Let's be honest, hip-hop hadn't heard of 3.1 Phillip Lim before Kanye West put it on the map—everyone else was too busy getting their Gucci and Louis Vuitton steez on. After Yeezy's promo run for My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, the rapper attended almost every must-see show during Paris Fashion Week rocking Phillip Lim. He even linked up with the designer to custom-make all the menswear he wore in the film "Runaway."
As we head into the home stretch of 2011, it seems the fairly young brand—it was founded in 2004—is hitting it big with a bunch of other celebrities. Probably the most sought after piece has been the almighty 3.1 Phillip Lim Braided Leather Jacket from the Fall/Winter collection. It's an updated take on the iconic double-riders motorcycle jacket with its hand-braided leather detailing on the sleeves. Recently, we've noticed a few hip-hop artists add this leather jacket to their everyday 'fits.
While at a stop in Chicago early this month for the Watch the Throne tour, Kanye and Jay-Z visited fans in the city. Of course, 'Ye rocked this jacket. His all black joint was customized, as the jacket originally features silver hardware detailing.
Last month, A$AP Rocky joined Drake on the Club Paradise tour at Penn State in his own Phillip Lim braided leather jacket.
More recently, Swizz Beatz, who was taping a segment for Bloomberg TV to promote his Lotus supercars, showed off his jacket in a twitpic.
You could try to buy the braided leather jackets at 3.1 Phillip Lim flagship stores or on SSENSE for $1, 750, but unfortunately the item's currently sold out. Tears. Just goes to show how popular this jacket was.
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