I may be a little more willing to experiment on stage with more looks, just because when I’m on stage, it’s fantasy I want to bring people into a different world. Is your performance style different from your day-to-day style? They’re not that different. You tend to wear really bold looks when you’re on stage. They were like, ‘You never make stuff for us!’ And when they did wear it, I was like, ‘Damn, that looks good.’ So this time, since I knew that women were possibly going to be wearing my clothes as well, I made the fabrics unisex. I just got tired of my girl and her homies always trying to take my clothes. It’s a very vintage look with modern, shiny embellishments, like nickel-plated buttons and zippers. I was also watching Stranger Things and was really inspired by how the denim looked back then-like the kids with the straight, raw denim. They wore these huge coats and army jackets. What inspired the style choices you made with this collection? Seeing pictures of my dad and his friends back in the day, like late-’80s/early-’90s Harlem vibes. I got to meet all the employees and they showed me laser machines you could only get in Turkey, tumbler machines that use rocks to make jeans look more worn, sandblasters-I was like a kid in a candy store. It was denim-making 101, from different zippers to washes.
I worked nine-to-five just learning it wasn’t glamorous at all. I was able to come in and basically be an intern for a week. How did you first get involved? I was linked with them through Scott Lipps, who is a good friend of mine. This is your second collection for Agolde. We were very good at hiding the fact that we were poor people because we dressed so nicely. It gave me confidence we were taught to walk with our heads up. Has growing up in Harlem influenced your style? Yes, Harlem gave me a lot of sauce-that’s what we call it. It’s great place for food, culture, drinks, and lounges are really big. What are some of your regular Harlem spots? Red Rooster is one of my favorite spots in Harlem, and Melba’s is another restaurant I go to. The lookbook was shot with Ferg’s longtime friends on his home turf of Hamilton Heights in Harlem, New York, which is where he called W magazine from one afternoon this summer. Since January 2016, A$AP Ferg and the Los Angeles-based denim brand AGOLDE have been bridging East and West with collaborative capsule collections, the second of which will be available at The Webster on July 20th and starting July 27th. And while he and his peers like A$AP Rocky have publicly demonstrated their love for high-fashion designers like Raf Simons as well as a knack for successful brand collaborations, Ferg in particular is dead serious about his side-hustle as a designer and style savant. 2: Too Cozy, it seems high time to take a closer look at their individual style.The 28-year-old rapper A$AP Ferg is perhaps best known as a member of the notorious New York rap group, the A$AP Mob, with his own hit singles like “Shabba” and “New Level,” as well as his most recent album, East Coast, which dropped this spring. And with the release of their new album, Cozy Tapes Vol. Whether it’s Rocky’s archival Raf garments or A$AP Nast’s collector’s spirit, they each bring something different to the communal table.
And while the Harlem collective may be unified by their love of flair, each member of the mob has their own distinct trademark. And while you may have noticed when Rocky closed out the Hood by Air runway in 2013 or when he modeled in Dior campaigns earlier this year, some of the more underrated members of the mob have just as much swagger, performing at fashion events, creating their own lines, and stunting on Instagram in some truly outlandish looks. Their playful mix of streetwear staples and runway pieces has captivated the fashion world for years they’re quick to rap about their favorite brands (and even diss some others who have fallen out of favor). The fashion influence of A$AP Rocky and the rest of the A$AP Mob crew is well established by now.