An artist who brings provocation outside the box, combines creativity and aesthetics, attracting the attention of the entire fashion system. Tommy Cash, rapper and artist originally from Estonia known for his eccentric style, has recently attracted attention during the Milan and Paris fashion weeks with performative appearances and irreverent looks. Born in 1991, registered at the registry office with the real name of Thomas Tammemets, in recent days he has become the ideal target of Codacons for his participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 with the divisive song «Espresso Macchiato» representing Estonia .
Tommy Cash’s provocative looks and fashion collaborations
Wherever possible, Tommy Cash attends events and fashion week shows with irreverent and provocative looks. Each appearance is a performative opportunity for the Estonian artist to showcase his art. Showing up at the Diesel show for the spring summer 2024 collection , Cash wore dirty clothes, a single boot and pushed a shopping cart full of bags, simulating the appearance of a homeless person without a fixed abode. This gesture has sparked criticism, with many calling it insensitive and offensive.
Additionally, he has participated in projects with Rick Owens and Michèle Lamy , appearing in provocative photos that have fueled debates about the boundary between art and fashion. In addition to being a cast member at Rick Owens’ men’s spring/summer 2019 show, the artist and rapper performed «Rick Owens’ Carte Blanche» at the Centre Pompidou in Paris.
Tommy Cash is also considered the king of front rows and photocalls. Among his most memorable looks and mise-en-scènes, we remember when he showed up naked with a pacifier in his mouth carried on a stroller to the first row at the Marine Serre fashion show , dressed up as his cousin IT, as a Formula 1 driver at the Acne Studios fashion show and full of shopping bags from luxury boutiques at the Maison Margiela by John Galliano Artisanal fashion show.
Tommy Cash’s stylistic choices, often bordering on the conventional, raise questions about ethics and inclusivity in the fashion industry. While some appreciate his boldness and ability to challenge convention, others feel that certain displays can be thoughtless or even out of place.
Recently in the eye of the Codacons storm, Tommy Cash announced his participation — as a singer representing Estonia — in the Eurovision Song Contest 2025 with his song «Espresso Macchiato» which brings back a series of clichés about Italy. What has warmed the spirits of Codacons is a text written by the rapper artist which contains several words in Italian , rigorously pronounced in a macaronic way, which refer to numerous Italian stereotypes such as: coffee, tobacco, spaghetti and the mafia. Despite it seeming like a mockery towards Italy, Tommy Cash’s song currently occupies first place in the «Viral 50 Italia» ranking.
The references and meaning of the video of «Espresso Macchiato»
From the very first frames of the video for the song «Espresso Macchiato» by Tommy Cash, you can perceive a dose of references from the artistic field. A clear reference to the video by Andy Warhol entitled: «Andy Warhol eating a Hamburger from the film 66 Scenes from America (1982)» made by the director Jørgen Leth in which the American artist eats a hamburger. In Cash’s video, the rapper originally from Estonia prepares and drinks an «Espresso Macchiato», a quotational video of extreme simplicity, which confirms his irreverence even towards art.
Codacons’ appeal message against the song «Espresso Macchiato»
Without prejudice to the freedom of artistic expression that must characterize events such as Eurovision, we cannot but raise doubts about the appropriateness of allowing a song that is offensive to a plurality of subjects to participate in a competition followed by the public all over the world. In these hours, in fact, numerous indignant reactions are being recorded by citizens and the mass media regarding the content of the song ‘Espresso Macchiato’ by rapper Tommy Cash, chosen to represent Estonia at the next Eurovision Song Contest 2025 to be held in Basel from 13 to 17 May — writes the consumer movement -. A text containing stereotypes about Italy and Italians, associated with the usual clichés of coffee and spaghetti, but above all with the mafia and the ostentation of luxury, and which lets the message get through that the people are doubly tied to organized crime».