Star Image Analysis: Tyler The Creator

Richard Dyer’s Star Theory says that celebrities are commodities manufactured by institutions. Their image is carefully curated to be relatable to the audience, but also someone they admire and idolize.

I decided to analyse a famous persona, who is similar to the one I’m trying to create through my coursework.

Tyler The Creator

His fashion sense is a very important part of his persona. He's always got something on his head: whether it's a wig, a hat, or a fun hairstyle. He uses light colours: either pastels or bright, but never dark colours. You could call his style quite eccentric and fun. This relates to the style of his music, which feel-good hip hop.

You can see he continuously uses this same image, on his performances and music videos and social media pages and other public appearances. An example is the music video and live performance of his song “Earfquake”, where he wears the same wig, a similar suit, and the background is similar.

He also has a clothing brand, called "Golf Le Fleur", which also follows the same fun aesthetic that his persona portrays. It's like merchandising, where fans can buy the clothes that Tyler would wear, rather than clothes branded with his face/name.