It’s safe to say that the world has been hit by Chanel fever. Three weeks ago, new creative director Matthieu Blazy made his debut for the French maison, presenting the label’s SS26 ready-to-wear offering at Paris Fashion Week. The collection was a huge success, with almost every corner of the internet praising Blazy’s modern take on a 115-year-old house. Now, cannily riding that wave of success is Tyla, the South African pop star who just dropped her latest single “CHANEL”, featuring the earworm megahook “Say you love me, put me in Chanel.”
Despite Blazy’s recent triumph, when Tyla premiered the video for “CHANEL”, we found out that it was actually vintage Chanel she wanted to be put in. The video, styled by Ron Hartleben, featured a revolving door of archival looks, including a pink corset from the SS93 couture show, black and gold waist chains worn by Linda Evangelista on the AW91 runway, and the iconic Hula Hoop bag from SS13.
After watching the video no less than ten times in a row, Tyla’s Chanel homage got me thinking about music’s love affair with fashion, and the countless songs dedicated to luxury brands. Before Tyla’s “CHANEL” there was Pop Smoke’s “Dior”, and before Pop Smoke’s “Dior” there was Jay-Z’s “Tom Ford”, and before – well, you get the picture. So, without further interruption, here’s our definitive(ish) ranking of all the best songs named after designer fashion labels.
Austrian rapper skrt cobain was just 19 when he dropped “miu miu skirt”, a tribute to the brand’s SS22 collection and its ultra-viral mini-skirt and top set. A misty-eyed, German language love song, Skrt shouts out his “Miu Miu girl” who has no money but still carries a Fendi bag.
At just one minute and 24 seconds, Fakemink’s 2024 track is brief – but on it the rising rapper is firm in his fashion fandom. “When I step out, I only wear Givenchy clothes,” he croons through the jagged beat.
A recent entry into the canon, “Ralph Lauren” comes from Frost Children’s new album Sister. Though the sibling duo don’t actually mention Ralph Lauren (apart from in the title), the song still summons the preppy spirit of the brand through lyrics like “Glamorous girl with her hair tied back”, and Babymorocco’s guest verse about posh girls who go to Exeter uni.
Rising UK star Fimiguerrero really needs you to know that he’s in “Gucci eating Gucci burgers.” For those who weren’t aware that the label was in the culinary game, the line likely refers to Gucci Osteria, the brand’s high-end chain of restaurants, with locations in Florence, Seoul and Beverly Hills.
This year, Gen Z’s alt-pop girls Chase Icon and Miss Madeline teamed up for their collaborative EP STRAWBERRY LEMONADE. On it was the 00s nightclub throwback “BALMAIN”, an effervescent ode to hip-hop references and “B-b-ballin’ in Balmain.”
“I don’t cry, I rock Chanel,” Virginia rapper Babyxsosa lets us know on this glimmering, minute-and-a-half stream-of-consciousness. Elsewhere, warning shots arrive via designer brand metaphors (“I don’t rock fake Chanel/I don’t fuck with fake friends”).
There are tougher dilemmas in life than choosing between Prada or Celine, but that’s exactly what YT’s girl is facing on this next track. The playful lyrics, earworm chorus and unrelenting clap track also made this one of our top tracks of 2024, too.
Rather than flexing her designer clobber, this next one sticks out for Princess Nokia’s resourcefulness. “Sketchers looking like Balenciaga/Thrift clothes looking like the Prada/Whole fit lit, it cost me nada.” Extra points for the trippy visual that ends with her naked in a clothes shop.
This fashion-obsessed 2018 track is featured on Slime Language, the first collaborative album from Young Thug’s record label Young Stoner Life. A romantic Thugger professes to buy his love literally any designer brand she wants, including Chanel, of course.
Jimothy Lacoste’s exaggerated English accent is the perfect match for Burberry, the most British of British brands. In his Burberry socks, Lacoste does in fact “feel hella English”, and the Camden rapper’s comic flair makes this one of the most memorable fashion tracks of recent years.
Merseyside rapper EsDeeKid may be the new kid on the block, but this caustic, pummelling track is already a worthy entry into the canon. On it, EsDee’s “Louie V sandals” are so “crazy” that they make “hoes act scandalous”, which is quite nice for him.
This 2014 throwback from Kid Cudi proved that not all hip-hop/fashion songs are pure braggadocio. On this mesmerising track from Cudi’s fourth album Satellite Flight: The Journey to Mother Moon, the rapper uses the act of mutual undressing as a metaphor for emotional exploration. “Help me take off my Balmain jeans, I’ll undo yours,” he says.
Back to the braggadocio, and this track was originally called ‘Cartier Bardi’ (as in the jewellery brand plus Cardi’s nickname) but she switched the first letters “because I didn’t want Cartier to sue me.” The trap banger sees Cardi in a Ferrari with diamonds all over her body and she’s “got your bitch on molly” – what’s not to love?
Look, Lil Pump may be the dumbest rapper of all time, but tens where tens are due – this is a bop. “Gucci gang, Gucci gang, Gucci gang… Gucci gang, Gucci gang, Gucci gang.” Ugh, his mind.
It’s possible that this is so high due to recency bias, but I haven’t been able to get this song out of my head since I first heard it, which surely must mean something. Add the video to the mix and this could be a future classic IMO!
A latter-day Jay-Z banger, Hov spits over minimal percussion, “I don’t pop molly/I rock Tom Ford” on the third track of Magna Carta Holy Grail. Co-signed by Mr Ford himself upon its release, the track was a riposte against the molly-obsessed SoundCloud rap of the early 2010s. Just like Addison Rae, Jay-Z said “I don’t want your drugs, I’d rather have high fashion.”
Pop Smoke’s “Dior” may be about hitting up all the Christian Dior stores in the immediate vicinity, but after his untimely death in 2020, it became so much more – a New York drill anthem, a BLM protest song, and the rapper’s most enduring track.
You probably wouldn’t expect Miuccia Prada and Arca to go to the same clubs, but we hope Mrs P would make an exception for this pulsing, after-dark anthem. On the track, Arca rules the night in her “tacones Prada” (Prada heels), her echoing vocal floating across the throbbing beat.
A highlight from 2022’s Motomami, Rosalía and Tokischa are marching around town in their matching Versace sets, aka “La Combi Versace”. A reggaeton hit set to glowering synths, we reckon Donatella would be proud.
In 2017, when she was still the ‘Catch me outside girl’ from Maury, few had hope that Danielle Bregoli could actually rap – then she dropped “Hi Bich” and everyone shut their mouths. The artist, otherwise known as Bhad Bhabie, soon followed that up with “Gucci Flip Flops”, a funny, captivating song about taking off your designer slides before a fight so you don’t fuck them up.
Lady Gaga’s Artpop album track starts with the line “I’m blonde, I’m skinny, I’m rich/And I’m a little bit of a bitch”, which makes it an instant top-five entry in my book. “I am honoured to be her friend and of course I love the song!” said Donatella at the time.
Less about fashion itself, Frank Ocean’s “Chanel” uses the double-C of the Chanel logo as a metaphor for his man’s androgyny. “My guy pretty like a girl/And he got fight stories to tell/I see both sides like Chanel,” he sings over piano and drums. A surprise, standalone single after 2016’s Blond, Ocean’s lyrical mastery is second to only a few.
An ode to Belgian icon Raf Simons, A$AP MOB enlisted Playboi Carti, Quavo, Lil Uzi and Frank for this fashion supergroup, also namedropping other designers like Rick Owens, Kris Van Assche and Jonathan Anderson. The most annoying fashion bros you know definitely put the lyric “Please don’t touch my Raf” in their Twitter bios in 2017, which pretty much makes this the blueprint.
When Kreayshawn put on a pair of pink Minnie Mouse ears and stood on Fairfax Boulevard in front of the Gucci store, the world shifted. “Gucci Gucci, Louis Louis, Fendi Fendi, Prada/Them basic bitches wear that shit, so I don’t even bother,” she rapped – and a certified Millennial classic was born. Whatever you feel about her or the song – and a lot of people felt a lot of things – it was a mighty swing and an unforgettable moment.
If you weren’t incessantly repeating the word ‘Versace’ in 2013 – just like Migos on their viral hit “Versace” – were you even alive? Admittedly, it’s not as camp as Gaga’s “Donatella”, but it literally changed the course of modern rap music, exploding the triplet flow onto the scene in Medusa-headed glory. “Versace” is the reason why so much rap today sounds the way it does, so really there could only be one winner.
For all those tracks and more, check out our Spotify playlist below of all the best songs named after fashion brands.
