After presenting the first two seasons of his clothing line AWGE in Paris, A$AP Rocky was in New York for fall. “They say third time’s a charm,” he said backstage after the show, dressed in a white T-shirt and baggy jeans with a fur hood and an enormous gold necklace. “And, me being from here, it felt appropriate.”
Shown in a Beaux-Arts style former bank—the largest in the United States when it was completed in 1912—with soaring coffered ceilings and ornate moldings, Rocky sought to give the presentation a slightly meta quality. In the middle of the runway were make-up vanities complete with mirrors lined with bright bulbs, their tables strewn with brushes, cosmetics, and cans of hairspray. Nearby metal racks held pieces of the collection, as if the backstage area had spilled out onto the catwalk. When the models began walking, the show was projected onto the back wall, including snippets of a behind-the-scenes melée; some model stopped for touch-ups mid-catwalk strut. “I wanted to break the fourth wall,” Rocky said.
“I reference a lot,” he said of his design process. “My taste really borrows, and derives from my own personal experiences. Things that I saw and thought were dope, or tickled my fancy throughout the years. I can remember a silhouette or an outfit on a stranger walking down the street from 15 years ago. There’s nothing wrong with making your own version of it. Execution is key.”
Two main themes ran through the collection, shown to a front row that included Julia Fox, Evan Mock, Joey Bada$$, Wisdom Kaye, A$AP Nast, and, of course, Rihanna. There was an urbane, corporate-core energy in relaxed suiting for men (inspired, perhaps, by… Rocky himself?) and women wearing slim pencil skirts and oversized button-ups, ties, or vests, some with coffee cup in hand or carrying a dry cleaning bag as if commuting to and from their office jobs. Then there was a hint of sleek racing style in cropped motocross jackets worn with low-slung cargo pants, or hoodies and chopped-up jerseys in bright graphic logos, including prime placement for Puma, with whom Rocky collaborates. To that end, Rocky used the show to debut his warped, alien-like versions of the Mostro (runway exclusives), shown alongside his version of the Straycat, covered in bright bungee cord.
Other accessories added a slightly surreal, humorous touch, including oversized fur-covered tote bags, neckties, baby carriers, and umbrellas. Some shoulder bags were cleverly made to resemble sunglass cases for Ray Ban, where he’s creative director (if nothing else, the man is busy). One model, in a slightly normcore outfit of a polo shirt and paneled jeans, pushed a baby carriage. “I thought it was cool to put men in positions of pushing strollers, baby carriers, and stuff like that,”said Rocky. “I wanted to put it under a different scope, and show more urban people doing it, swagging it out.”
In other words, the collection was a reflection of the many hats Rocky himself wears—businessman, sporty playboy, and doting father. The very picture of modern manhood.
