For years, ASAP Rocky has been a prominent figure within the fashion community, thanks in large part to his distinct personal style fusing the worlds of luxury and streetwear. His affinity for logos was quite evident as the beginning of his rise, as he was regularly spotted rocking bold pieces from Virgil Abloh’s Pyrex imprint and Shayne Oliver’s Hood by Air. But as time went on, the self-proclaimed “fashion killa” began steering toward more iconic brands and labels, including Gucci, Saint Laurent, Maison Margiela, and Calvin Klein.
During a recent sit-down with GQ, Rocky reflected on his style evolution and reviewed some of his best and worst fashion moments from 2012 to 2019. The 32-year-old admitted there were certain choices that were acceptable at the time but make him cringe in retrospect. One such look was a concert fit in which he donned a red Pyrex hoodie, matching Pyrex shorts, and white Air Force 1s. Rocky initially tried to defend the outfit, but quickly backpedaled.
“I might wear that now, depending on—I don’t know. Nah,” he said, noting it was “too much logos, too much monograms.” When the interviewer pointed out Rocky was the one who popularized this look, he answered, “That’s true, and that’s why I hate it so much. I have to change it up once it get outdated, you know.”
Rocky went on to say that when he was coming up, he only wore Jordan 1s or Jordan 4s. When pressed on why he has yet to collaborate with Nike, the rapper jokingly said, “’Cause Nike sucks.’” He went on to say there was a clear battle between Nike, Puma, Adidas, and Converse—and he wants to collaborate with them all.
“The truth is, I want to do all four. I want to do a sneaker for every brand,” he explained. “Unfortunately, I think that it won’t work with me and Nike because they usually make you do certain shit, and I would go in with intent behind which one I wanted to design, specifically, as opposed to being told which you could curate or design.”
Rocky then looked at his red carpet fit for the 2016 Grammys. Accompanied by ASAP Yams’ mother, he donned an ornate Gucci cardigan and jeans, Celine sunglasses, a Goyard satchel, and Adidas x Raf Simons Stan Smith sneakers. Unlike the aforementioned Pyrex ensemble, Rocky was pleased with this look.
“I bodied that shit. I would wear this again,” he said. “Pharrell, Lupe Fiasco, and Nigo are who I saw wearing Goyard when I was a kid growing up. … But the time I got older, Pharrell was into Moynat and everybody was just wearing [Louis Vuitton], so I preferred to wear Goyard because I felt like it was a luxury brand that I always wanted to wear, but I just could never afford. So by the time I got a little bit a money, I just figured I’d get the fuck what I want.”
He also revisited looks that some may consider more “feminine.” Rocky credited Dipset, specifically Cam’ron, for inspiring him to embrace the color pink.
“It was just like, fly. Pink diamonds and shit. Pink furs. Pink Range Rovers, badass women,” he said. “You know, to be able to feel that confident wearing something that would be considered a feminine color just showed masculinity to me, and it just showed really [how] to have individual style and get off without having to look like everybody, and do daring shit. So that’s why I wear pearls and pink and shit. Harlem, you know what I’m saying?”
Other fits featured in the video include a head-to-toe Gucci monogram look, a tuxedo designed by Fenty, a Dior faux fur getup, and a Testy x Pauling jumpsuit.
Check out the full GQ video above. The sit-down arrived on the same day the magazine released Rocky’s cover story, in which he discusses his stint in Swedish jail, working with Morrissey, and his relationship with Rihanna.
