Through two 10-episode seasons of HBO’s hit TV drama Succession, the character of Kendall Roy (played by American actor Jeremy Strong) dons a variety of headphones for different occasions, from Apple’s ubiquitous AirPods (￡159) to bulbous, scene-stealing pairs of noise-cancelling cans from Beyerdynamic and Bose. According to Succession prop master Dierdre Kane, Strong selected Kendall’s headphones himself, viewing them as an extension of the character. For someone like Kendall, these choices are as semiotically hefty as lapel width, or daring to pair black with navy.

“With headphones, there are all kinds of connotations that come with certain brands,” says Grammy-nominated producer, DJ and label owner Alain Macklovitch, aka A-Trak. Macklovitch, who spent years as Kanye West’s touring DJ and recently provided the soundtrack for Dior’s Autumn/Winter 2020 menswear show in Miami, is uniquely positioned at the conflux of music and fashion. “Certain brands mean, ‘I’m an audiophile,’ certain brands mean, ‘I like retro designs,’ and other brands mean, ‘I just like a reliable product.’?”

The advent of personal, portable audio — marked by the release of Sony’s Walkman in 1979 — was arguably one of the most important fashion developments of the late 20th century. This was the beginning of consumer electronics as status-signalling objects of style. As the category matured, the variety of products on the market exploded, differentiated more by cosmetics than function.