Kani technically beat Wu Wear to market. However, Wu Wear was amongst the first generation of brands to position rappers as brand leaders—opposed to ambassadors.
"Well, you know, at the end of the day, we are all interested in fashion," Grant told Complex in 2011. "Initially, when we started doing the music, my interests just came from trying to figure out a way to diversify what we was doing, based on the fact that you know, I wasn't a rapper or a producer or anything like that."
The Wu Wear clothing line hit store shelves in 1995 and was supported by a song of the same name. Fronted by Method Man, Cappadonna and RZA, the Wu Wear theme song narrowly missed a placement on the group's 1997 effort Wu-Tang Forever. Instead, the song found a home on the High School High movie soundtrack.
Initially, the Wu Wear line was sent out by mail order only. After a few months of success, the brand was subsequently stocked in Macy's, Rich's and d.e.m.o across North America, aiding in Wu-Tang's cultural visibility.
But how were the clothes? Well, according to fan consensus at the time—pretty good. The brand stocked two-tone windbreaker shell jackets, embroidered sweatshirts and graphic tees. Over the years, it's been worn by the likes of Quentin Tarantino, Rihanna and Sasha Baron Cohen.
“Well at the moment, the main thing was the creation for the Wu-Tang fan. Something that was fashionable to them that they could wear and appreciate, but again, make it our own and make it a Wu-Tang thing. So initially, it was for the hip-hop Wu-Tang fans when I was making shirts, but as it expanded to us actually doing cut and sew things and all of those different things, we had to change the perspective.”
Despite Wu Wear's success, it's widely believed Method Man wasn't a fan of the brand. This narrative is largely supported by the fact he launched his own clothing line, Johnny Blaze—named after his alter, alter-ego. In terms of aesthetics, Johnny Blaze implemented punkier, apocalyptic graphics into their apparel, as opposed to Wu Wear's logo-centric relaxed style.
In 1999, the Clan collaborated with Nike on a Dunk High silhouette. The shoe's run was incredibly limited. Unfortunately, if fans want to get a hold of a pair today, it's probably easier to get hold of Wu-Tang's Once Upon a Time in Shaolin album. The coveted sneaker has joined the College Dropout BAPESTA and the MF DOOM Dunk in the hip-hop fashion hall of fame.
Wu Wear was discontinued and reworked into the Wu-Tang Brand in 2008. The brand's legacy lives on. As the label became the Wu-Tang Brand, you can probably find licenced screen-printed tees in many shopping centres today.
On the vintage aftermarket, sites like Grailed and eBay often stock Wu Wear pieces for high prices due to the brand's newfound scarcity and the 1990s fashion revival.
It's not all bad, though—in 2017, the brand re-emerged fully to commemorate the 25th anniversary of 36 Chambers. In April this year, the brand collabed with Epic Games to implement the Wu Wear line into their massively popular video game, Fortnite. Yeah… this isn't what we expected, either.
Thank you, Oliver "Power" Grant, for giving us one of hip-hop's most ambitious fashion enterprises. Arguably, rapper-owned brands past and present such as Billionaire Boys Club, Yeezy and G-Unit Apparel owe a portion of their success to Wu Wear.
Check out the Wu Wear website here.
