Can you turn a vibe into wearable, covetable merchandise? Jaden Smith’s second collection seems to be Christian Louboutin’s experiment to test this hypothesis.
Having Jaden Smith as a creative director automatically yields a double-edged sword. With a famous last name and an already well-known persona, it’s easy for observers to judge with a magnifying glass. Do it well, and it’s obviously expected; do it poorly and the world is waiting to see you fall. Nepotism gives way to an audience who are eager to measure you against their expectations.
Does Louboutin need him more than he needs Louboutin? If FW26 was a prelude, a trial to get his feet wet with the role, then SS27 counts as full immersion to showcase his creative prowess, extending into a concrete body of work.
Jaden Smith is an arbiter of vibe. You look to the way he dresses and carries himself to try and emulate a laidback attitude that only a nepo baby can exude, mostly. There’s an innate understanding of what looks good and what feels right — all without doing too much. According to the press notes, his design language is rooted in an “archaeological and dreamlike perspective”, leading him to present pieces reminiscent of ruins of a forgotten world. Frankly speaking, it feels like an afterthought or an over explanation for the pieces.
From claw-shaped clogs, cargo vests, to a bow and arrow set for accessories, discordance seems to be the defining theme for SS27. You can see traces of Smith’s intuition, serving as a driving factor to play, defy, and ultimately adhere to the boundaries of technical craftsmanship.
It’s not quite “let’s be weird for the sake of being weird”, it’s more a reflection of what moves him, which appears to be a cacophony of textures and emotions. If you look at the pieces as fragments of his mind, each serving as an objet d’art, you would find it easier to swallow his presentation.
Red is simply the part of the language he enlists to transcribe his fleeting thoughts into concrete objects. He clearly knows what looks good on him and has a strong proposal to his audience, but as he progresses, he needs to make a stance. Does he lean heavier into his creative gut to further push the boundaries of Christian Louboutin into a clash of ideas, or does he find a way to wrap his ideas into a sleek, tidy bow that is easily digestible?
A vibe, as abbreviated from the word vibration, arises from a transference of energy. Sound energy appears like music to some, but noise to others. What will his work be perceived as as time progresses?
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