Interview: Big Sean Talks Favorite Brands, Detroit Fashion, and How G.O.O.D. Music Influences His Style

The Detroit native breaks down his style.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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An interview with G.O.O.D. Music artist Big Sean.

By now, you are very familiar with Big Sean's music. Every verse of his on Cruel Summer has been stuck in your dome since the summer, his Detroit mixtape is in heavy rotation, and "Guap" is the current banger from his much anticipated album Hall of Fame, set for an early 2013 release.

Now, with his adidas Originals collaboration and recent sightings in very wavy clothing, Big Sean is set to set trends in style as well as music. In our week of Big Sean exclusives, we've already brought you everything you need to know about the Big Sean x adidas Originals collaboration and listed his 10 favorite adidas sneakers of all time. Just days away from his December 1 homecoming concert, we chopped it up with the Detroit native about his sense of style and how it's developed along with his music. 

I'll take fashion tips from Ye, and Ye will take fashion tips from me too. And you'll see it.

In the Detroit track "Mula," you say that after God and family, ain't nothin' more important than the mula. So where would fashion and style rank as a priority to you?
Fashion's probably right after the mula! [Laughs] I still got a lot to learn about fashion. I'm somebody who experiments, somebody who's finding their way. I'm young, and I don't really know if there's any guide to style in what's right and what's wrong. I just dress as an extension of how I'm feeling. If I feel crazy then I'm gonna rock something crazy. However I feel it just is what it is and you can see that through the fashion. More conservative people rock more conservative things. Hoes rock hoe-ish things. Ghetto-ass people rock ghetto-ass things. That's how I look at fashion, but I'm still learning. You can go up to the editor of Vogue, and she might think I have horrible style, or maybe she thinks I have great style. Who knows? I don't really know too much about it, I just know what I like and what I don't like. I love clothes and making my own clothes and shoes, like I got to do with adidas.

What are some of your favorite brands right now?
Well, of course adidas. I'm proud of adidas. It's become a historical brand 'cause you see classic photos of Bob Marley rocking adidas, you see the forefathers of rap rocking adidas. I don't know if they knew at the time what they were doing, but it's become a staple in music history. Historical figures rocking adidas! It's just awesome to be a part of that in the new age. And for other brands, I like Alexander Wang, I like Givenchy. I wore some Katie Eary the other day. It was pretty tight, fresh off the runway. I like Balenciaga, I like a lot of good streetwear, too. Supreme, the New Era Diamond collection. I love shopping all the good brands at Opening Ceremony

How do your Detroit roots affect the way you dress? Are there any trends in Detroit that the rest of the country doesn't know about? What are some of your favorite brands right now?
There's a lot of fur and leather going on here. Lotta snake on shoes, lotta animal prints, lotta gators. A lot of animals getting killed here! Detroit's always had great style. Cartier glasses are popular everywhere, but in my city people are getting killed for them. I lost some of my friends growing up cause they had Cartier glasses. But there's just something about Detroit players, man, we just wanna stand out and look good. There's just a lot of little things in the D that we do to stand out.

I don't really know if there's any guide to style in what's right and what's wrong. I just dress as an extension of how I'm feeling. If I feel crazy then I'm gonna rock something crazy.

How has being in G.O.O.D. Music influenced or affected your sense of style? 
G.O.O.D. Music is just real tastemakers, man. Kanye's a real tastemaker. One thing that I feel is tight about G.O.O.D. is that a lot of people have their own style, and you can see that. My style is different than Pusha's, it's different than Cudi's. But it's also slightly similar 'cause we have some similar tastes. Being around Kanye, he really takes fashion seriously and just being around him and soaking up the information that he has and talking about it and being around him when we meet up with the editors of the top fashion magazines like Complex and shooting with the top fashion photographers and having that conversation—it does affect your style. And you take what you get from situations like that and you incorporate it into your own.   

And how have you influenced the style of other dudes in G.O.O.D. Music?
I feel like I definitely have a real sporty style, more so than a lot of people in G.O.O.D. Music. I'm a fan of jerseys and all that type of shit. Just the whole theme of being a player, I just love that type of stuff. I'll take fashion tips from Ye, and Ye will take fashion tips from me too. And you'll see it. You can see it in videos, you can see it in what we wear, what he wears, what I wear, and we all influence each other. Everybody.

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