A$AP Rocky Considers Virgil Abloh, Rihanna, and the Craft of Blurring the Gender Boundaries in Fashion
For A$AP Rocky, fashion is a living, breathing chronology as much as a means of expression. He admits, "I recall years by clothing." Designer tags and statement pieces are used to stitch together Rocky's memory; forget calendars or Instagram throwbacks. In the most recent installment of Vogue's Life in Looks, the 2025 Met Gala co-chair, fashion provocateur, and rapper takes us through his wardrobe as if it were a time capsule, filled with silhouettes, anecdotes, and revolutionary design moves.
2025-04-23 16:30:08 - Tress Galloway
From "Fashion Killa" to Fatherhood: The Continually Changing Love Story of Rocky and Rihanna
Before they revolutionized pregnant fashion with campaign-spread-style paparazzi pictures, A$AP The fashion paths of Rihanna and Rocky were already entwined. It was 2013. Style Killa is the song. The idea? To the sexiest female he knew, a love letter.
Rocky remembers, "I basically hit up the flyest lady that I knew." "I have the ideal song, which is essentially about you." Rocky claims that even back then, an unsaid communication took place between them, and Rihanna's name appears immediately in the lyrics. "Back then, she was also aware that she was my boo."
After more than ten years, they are not only life partners but also fashion soulmates—power couple couture embodied.
Regarding Virgil Abloh: A Creative Power and a Kindred Spirit
The late designer Virgil Abloh, who Rocky claims was cut from the same rare cloth, directed the Fashion Killa video, which was more than just a showcase for Rocky's lyrical bravado.
It was simple to work with Virgil. With a rare tenderness, he remarks, "We were kindred spirits." "Given his current situation, big things were bound to happen to him."
Rocky maintains that creative connection, which also includes friendships with visionaries like Jonathan Anderson and Alessandro Michele, even if the death of Abloh continues to reverberate in the fashion industry's corridors. "I occasionally pick [Jonathan's] brain whenever I get to speak to him," he admits, obviously appreciating the creative energy that is shared between them.
The Yellow Balenciaga Vest, the Risks, and the Roasts
Not all fashion risks are neatly executed. A$AP is aware of this. An example? He donned that notorious yellow Balenciaga puffer vest in Milan in 2017. He laughs as he acknowledges, "I will not lie, they roasted me online for this."
Rocky, however, sort of defends the appearance. "If you think about it, this costume was kind of on fire... No, he answers, "I was wildin'." "You get what I mean? That is my Flavor Flav era right there. Although tacky, it was flying.
The point of fashion, particularly Rocky's interpretation of it, is to evoke a feeling in you, even if it is a side-eye.
The Babushka Era: Dissolving the Boundaries of Masculinity
Then there is the Babushka moment, which is Rocky's period of unrepentant gentleness and head-wrapped, flowery Gucci scarves. He remarks, "This was a bold fashion statement." "I decided to accept my role as a grandma's boy."
It was a subliminal protest, not just a glance. "I firmly feel that clothing is no longer a sign of masculinity. "Those boundaries are hazy," he claims. "And I felt it was unjust that men were not allowed to wear glasses and a silk scarf on their heads."
Rocky encapsulates his style philosophy in that one sentence: fashion is about defying expectations, blurring boundaries, and looking darn beautiful while doing it, not about fitting in.
Last Stitch: Fashion as Rebellion, Identity, and Memory
Regarding A$AP Rocky, fashion is a dynamic, ever-evolving story rather than a passing fad. It is the intersection of joy, sadness, identity, and memory. Rocky serves as a reminder that what we wear is never only about our wardrobe, as evidenced by his runway-ready romance with Rihanna, his Virgil-inspired thoughts, and his humorous yet moving reimagining of masculinity.