The music industry has long been rocking vintage clothing and accessories, whether it’s Big Sean with his vintage T-shirt collection or Zara Larsson’s love of old Thierry Mugler (as evidenced by her 2016 Billboard Music Awards dress). To get a feel for the biggest potential throwback trends of this upcoming year, Billboard spoke to vintage collector Bob Melet.
His appointment-only emporium Melet Mercantile, which is enjoying its 14th year of business in a brand-new Tribeca space, sells sartorial rarities to high-profile clients from both the music and Hollywood industries — a certain Kanye West has even mentioned Melet in an interview about his Yeezy inspirations.
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Check out these five 2017 vintage trend predictions below:
Prince T-shirts
With the untimely death of music legend Prince in 2016, vintage tour merchandise and T-shirts may begin to pop up in memoriam. “I have a 14-year-old daughter who’s very astute about everything,” Melet told Billboard. “She’s wearing a vintage Prince T-shirt.”
Men’s rings
Melet is calling rings on rings in 2017. “Coming out of the music world in L.A., Austin and Nashville, it’s men wearing a lot of rings on all fingers,” he explains. “That’s not a New York or European fashion driven trend — it’s very American. At the roots of it is rock and roll music with a biker edge, a military edge and a Navajo edge.”
Jamaican-made T-shirts
As for reggae, Jamaican-made Bob Marley or Peter Tosh T-shirts from the ’80s are increasingly hot items.
Vivienne Westwood
As the women who championed ’70s punk and new-wave aesthetics and attitudes into mainstream fashion, Westwood is associated with the Sex Pistols (for whom she made clothes) and more contemporary artists like Charli XCX, who wears her designs today. Melet predicts her vintage T-shirts from the British punk era will resurface as a trend.
Ethiopian T-shirts
When it comes to hard-to-find specialties, Melet believes the vintage Haile Selassie and other T-shirts he acquires from Ethiopian clothing dealers will catch on this year. We can definitely see “Caroline” rapper Aminé, whose colorful style and music is influenced by his Ethiopian heritage, rocking one of these tees.