“I Want People to Feel Like They’re Walking on Stage When They’re Wearing This Brand”—Kid Cudi Brings His Debut Collection to Paris

Hip-hop culture, retro-inflected futurism, Japanese street style and a general embrace of grunge are all brewing in his extroverted, Gen Z-leaning lineup. Varsity jackets are covered in patches that riff on Americana, from the NASA logo to the “Pursuit of Happiness” at Camp Rage, while jerseys emblazoned with what looks like the New York Rangers logo are cleverly missing an ‘n’. Flourishes are fun, perhaps slightly silly: faux fur caps boast small animal ears; the aforementioned orange jumpsuit has dials that swivel; exaggerated sneakers look sized for a comic book character; bags are like beatboxes and moon fragments. Coming from someone who changed his hair color from pink to blue the day before the presentation, the creative impulse is evidently uninhibited. “I am kind of just putting my hands in the paint and just making stuff, just making what I think is cool and trying to just follow that vision. ‘Is this something I would wear, that my friends would wear?’”

Meanwhile, Mescudi’s friendship with Virgil Abloh—Mescudi was among the stars walking the runway of the late designer’s first Louis Vuitton show—is palpable across the collection. MOTR may not exist to carry on his legacy, but it might be the first new brand since Abloh’s death last year to uphold his values so explicitly. “There is no way I could have designed this collection without thinking about him every single fucking day. Every day, it was like, ‘What would Virgil do? What decision would he make and how would he handle his team? What type of vibe would he have in the office?’ Because he was the ideal designer, he was the template. He was nice, personable, open and friendly with people on his team, helped other people and lifted other people up, gave them opportunities, left the door open behind him.”