To commemorate 19 years since Aaliyah’s death, we are looking today at the star’s incredible fashion style and music which transcend time and are vivid in our memory.

In an interview from 2001 for “Plus Vite Que La Musique” (French channel M6), Aaliyah confessed that her dream had always been to become an entertainer. The star who was then in her early twenties, spoke about becoming a veteran of the industry at such a young age and said she was happy. By that point, Aaliyah had contributed immensely to ‘90s pop culture and her sudden death, only a month after the interview, has not stopped her memory to live on.

With great regret, the world lost an amazing role model for the young generation. Aaliyah was sweetness, determination, and mystery, all packed up in a deceivingly tiny and fragile figure. She was a fighter and she achieved her dream, recording double platinum albums (Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number, One in a Million, Aaliyah) and tracks for popular movies IT, Anabelle and Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey.

Aaliyah- Age Aint Nothing But A Number Official Video

Becoming a world-renowned artist at only 15, Aaliyah was ready for the world with her soothing voice and her tomboy fashion style. It was new and out of the ordinary: all the baggy clothes drew attention to the face, to the person behind the clothes. Going through her teens, Aaliyah became keen on maintaining her figure and before long, the baggy jeans were paired with bralettes, crop tops and a low waist exposing underwear. Styled by Derek Lee and maintaining her natural mystery, Aaliyah became the symbol of sex appeal, which shined through her ghetto and masculine-inspired outfits.

Baby Girl became the inspiration for the popular fashion trends of today, the biggest one being athleisure – which is here to stay, especially amid the Coronavirus pandemic and rumours of a second wave. It is a weird time for fashion: comfortable, yet stylish; baggy, yet revealing; tomboy, yet feminine. And this is exactly what Aaliyah was all about and her allure was recognized in the fashion industry as well – take for example the iconic Tommy Hilfiger campaign from 1996 in which the star was featured.

Take inspiration from Aaliyah’s style and go for baggy jeans, low cuts, bright colours, monochrome outfits, and heavy jewellery. Paired with minimal to no makeup and your favourite dark lipstick, your tomboy-inspired looks will shield you. Check out our top three outfit pics below.

Look One: Casual Utility

Think athletic and chic. Invest in a pair of baggy crotch jeans and style them with a vibrant crop top or tank top for more coverage. Diamonds are a girl’s best friend? Not anymore, a belt is now your statement piece – so choose wisely. Complete the look with neutral sneakers and statement jewellery. Hoops are also a must!

Top: Manokhi, Cropped top, (£362.00)

Jeans: MM6 Maison Margiela, Blue Baggy Crotch Jeans, (£265.00)Boots: Gianvito Rossi, Brown Martis 20 Boots, (£825.00)

Bag: Fendi, Baguette monogram-print shoulder bag, (£1500.00)

Belt: Isabel Marant, Devis Belt, (£285.00)

Earrings: Portrait Report, Silver Sade Twist Hoop Earrings, (£255.00)

Bracelet: Alexander McQueen, Silver Thin Twin Skull Bracelet, (£150.00)

Look 2: Vibrance

Jacket: A.P.C. zipped up wind breaker, (£175-sale)

Trousers: Vivienne Westwood, Oh No Trousers Yellow, (£225.00- sale)

Underwear: Off-White, Black Lace Industrial Bustier Lingerie Set, (£525.00)

Boots: Dr. Martens, Black Jean-Michel Basquiat Edition, (£155.00)

Bag: Off White, Navy Nylon Duffle Bag, (£740.00)

Necklace: Justine Clenquet, Silver and Gold Jane Chocker (£70.00)

Ring: Isabel Marant, Gold Nirvana Ring Set, (£65.00)

Ring: Fendi, Gold Logo Ring, (£270.00)

Ring: Fendi, Gold Logo Ring, (£270.00)

Sunglasses: Michael Kors, Stowe Sunglasses, (£107.00)

Socks: Palm Angels, White Flame Socks, (£55.00)

Look 3: Neat and cool

Jacket: Kassl Editions, Reversible White Sheepskin Coat, (£1650.00)

Top: Heron Preston, Black Baby T-Shirt, (£140.00)

Trousers: Jerih, Black Aircraft Cargo Pants, (£540.00)

Bum Bag: Alexander Wang, White Mini Attica Fanny Pack, (£680)

Bag: Bottega Veneta, Black ‘The Chain Pouch’ Clutch, (£2645.00)

Belt: 1017 ALYX 9SM, Black Medium Rollercoaster Chain , (£1085.00)

Ring: Maison Margiela, Silver Thick Chain Ring, (£245.00)

Ring: Martine Ali, Silver Averi Ring, (£120.00)

Sunglasses: Rick Owens, Green Rick Sunglasses, (£625.00)

Black and white is our favourite combination – keep it monochrome but play with textures. Pair a puffer jacket with cargo trousers (for the oversized effect, always look in the men’s section, thank us later) and a crop top. Accessories are very important for this look as everything is so neat and toned down. Style with statement sunglasses and rings. Let your trousers drop on your hips (no high waist) to show a hint of underwear and completely expose your stomach (if you dare).

Words by Emilia Roman

Graphics by Latisha Fleckenstien

The post GET THE LOOK: Remembering 19 Years Without Aaliyah, A Tribute to an R&B Legend and Style Trendsetter appeared first on Voir Fashion.

Over the past decade, the significance of streaming platforms has increased astronomically. While you would expect that the majority of Generation X attempted to keep CDs alive for most of the 2010s, Millenials and Gen Z clearly aren’t willing to commit to similar ideologies moving forward. Why waste time when it’s all in the palm of your hand? Not only do streaming services provide data-based suggestions for your specified taste, more importantly – it gives you the ability to discover music from wherever and whenever, at the single press of a button.

However, this hadn’t been the case with the catalogue of R&B Princess Aaliyah. Since her tragic passing in 2001, her music had been strangely inaccessible. Despite her faithful fanbase, it seemed almost impossible to access her discography, especially since the development of streaming services – but why?

I guess, unsurprisingly, because of some shady business behind closed doors. Uncle of Aaliyah’s and creator of Blackground Records, Barry Hankerson – had refused nearly all of the deceased songstress’s discography the ability to stream legally. Back in 2016, Complex confirmed that – because Hankerson doesn’t own the rights to ‘Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number’, Aaliyah’s debut album continued to be the only piece of her catalogue available to stream and/or purchased digitally.

Aaliyah’s further two albums, chart-topping One in A Million and the posthumous self-titled record, Aaliyah, were still nonexistent within the streaming cosmos. While Pitchfork disclosed in 2017 that an avid fan made an effort to add her final album to digitally purchasable platforms, it was deleted almost instantly. And quite to my surprise, her stans have yet to find a way to legally stream her discography.

And as time went on, I realised that the larger issue remained, that Aaliyah’s legacy was on the path of uncertainty. While Aaliyah remained a fashion symbol for the new generation within the world of social media, the music business has been attempting to coexist within an internet influenced environment for over a decade now. And after the evolution has been realised, if her catalogue was still unavailable to the digital world, her discography would be virtually abolished. Eventually going from the symbol of 90s streetwear and R&B goddess to sentimental concern within pop culture all in the space of 20 years.

But on November 29th 2019, via his own private twitter account – Barry Hankerson announced that he was finally relinquishing the rights to ‘baby girl’s discography, and 18 years after her passing her music would be accessible on platforms such as Spotify, TIDAL, Apple Music, and Amazon Prime.

Whether Hankerson realised the importance and/or seriousness of streaming services within present-day, or just noticed his royalty checks weren’t as big as they used to, regardless – her much adored catalogue will fittingly be available on her 41st birthday, January 16th 2020. An encouraging and somewhat surprising way to start the new decade – with positivity within the notoriously unethical macrocosm of the music business.

Words by Charlie Miller

Graphics by Katie Janes

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The post Aaliyah’s Legacy: Why It’s Here To Stay appeared first on Voir Fashion.