A$AP Rocky's Red Carpet Looks Have Come A Long Way
Rihanna and A$AP Rocky recently sat down (virtually) to discuss all things skincare in light of the latest product launch from RiRi's Fenty empire.
Through a flirty back and forth we gleaned Rocky's skin type ("handsome") and the thing that Rihanna would never eat under any circumstances ("any animal's intestine"). The more you know.
Rihanna was also lightly roasting A$AP for his first official red carpet appearance. Arriving at the BET awards in 2012, the bona fide fashion icon wore black stonewash skinny jeans, a black button-down with the sleeves 3/4 rolled up, loafers with no socks, and a gold "H" Hermès belt.
It was probably not so bad at the time, but looking back it's kind of like if A$AP Rocky worked in the mall selling cellular phone plans.
Clearly, in terms of red carpet fits, the man has come a long way from that egregious logo belt. And in reality, so have we.
Will the spectacle of red carpets ever occur again in our pandemic or post-pandemic reality? The idea of masked celebrities shuffling through masked paparazzi at 1.5m intervals for an MTV Awards show with no guests is about as dystopian as it gets.
We hope that nightmare scenario never takes place — but thinking about it certainly gives us a good excuse to take a trip down memory lane and get nostalgic over some of A$AP's better red carpet looks, which you'll find below.
The all-black outfit with a black bomber jacket is very...*visits Berlin once,* but this was 2015 — note the extended oversized droop on the tee!
The "air-tie" era had A$AP channelling Karl Lagerfeld at Cannes Film Festival with a double-breasted blazer and black patent derby shoes — still not quite the groundbreaking style he's known for today though.
However, A$AP killed it at the 56th Grammy awards with a much softer look featuring a floral knit cardigan and embroidered denim from Gucci, adidas x Raf Simons Stan Smith leather sneakers, a Goyard shoulder bag and his charming date — A$AP Yams' mom!
This dramatic powder pink tux comes from Jonathan Anderson's first ever menswear collection for Loewe. Arguably, it helped recalibrate the heritage Spanish label from a staid luxury house into one of the biggest brands of the year.
This babushka and tailoring look is what's referred to as a "moment," a precise point in time where all events surounding the subject are changed irrevocably. Even now, the headscarf-as-Gucci-signifier is the hook of a new viral Tik Tok challenge.
We come full circle with A$AP and Rihanna stepping out in Fenty at the 2019 Fashion Awards in London. Maybe the XXL cut of the suit was too ahead of its time for some, but also maybe it's unfair to judge someone's fit — even A$AP Rocky — when your standing next to Rihanna in turquoise and diamonds.
