ASAP Rocky’s off-the-calendar show was undoubtedly one of the biggest moments of the week. Scanning the room was enough proof of that. Rihanna, the Clipse, Chitose Abe, Jonathan Anderson, and Alexandre Arnault were among the power players in attendance. According to Rocky, the show was long overdue. “How many years was I advocating for everybody else’s brands, puttin’ on new brands, and showing people how to do new trends,” Rocky told Complex prior to the show. “Now, I wanted to express myself. I gave everybody my ghetto expression.”
He’s right. For the past decade, Rocky has been a trendsetter introducing names like Rick Owens and Raf Simons to the masses. For this show, titled American Sabotage, Rocky clearly pulled some influence from these designers that he has championed throughout his career. Simons’ “Riot Riot Riot” show from 2001 comes to mind when looking at a camo bomber jacket featuring tacked on photographs. Repurposing NYPD sweaters or DEA caps feels like something you may see on the runway at Vetements. But rather than copy and pasting these reference points and adding an AWGE logo here or album title there, Rocky (with the help of young designers Bede Marchand, Joshua Jamal, and Coucou Bebehe) was able to recontextualize them to fit his own message. The show was meant to be a commentary on the turbulent political and socioeconomic climate of the United States. Sometimes it was obvious, an image of Uncle Sam flipping the bird accompanied by “F$CK YOU” plastered on the back of a jacket or “Political Satire” literally printed on a sweater. Other times, Rocky referenced the individuals he would see on the streets of New York City like a homeless person collecting bottles in trash bags to help paint the picture of modern America.
The runway was also a vehicle to preview upcoming footwear from his ongoing partnership with Puma, pre-weathered pairs of the Inhale OG. And don’t think this means that Rocky forgot about the music. He used the show as a platform to premiere three new tracks and officially announced that his long-awaited album Don’t Be Dumb is dropping on Aug. 30. Rocky isn’t choosing one medium over another. Instead, he is building a world where all of his creativity can live cohesively. It will be interesting to see how regularly Rocky presents these types of shows moving forward. Hopefully, it wasn’t just a one off. —Mike DeStefano