ENFANTS RICHES DÉPRIMÉS' Punk Essence

October 19, 2021

Punk isn't dead, and that was recorded this Spring/Summer season in breakout collections like ENFANTS RICHES DÉPRIMÉS SS22. Henri Alexander Levi, most known for his creative director role at the brand, affirmed that punk went beyond black nails and pinstripes, punk is an essence. The nectar of punk was extracted and presented in its truest form at l'ecole de medicin through the eccentricity of the production, setting, pace, stride, and fashion.

Anarchy lives within the essence of this brand. This is shown when the design team rejects any sentiment of cheap biase and sticks to the principle that masterfully connects the dark and brooding emotions of Paris and couples it with the childlike delight of LA. Structured leather, lace lining, and graphics are plentiful in this collection — and clean lines and quality fabrications aren't sacrificed. An effortless cool stride and attitude is woven into each garment when light lace with blood-painted red letters are statemented onto a baby-doll dress, oversize pin-striped suits, and leather blazers paired over a vibrant graphic tee are the standout pieces from this collection.

Text by Tiana Randall
Photos courtesy of ENFANTS RICHES DÉPRIMÉS

And accessories make it that much cooler — the appearance of white dirty knee-length combat boots that stride down the catwalk pretense that this collection is ready-to-wear. The model donned in those boots shine through in structured collared ankle-length dress holds a shining silver gun as a thin metal chain draped across the decolletage of the garment. Along with tinted red and black shades, ovoid-shaped bags, and more complete the collection in its entirety. Watch the show below.

Fashion

A$AP Nast Is Still That Guy

August 01, 2024

So for whatever reason this past week, the Internet decided to challenge New York City’s status as America’s preeminent hub for fashion culture. Why? I guess misinformed people can be pretentious, too. After Lil Yachty sparked this “debate” in a conversation with the Bronx’s golden child, Cash Cobain, it was only right for a representative of A$AP Mob to weigh in.

Enter 34-year-old A$AP Nast, a living, breathing embodiment of New York’s long standing symbiosis with hip-hop and fashion. Known for spitting snaggletoothed raps and getting fits off in his sleep, you may know Nast for his boom-bap classic with Method Man or that time he modeled for Yohji and Supreme. Or Comme, or Louis V, or OAMC (for o ffice). You see where I’m going. He was there when Rocky carried Raf Simons and Rick Owens to a new generation, and now he’s here to tell a certain rapper from Atlanta “You’re not that guy pal,” after he tried to downplay the Big Apple’s fashion influence. (For what it’s worth, Yachty retracted his statement before Nast’s retort).

By Olivier Lafontant
Photography by Max Vadukul

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.

Fashion

Inhabiting Miu Miu FW24

July 24, 2024

Miu Miu's latest campaign, photographed by Zoë Ghertner, centers on the way garments interact with wearers across a lifespan. The series of images, titled "Individual Moments," acts as a meditation on the way a wearer inhabits and alters a garment. The campaign features a cast including Ethel Cain, Charlotte Cardin, Cara Delevingne and Little Simz, loitering against a sterile white backdrop. Through the images, their subtle gestures and postures become fingerprints of their individuality.

The collection itself contrasts sensibilities and proportions, blending masculine and feminine, day and night, and functionality and fashion. Key pieces include faux-mink jackets, ribbed tights, and oversized fleece jackets. Like a child who has raided every wardrobe in the house, the looks are filled with dichotomies and playfulness. Though Miu Miu's designs have always been about youth, this collection delves deeper, observing the interactions between the brand and its wearers. It's a celebration of individuality and self-expression, where childhood, adolescence, and adulthood come together.