Rapper Bun B brought luxury to the rodeo on March 3 with a custom collaboration with PURPLE and an energetic concert featuring some of the biggest names in southern hip-hop.
The Texas artist and scene icon collaborated with the denim luxury brand to create a collection of custom looks for his Southern Takeover performance on Black Heritage Day at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
After the rodeo dust settled on Sunday night, Bun B took the RodeoHouston stage in dazzling denim and Western-inspired ensembles.
The star wore bootcut jeans with black resin and hand-placed studs on the side. He also debuted a pair of denim jeans branded with western-styled embroidery.
To pull the look together, the duo collaborated on three outerwear pieces.
In true Texas fashion, the hometown rapper donned a luxe leather jacket with fringe on the chest pockets and arms, emphasizing the cowboy theme. An outline of Texas was branded on the back of the jacket, made from black hand-placed studs. The jacket includes red studs to represent his beloved Houston.
PURPLE also created a varsity jacket with handmade designs and sleeve patches for the ‘King of the Thrill’. The custom piece paid homage to each of the six studio albums the rapper released as part of the hip-hop duo UGK – Too Hard to Swallow (1992), Super Tight (1994), Ridin’ Dirty (1996), Dirty Money (2001), Underground Kingz (2007) and UGK 4 Life (2009).
The front of the jacket included an embroidered ‘409,’ representing the area code for Bun B’s hometown of Port Arthur. The words embroidered opposite it commemorated the special occasion: Rodeo Houston Southern Takeover, the date and location of the event, and the capacity of the stadium.
A poncho with the UGK emblem logo in original Houston Oilers colors representing the rapper’s roots and love for Houston was a performance showstopper.
PURPLE founders, and fellow Houston natives, were honored to dress the artist for the occasion.
“I grew up in H-Town and Bun is an icon who has continuously put the city, fashion, music and culture on his back,” says PURPLE co-owner and founder Luke Cosby in a press release.
“Working together with him was seamless and we were able to truly create some pieces that not only pay homage to UGK and their legendary endeavors, but also a city teeming with diversity and life.”
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Founded in 2017 at the intersection of industrial design, streetwear and luxury fashion, PURPLE set out to solve a problem: men’s denim at the contemporary price point is simultaneously too simple and too complicated
Innovations in fit, hardware and washes generally happen at the designer level with high price points. PURPLE founders decided that innovation shouldn’t be limited to designer denim.
Denim is the anchor of the modern man’s wardrobe. PURPLE is dedicated to making that anchor more interesting, and they did with Bun B’s eclectic cowboy collection.
The collaboration blended luxury with fashion, food, and culture at Houston’s Livestock and Rodeo Show.
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“Working alongside Bun is smooth and quick. This collaboration came about organically and made sense for a Houston native like myself and a legend like him,” said Cosby. “We’re bringing together food, fashion, design, music, culture and everything in between that makes people happy.”
The "Get Throwed" rapper brought his award-winning Thrill Burgers to a pop-up location outside Rodeo Plaza. The pop-up will serve delectable smash burgers topped with American cheese, pickles, caramelized onions and the brand’s famous secret Thrill sauce for the remainder of the rodeo.
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To celebrate the performance, Bun B and PURPLE teamed up with Neiman Marcus to give Houston natives and visitors an experiential shopping experience on March 5.
Neiman Marcus at The Galleria hosted an event in their PURPLE section with a live DJ and, of course, Bun B’s Trill Burgers and fries. For the exclusive event, PURPLE created custom packaging for the burgers, utilizing their iconic monogram pattern.
Houston music, culture, food and fashion were well represented in this luxe celebrity collab.
Photography by: Marco Torres / @marcofromhouston
