A$AP Rocky’s Dismantling of the American Dream

A$AP Rocky may look like he’s living the American dream as part of one of the world’s biggest celebrity couples, but the rapper-turned-designer enjoyed his highly anticipated debut show at Men’s Fashion Week in Paris to criticize his country.

With his new brand called American Sabotage, presented under the umbrella of his creative agency AWGE, Rocky’s first collection was a brutal assault on the political and economic structures of the United States.

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The show took place in the gilded halls of Karl Lagerfeld’s former residence, while the scene outside was chaotic as spectators lined the streets to catch a glimpse of Rihanna and other famous guests.

She made a last-minute entrance, then filmed the action on her phone from her front row seat. Other guests included Maluma, Pusha T., No Malice and LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton scion Alexandre Arnault.

Designers also came out to support Rocky’s first foray onto the catwalk, with Loewe’s Jonathan Anderson and Willy Chavarria in attendance for the extravaganza, while Pharrell Williams dropped by backstage before heading to a dinner he was hosting at the other end of town.

From the first looks that emerged to the distorted tensions of the “Star-Spangled Banner,” it was clear that the elements of the designs were off-kilter.

A slim business suit turned out to be backless. This quickly gave way to Rocky’s take on layering, with plays on the hip hop style of sagging pants interpreted to the max. Three or four strips of boxer shorts stuck out from under the jeans, and several belts were sewn together to create a mini-skirt.

The mixed collection played on these proportions with cropped blazers and midriff-baring suits for the women, as well as oversized suit jackets for the men topped with multi-size pants. Inside-out bomber jackets were a key shape, closing at the bottom and leaving the neck exposed.

“It was inspired by the poverty I saw every day, mass incarceration, taxes,” he said backstage after the show, calling the collection “political satire.”

“We have different political satires, and it’s just about telling my story through that,” he said. “I hope I haven’t committed treason.”

The artist made good use of her First Amendment rights, turning a tattered American flag into a skirt and using a sharper version in place of a bandana under a baseball cap.

The desecration of the American flag has a long history of controversy, becoming legal via a Supreme Court ruling in 1989, although bills to ban it are frequently reintroduced in Congress.

Other looks featured a grotesque caricature of Uncle Sam showing two middle fingers screen-printed on a rabbit’s fur, his legs still splayed, pinned to the back of a camouflage jacket.

The juxtaposition of costumes and T-shirts emblazoned with 1865, the year slavery was abolished in the United States, was intended to draw attention to the current state of an exploitative economy, Rocky said.

“At the heart of it, it’s about capitalism,” said the rapper, who is also a Bottega Veneta brand ambassador. “I think people obviously benefit from mass incarceration. So that’s how it all comes together.

Some looks featured models carrying trash bags filled with cash, while others had bags filled with what appeared to be trash worn like a yoke on their shoulders or clenched in a fist.

One of the looks was directly inspired by Rocky’s observation of a homeless woman carrying a bunch of plastic bottles in a large clear bag, a scene from New York’s Cortlandt Alley that he had captured and shown on his telephone.

However, the models weren’t carrying trash, but rather beanbags from his Hommemade interiors collection, designed to look like full trash bags.

When John Galliano presented a collection inspired by the homeless in 2000, it caused controversy, but Rocky recalled his own youth. “I grew up in a homeless shelter, so I felt it was necessary,” he said.

Elsewhere, he took the essence of hip hop style and pushed it forward with an apocalyptic bent, including face coverings made from bandages or a model wearing a gas mask ready to protest.

“Don’t Be Dumb,” the title of her upcoming album, was written in large letters on a T-shirt-shaped sculpture, seemingly suspended from the model’s chest, and a flesh-colored bodysuit was covered with crumpled clothing – and placed strategically -. Received.

Many items were recycled and reused, Rocky said, as evidenced by NYPD sweatshirts, USMC T-shirts and DEA baseball caps.

The most obvious nod to his views were T-shirts emblazoned with the words “Political Satire.” Lying digs at the American dream, such as a T-shirt with photos of Martin Luther and Coretta Scott King juxtaposed with Barack and Michelle Obama reading “Dream Realized,” or a barcode labeled “Social Security Product,” were more effective.

This may be satire, but Rocky takes this matter very seriously. There were plenty of merchandise bearing the brand name: baseball caps, branded t-shirts printed with body armor, and boxing trunks emblazoned with the slogan “American Sabotage.”

He teamed up with Alpine Cars – with three flashy models on display at the entrance – Puma, Ray-Ban and Shopify on this collection, some of which were immediately on sale.

The new album, which will be released on August 30, also became available for pre-order at the end of the show’s live broadcast. The track served as a sort of secret listening party for some of the new tracks.

After the show, guests sipped champagne and were served slices of cake shaped like kilos of cocaine and rolled up dollar bills, or Glocks and AK-47s with signs reading: “He “It’s easier to buy a gun than a cake.”

For more Paris Men’s Spring 2025 reviews, click here.

Launch Gallery: AWGE Spring 2025 Ready-to-Wear Collection

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