Tinie Tempah - Menswear Style Icon?

Return of the gentleman? Tinie Tempah.. named 'The most stylish man in music' by The Telegraph



25-year old 'Pass Out' hit-maker, Tinie Tempah (AKA the guy who high-fived Prince William) has been centre of attention when it comes to fashion. Every event or show he goes to, his style is talked about. As his network evolved, his style definitely evolved with it.. 

Originally from the famous Aylesbury estates, Tinie started his career as a grime artist with many hits that most of 'us' would remember from Channel U days such as 'Hood Economics', 'Tears', 'Fat Like your Mother' and my personal favourite (I'm sure a lot of people can agree) 'Wifey Riddim'. After huge success from his tunes,released his own debut mix CD "Hood Economic" in 2008, and was then recruited to tour with 'Who are you' rapper 'Chip' (back then known as Chipmunk) in 2009. After finishing the tour with Chip, Tinie Then release 'Pass Out' and took the UK by storm. Once Tinie started getting more recognition for his music, he says that he started taking his appearance more seriously and started shopping in more expensive stores such as Harvey Nichols and Selfridges.

        



I was reading a magazine not too long ago and an article I saw said 'How your girlfriend thinks you should dress' and there was like 5 pictures of Tinie in different outfits! He is winning the girls over with his style.

Tinie says he is a big fan of Burberry outerwear, and Junya Watanabe’s designs for Comme des Garçons. He topped GQ’s best-dressed list and he also became an ambassador for the newly launched London Collections Mens (LCM).




The first time I met Tinie was after an interview he done at BBC Radio 1. He came out of the studio Wering a grey Disturbing London (DL) vest, a black leather jacket, army commando jeans, jordan 7's and a DL hat. I Took a few pictures of him and to my surprise he said "Thankyou". He then came us to me and say 'How long have you been doing this(been a paparazzi) for?" so I told him that i started in 2011 and we spoke for a while. I was surprised that he casually had a conversation with me even though his cab was waiting for him.

I then realised that his style is a reflection of his personality.. straight away I understood why he dresses how he does. His style is simple, consistent and detailed and I think a lot of us young black men could learn from him. He knows how to stand out from the crowd subtlety. I had to make subtlety because a lot of the new "fashionisto's" always want to stand out but they stand out too much..
I think eventually Tinie will become a menswear style icon in the UK and we'll see him on TV a lot more not only for his music but for his style. Hopefully he can steer the way for other black men not always dress one type of way but experiment with other brands and pay more attention to detail.



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