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Not currently on display at the V&A

Baseball Hat

1988 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This printed baseball hat formed part of an outfit put together by photographer and DJ Normski and hiphop clothing suppliers Four Star General for the exhibition Streetstyle, From Sidewalk to Catwalk, 1940 to Tomorrow held at the V&A in 1994-5. The complete outfit consisted of a black and grey cotton NATO camouflage jacket and trousers; the baseball hat, a Public Enemy cotton t-shirt; a leather holster; a metal belt buckle and leather army boots by Four Star General. It reflected a ‘B-Boy’ style of dress worn by young British men around 1988.

In the late 1980s the black militant look was epitomised by the band Public Enemy. On their first LP, ‘Yo! Bum rush the show’, released in 1987, they were dressed in army camouflage, black berets and held Uzi machine guns. This look became popular as an expression of black consciousness. Every conceivable garment was emblazoned with the silhouette and cross-wire logo of Public Enemy, including this baseball hat.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Cotton and plastic
Brief description
Baseball hat, black cotton and plastic, Public Enemy design, United States, 1988
Physical description
Black cotton and plastic baseball hat with Public Enemy design.
Dimensions
  • Length: 25.5cm
  • Width: 19.5cm
  • Height: 11cm
Marks and inscriptions
'PUBLIC ENEMY / © 1991 DEF JAM RECORDINGS' (On front of baseball hat)
Object history
Registered File number 1994/1708, Streetstyle exhibition 1994-1995, in the exhibition it was part of an outfit called 'Military-PE B-Boy UK 1988' (includes the belt buckle T.298-1993, the holster T.741-1994, the camouflage suit: jacket T.1023-1994 and trousers T.1024-1994, the T-shirt T.1025-1994 and the boots T.1027-1994).
Historical context
'Black and grey cotton NATO Arctic camouflage jacket and trousers; baseball hat, cotton t-shirt, Public Enemy; leather holster; metal belt buckle, leather army boots, Four Star General.
In the late 1980s the black militant look was epitomised by the band Public Enemy. On their first LP, ‘Yo! Bum rush the show’ released in 1987, they were dressed in army camouflage, black berets and holding Uzis. This look became popular as an expression of black consciousness. Every conceivable garment was emblazoned with the silhouette and cross-wire logo of Public Enemy.
Compiled by Normski and Four Star General.'
Summary
This printed baseball hat formed part of an outfit put together by photographer and DJ Normski and hiphop clothing suppliers Four Star General for the exhibition Streetstyle, From Sidewalk to Catwalk, 1940 to Tomorrow held at the V&A in 1994-5. The complete outfit consisted of a black and grey cotton NATO camouflage jacket and trousers; the baseball hat, a Public Enemy cotton t-shirt; a leather holster; a metal belt buckle and leather army boots by Four Star General. It reflected a ‘B-Boy’ style of dress worn by young British men around 1988.

In the late 1980s the black militant look was epitomised by the band Public Enemy. On their first LP, ‘Yo! Bum rush the show’, released in 1987, they were dressed in army camouflage, black berets and held Uzi machine guns. This look became popular as an expression of black consciousness. Every conceivable garment was emblazoned with the silhouette and cross-wire logo of Public Enemy, including this baseball hat.
Bibliographic reference
Surfers, Soulies, Skinheads & Skaters : Subcultural Style from the Forties to the Nineties Described in the exhibition publication, part of an outfit called 'Military-PE B-Boy UK 1988'.
Collection
Accession number
T.1026-1994

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Record createdAugust 8, 2007
Record URL
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