Miss Music Video: Pastels and Neon

Keeping up with this year fashion trend of mints, pastels and neon, artists have incorporated these looks into their music videos. Mints and pastels are soft delicate colors that have taken over the spring and summer of 2012. Neon colors are a bright, in your face expression of one’s individuality. These two opposite types of color have exploded in 2012 simultaneously. As fashion trends evolve, music video fashion follows. Artists are constantly trying to stay up to date on fashion trends, and even help set the future for designer inspiration. The only situations for artists to express there knowledge on current fashion is through public appearances, concerts, and music videos.

This past year many artists have represented pastels and neon in their music videos, which has helped the trend develop in each demographic. For example, most recently Christina Aguilera released her music video for her single, Your Body. Aguilera is not the first to use glitter, pastel pinks and neon’s this year, but in Your Body she combines each trend in one single video. In particular the use of what I like to call, “bubblegum hair.” Also known as “my little pony hair,” the style consists of rainbow (either neon or pastel) dipped hair tips reminiscent of the popular 80’s unicorns. Other artists who have embraced this trend include Avril Lavigne, Demi Lovato, and Britney Spears.

Your Body by Christina Aguilera

The greatest thing about Aguilera’s, Your Body is that she somehow combines the pastel and neon trend effortlessly. The whole video is very whimsical and basically portrays a girl dressed from the early 90s who is stuck in the late 50s. Aguilera uses the trends from this past year to help reinvent her look, however this may be a little too late.

Like I said before this is not the first time we have seen this whimsical pastel/neon combination. Take Katy Perry for example (and even earlier Avril Lavigne). In 2010, Perry released the California Gurls music video, a visual portrayal of the game, Candyland. This video launched Perry’s playful girlie image through the use of delicious treats, soft colors and a fantasy atmosphere. Because of the success of this video, I believe many designers drew inspirations for future trends. Other artists like Aguilera, Nicki Minaj, and Cher Lloyd have tried to capitalize on this lighthearted soft image particularly in their music videos. For example Nicki Minaj’s, Starships and Super Bass, and Cher Lloyd’s, With Your Love and Oath.