Jaden Smith’s Choatic Style Got Him That Creative Director Job at…

Christian Louboutin is handing the reins of its men’s line to someone who knows a thing or two about standing out. Jaden Smith’s been named the brand’s first men’s creative director, a role that puts him in charge of four annual collections of shoes, leather goods, and accessories. Louboutin is also hoping Smith can carve out what it calls a “distinctive visual and emotional universe,” spanning campaigns, events, and experiences.

His first capsule will arrive online soon, with a full debut scheduled for January’s men’s fall shows.

“We want to create shoes for the multiverse of men: the grandfather, the father, the oldest son, the youngest son,” Smith told the New York Times. “The patriarch comes from a different time—we need shoes for that man. The father is in more modern times—we need shoes for him, too.”

Smith continued up the family tree, all the way to a rebellious younger son creating his own style. “That’s me and my generation,” he said.

Christian Louboutin himself seemed equally struck by Smith’s breadth. “He’s someone who’s very curious, who’s very panoramic, who does a lot of things, who’s interested and who connects all the things he does,” the designer told WWD. “One of the first questions he had was about our sustainability efforts, because it’s important to him. And that is very, very, very good because we have started to do a lot of important work around sustainability.”

If this sounds like a big ask for a 26-year-old, it’s worth remembering that Smith already co-founded MSFTSrep, a clothing and lifestyle brand. Fashion has always been central to his public identity. And though the focus has rarely been on footwear specifically, his ability to accessorize, experiment, and straight-up weird people out has made him one of the most unpredictable dressers of his generation.

@christianlouboutin Maison Christian Louboutin is pleased to welcome Jaden Smith as the first Men’s Creative Director. “When I first met Jaden, I saw in him a natural fit for the Maison, his world is rich and multidimensional, his style and cultural sensibility are inspiring and his curiosity and openness are remarkable. I felt that with his creative direction our men’s collection would evolve in an exciting and dynamic way. He feels like the perfect addition to our creative team and I am truly looking forward to having fun working with him on our men’s collections.” — Christian Louboutin #ChristianLouboutin ♬ original sound - Christian Louboutin

His Ability to Accessorize

Jaden Smith’s style has always had strange and intriguing flair that lands most of the time. He’s the guy who wore a hat the size of a small apartment to the Grammys, and the same guy who carried his freshly cut locs down the Met Gala carpet like they were a clutch. Where most people worry about details, he bends them until they’re the whole point, turning even the strangest add-ons into something that somehow makes sense.

Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

He Loves to Play With Silhouettes and Colors

In Jaden’s fashion world, one week, it’s oversize puffers swallowing him whole. The next, it’s a razor-sharp tailored suit. At Paris Fashion Week, he pulled a cropped, mirrored Louis Vuitton look straight from the women’s resort line like it was nothing. Color theory? He ignores it. To him, neon green should only ever go with checkerboard pants. He’ll wear it with a straight face and make you wonder why you don’t.

He’s Simply Unafraid to Be Weird

There’s eccentric, and then there’s showing up to dinner in a Iron Man suit, which Jaden has actually done. For him, “weird” isn’t a misstep, it might as well be the assignment. The joy is in how far he’ll push fashion boundaries. There are moments that make you do a double-take and then, begrudgingly, admit it kind of works. The looks that make you stop, squint, maybe even laugh at first, are the same ones on some people’s mood board. He basically leans so hard into being odd that it stops feeling odd at all.

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