Jaden Smith says he likes when it rains.
It’s a pretty fitting outlook for the MSFTSrep co-founder, whose brand’s ethos is: “Today I Hope You Run In The Forest, Swim In The Depths Of The Ocean, Bask In The Sunset And Stare In The Stars.”
The environment is at the forefront of the Trippy Summer ‘22 Collection, which features water-print tees, jackets and pants, rainbow knit vests, and more. “I just want to help to change the world and the fashion industry when it comes to sustainability,” he says, noting that although the clothes are playful and nod to psychedelics, they’re also an ode to nature and help speak to what the future of a planet powered by mushrooms could look like—environmentally and spiritually.
When I sit down with him in Toronto ahead of the Trippy Summer pop-up at Holt Renfrew, (he’s also in town as part of his run on Justin Bieber’s Justice World Tour) he’s decked out some of the bold, bright, delightfully psychedelic pieces that call back to the hippie culture from the ’60s. He’s sporting MSFTSrep’s blue and orange printed puffer jacket over straight-legged jeans that are emblazoned with the brand’s rainbow star logo. It’s a vibrant mix of hues that perfectly encapsulate the happy, kaleidoscopic mix of wavy patterns and aquatic prints behind the latest collection, and as he points out, serve as a way to expand one’s consciousness.
Reflecting on the 10 year anniversary of MSFTSrep, he shares how he feels fashion empowers people, his advice for young designers, and his vision for the future of the MSFTS community.
The interview, lightly edited for clarity, is below.
Obviously, the collection takes its inspiration from the ’60s. And I mean, the counterculture from that time speaks to so many things, from music to civil rights. So what kind of really attracted you to that [era]?
Learning more about psychedelics. It’s mostly inspired by [the time] towards the end of the ’60s, kind of like if Woodstock was happening now, what would people be wearing there, you know what I mean? So, you know, this is just a small little section of that in a larger, broader vision, because Trippy Summer is something that happens every year. So really, the collection is all about expanding our consciousness, you know, and helping people to understand that they have access to other states of consciousness within them.
Keep an open mind and keep expanding.
Yeah.
“We’re trying to create the conditions for someone to get inside of Trippy Summer and to go into a mystical state and to really have an epiphany that changes their life, because it has happened to me before. And that’s why I am doing this.”
I was also going to touch on the fact that during the ’60s, the environmental movement was really big during that time period. I know you’ve been a really big advocate for sustainability, so why is that top of mind when it comes to something like this?
I just want to help to change the world and the fashion industry when it comes to sustainability, and I want to use more products that… I want people to use more recycled plastic and I want people to use more vegan leather. I want people to use more recycled materials in general. I pray that one day thrifted clothing will be a part of every major collection in the world, to where we’re going back and we’re thrifting clothes, and we’re reusing the old clothes in our new collections to use something old to create something new. I think that’s really important.
Thrifting is so big nowadays I feel like it’s just become such a cool thing in and of itself. So I feel like if other people start to get on it more, it’s going to keep going.
Totally.
And then, so the clothes are also about empowering young people. Why do you think that fashion is such an important tool for being able to do that, for us to express ourselves?
Because I feel like when you wear clothes, they can also help you to express who you are through those clothes and say, “You know, I’m this type of a person or I’m that type of a person.” It’s really, really important. You know what I mean? Like, “Hey, I feel like this about the world, I feel like that about the world.” Those things are really important when it comes down to making clothes. And you know, when you’re wearing clothes, it kind of can express so much about you, so we feel like we want to make sure that we’re expressing things on the behalf of our audience and the MSFTS, and that they can wear clothes and feel like, “Yeah, I feel seen when I wear this” or “I can give away a part of myself when I wear this and show people who I really am or what I believe,” you know, and push the world forward in super small ways.
You know, my goal is to make shirts that really make people think, like really make people think. One of the things we’re [doing with] the clothes this year is… the goal is to create the conditions for a spiritual epiphany. And that is what MSFTSrep is. So we’re trying to create the conditions for someone to get inside of Trippy Summer and to go into a mystical state and to really have an epiphany that changes their life, because it has happened to me before. And that’s why I am doing this.
It’s kind of a trippy thing because it ties into the whole idea of shrooms and psychedelics. So was there a particular trip that you had that sort of shaped this? Or have there been several?
It’s been a series of trips that have really helped me to realize that I need to go out in the world and really push this movement and that I need to be a psychedelic world leader. You know, that’s how I feel—I really need to not just cross the bridge myself and see something amazing and not tell anybody. I really want to let people know that, hey, there [are] other things inside of us that can help us in so many different ways in talking about mental health. Psychedelic therapy is going to be something that is increasingly happening in the world, and we’ll see what happens with legislation all over the world in the coming years because things are really on a fast track to change and go into more of a psychedelic, mystical future where we can really study these things.
“I just feel like in general, mushroom power is something that we need to cultivate for the future of humanity. And not just with psychedelics.”
Yeah, I was going to say, I mean, people said the same thing about weed and now it’s legal here.
Yep, yep. That’s what it’s all about.
I’d also noticed that some of the photos that you shared of the collection, they’re all in little rainbow Polaroids. And Polaroid also is very retro, and kind of fits into the whole idea of this as well. So tell me a little bit about how that feeds into everything.
Oh, we just like those, and we have a really great partnership with Instax and we just love the company. And yeah, we do a lot of work together and we just love that aesthetic for Trippy Summer. And then we can just be out in the field, actually on shrooms or something and take those photos and then use them and post them and say, “Yeah, this is real. This is a real thing.”
Yeah, I’m just out here, you know, sounding the alarm for the other psychedelic leaders in the world for us to all come together to really make a change. I just want to say this too, here, that there’s also science that shows that you can grow mushrooms into the shape of a table, or you can grow [them] into the shape of packaging to remove the need for Styrofoam. The mycelial network goes across the entire planet and there’s a mushroom that eats plastic, there’s a mushroom that eats oil from oil spills. Penicillin was invented from [fungi]. Mushrooms are so smart. So I just feel like in general, mushroom power is something that we need to cultivate for the future of humanity. And not just with psychedelics.
“If you’re reading this article right now and you’re a young designer and you want to work for MSFTSrep, reach out to us ‘cause we’re always looking for other young people.”
Yeah, there’s mushroom leather, too.
Yeah, mushroom leather, that’s a huge thing for us that we already use in our upcoming collections. [There are] so many things with mushrooms.
Do you have any advice for any other young up-and-coming designers? I mean, you were so young when you started this.
I would say, “Yo, keep going.” Even if you don’t fully have your voice at the beginning, you can find it if you really stick to it. And maybe you will have your voice in the beginning, but you’ll never know if you don’t try. The number one thing is [to] go out there and try and make it happen, and if you really want to design and that’s what you want to do, reach out to us. We love working with young designers. We love working with new people. If you’re reading this article right now and you’re a young designer and you want to work for MSFTSrep, reach out to us ‘cause we’re always looking for other young people. And you know, that’s what MSFTS is about. It’s being that platform for the young designer to discover their voice and then go and stand out.
So MSFTS turns 10 this year—in the next 10 years, what do you hope to achieve with the community and with the brand?
I hope to build schools everywhere across the world, and help kids [who] are going through mental health problems inside of schools and the way that schools are structured. It’s draining on our mental health. I think the signs are very clear and it doesn’t help us to become the best versions of ourselves all the time. But it’s not about just complaining about things that are not right, it’s about making them better.
So that’ll be my biggest dream, to build schools and retreats where people can go, and take psychedelics and learn about themselves and eat vegan food and just go to a full retreat, get massages, work out and make artwork, work and then go to therapy sessions, go to rehabilitation sessions, you know, make their body and everything better. Real big changes. We’re making clothes right now, but that’s not our end goal, to be selling clothes in 10 years—we will be, but that’s not going to be our main thing.
