Super stylin': Get down with get-ups

11 August 2016 - 10:24 By Emma Spedding

If you haven't heard of The Get Down, you will soon. Baz Luhrmann's first television series lands on Netflix tomorrow. It charts the beginnings of hip hop in the late 1970s, following the teenagers who discovered Grandmaster Flash's underground club in the torched, graffiti-splattered gang battlefield of the South Bronx, exploring how high school pupils ignited one of the most culturally significant movements in popular culture.The teenagers had very little, but the style in the hip-hop club The Get Down is influential.Even in the early days of hip-hop culture, a pair of trainers could elevate your status, and so the red Pumas and customised jackets flashing across the screen are just as integral to Luhrmann's story as the soundtrack.Luhrmann worked on the project with his wife, Catherine Martin, executive producer. She oversaw the fashion with costume director Jeriana San Juan.Martin's knack for knowing how clothes can tell a story means that The Get Down is set to be one of the most exciting small-screen fashion moments of the year.STYLE COUNCIL: Fashion is pivotal in 'The Get Down ' Picture: NETFLIX THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RED PUMASThe boys in the series idolise Shaolin Fantastic, the graffiti artist and dealer for the gangster Fat Annie, who parkour-leaps between Bronx high-rises in pristine, red suede Pumas. As they do now, trainers signified status and Martin worked with brands to reproduce the styles the kids were wearing in 1977."Three 'acceptable' sneakers appear in the show," said Martin. "Everything else was looked down on as a no-brand shoe.The acceptable sneakers were Converse,Pro-Keds, and top of the top, the suede Puma."Puma, Converse and Pro-Keds were remade in the correct colours and styles of the period for the series.FASHIONING A LOOK OUT OF NOTHING"If you don't have resources, you have to make style out of what you've got at your disposal," said Martin."You have pants, a T-shirt, sneakers. The style developed from a limited palette, so you'd match everything. You'd have red socks, red Pumas, red T-shirt, red jacket."THE STYLE TRIBESThe fashion in the show is tribal, from the warlords in their customised jackets to the disco kings in their flared jeans."People wanted to recognise those who were in the same subculture as they were," said Martin. "Gangs wanted to fly their colours."People who were into hip hop wore garments that identified them with their peers - identifying with that subculture, like being a punk or a new romantic. The youth needs to influence how we dress; from making you want a denim A-Line skirt to owning Pro-Keds - this year's must-have trainers." - ©The Daily Telegraph'The Get Down' will be available on Netflix from tomorrow..

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