Since the beginning of Paris Fashion Week Menswear Spring/Summer 2025, rumours have swirled that A$AP Rocky is taking his first foray on the international fashion stage with a secret show.
The rapper has long been a fixture in the fashion world and since starting a family with artist, businesswoman and billionaire, Rihanna, he has become even more deeply embedded in the scene.
When an invitation to a show named “A$AP Rocky: AMERICAN SABOTAGE” landed in my inbox, I knew it was going to be special. If you know anything about Flacko, he doesn’t do things by halves.
The hotly anticipated show announced the launch of the rapper’s AWGE collection during Paris Fashion Week with a special runway. The collection promised to intertwine art with activism, with the express aim of challenging the status quo.
When I arrive at the venue for the secret show, I realise the scope of Rocky’s vision, which is set to be impressive.
The show sets stage in The Hôtel de Maisons – a French stately home replete with ornate baroque gold fixtures and huge crystal chandeliers. Pumping from the entrance of the venue is rap music and flashing lights.
In an interview with GQ, Rocky said the show would be a “political satire” and upon setting foot inside the private mansion, this was made evident.
The vast mansion is flooded with political posters of mock articles with headlines stating: “Every US citizen has agreed to be more than happy to be pissed off.”
The small print details the discontent felt at the lack of social and economic mobility provided under the current US government.
Posters state: “Pull up your pants, no one wants to see your underwear,” highlighting the intersection between style and politics and A$AP’s use of fashion as an act of protest.
While guests wait, unheard tracks from the rapper’s long awaited upcoming album “Don’t Be Dumb” are teased through the DJ booth.
On the runway, Rocky’s collection holds a mirror up not only to his own personal style, but also to US political history.
Emblems on t-shirts state “Harrisburg, Pennsylvania”, a core tenet of the American Underground Railroad Network which helped people escape slavery in the 1900s.
Details also include “1865”, the year the Thirteenth Amendment was ratified, formally abolishing slavery under the US constitution.
One item resembles a bulletproof vest, echoing the iconic Union Jack printed stab-proof vest worn by Stormzy during his headline Glastonbury set in 2019.
From the front row, Rihanna beams with pride at her partner’s accomplishments.
Between them, the power couple boasts an impressive set of accolades: a series of music, beauty and fashion empires and in 2022, Rihanna became the youngest self-made female billionaire.
Throughout the show, Rihanna looks on intently at Rocky’s designs, proudly films and cheers at the finale. She is here in a supporting capacity: tonight is about him and the presence the duo carry can be felt all the way across the mansion.
The finale of the show is jubilant as Rocky comes to whooping applause and the relief on his face is evident: he did it at last.
Launching his first show has been a long time coming for A$AP Rocky. He has been the poster boy for Gucci, Dior, and fashion cahoots with Belgian designer Raf Simons for so long that they are colloquially known as fashion’s father and son duo.
For a show like American Sabotage, there’s only one way to celebrate – with champagne, Hennessy cocktails and politically charged cakes.
Guests gather round as waiters cut into an edible ammunition tray, stocked with guns and rounds labelled: “It’s easier to buy a gun than a cake”; as well as an Uncle Sam hat; a gavel and block, and a block of white powder, stacked under rolls of notes.
As the newly-knighted designer cuts into his slice, he is surrounded by congratulations and words of support. The tone of the show might have been protest but the aftermath written all over Rocky’s face is peace: a man who has alchemised his long-awaited vision into a reality. – BBC
By Georgia Bell