Dress by BARRAGAN, bags by BALENCIAGA, shoes by CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN
If you do your homework, you’ll see that A$AP Nast has had a hand in New York City’s omnipresent stance in fashion for at least a decade now. This year he was named in Cultured Mag’s Cult 100 list of stars shaping culture, and today you still may see him brushing shoulders with Pharrell, Tremaine Emory or Bloody Osiris. Oh, and he's still making music — just a couple weeks ago he hopped on a vibey amapiano track for Bridges for Music. Unveiled today, the Harlem native stars in Y-3's FW 2024 campaign, entitled "A Love Letter to New York", lensed by legendary photographer Max Vadukul just blocks away from his childhood home. Also a full circle moment for Vadukul, who traveled to New York in 1984 to shoot Yohji Yamamoto's FW collection.
In light of his latest modeling stint for adidas Y-3, we tapped the rapper and fashion trailblazer for a quick interview. Read below.
How are you? What have you been up to for the past couple days?
A$AP Nast— I’m good thank you, just got to London to celebrate my birthday.
Recently you’ve modeled for Y-3 and have had a collection of hats release for Alice Hollywood. What does it mean for you to have had this much tenure in the fashion industry?
Honestly, I feel blessed to see my vision come to reality and I’m only at the very beginning there is so much more to come... modeling for Y-3 felt natural, it’s a brand I've been wearing since I was a teen.
What's your process like as a designer? Do you feel fulfilled by fashion in ways that are separate from your love of music?
It all goes hand in hand. My love of music and the way I dress are all relative, it’s a part of me, its more than being fulfilled. It's a way of life for me like breathing. I’m a visual person, I know what looks good; that’s a starting point for me when I’m designing.
We’re more than a decade removed from Lords Never Worry and A$AP Mob’s last release, Cozy Tapes Vol. 2, turns 7 next month. Although some members are still dropping consistently music, you’ve fully entrenched yourself as a fixture in New York’s fashion scene. How intentional was this pivot?
I would not say it was intentional, I’d say this journey is written in the universe's code... I am currently in the studio as we speak!
I noticed you recently hopped on an amapiano track after 4 years of not releasing music. How often do you record nowadays? Where does music fit into your life currently?
My process is different, just because I have not been releasing music does not mean I have not been in the studio making it. I feel ready to drop my first body of work to the world so watch this space...
What does A$AP Mob mean to you in 2024? Would you say there's a sense of separation or individuality within the group now that wasn't there before?
Our journeys might seem separate, but we are always together, we are truly brothers... “Always $trive And Prosper”.
Rap collectives look and feel a lot more different than they were in the 2010s. We don't really see big groups bound together by the same hometown or neighborhood anymore. How do you feel like A$AP Mob’s influence is still present in modern culture?
You can see our influence everywhere and it feels amazing to be able to just be in the world wherever and receive the love that people have to give due to the hard work and effort that we as a collective have put into the world. I feel very grateful and hope it all continues from here on out.
What would you describe as your role as artist or fashion figure within the group at its peak? How do you reflect on that and how has that brought you to where you are today?
I’m A$AP Nast and I’m blessed. I’ve been a student of time but have also made my own mark in the game as I’ve learned and experienced so much from being in the industry for as long as I have and I’m more than happy to share everything I’ve learned on my way up as it can be a crutch to so many at their starting point in their careers. Understanding who I am as a person and what I want for myself plays and has played a major part in my life as an artist and most importantly, as a human being in this life.
