AWGE By A$AP Rocky Collection Highlights Rapper’s Recent Legal Woes

Collections by famous people always draw a bit of anticipation, the least of which is the chance to see the celebrity-turned-fashion-designer walk the runway. Such was the case for the debut of the AWGE line by A$AP Rocky held Friday night in Paris. While it was ultimately worth the wait, the circumstances of the production tested many a guest’s patience.

Held at the Church of the Star, the “Obligatory Fashion” show had guests cueing up around 8:30 PM for the 9 PM show. Outside were members of the brand’s unofficial posse, generally dressed in baggy jeans, T-shirts, and hat and headscarf combos, chanted ‘Obligatory’, the show’s name, as VIPs began to filter in while the crowd waited.

Once Rihanna and the couple’s son Riot arrived, guests were allowed to enter at 9:45 PM. In the church entryway, an AWGE SWAT team, yielding huge assault rifles, greeted the crowd who walked through makeshift metal detectors, part of the set design.

On the ceiling of the Neo-Gothic church, a ‘fresco’ was projected depicting symbols of American justice (or repression depending on your viewpoint ) such as a judges bench, the Statue of Liberty, a Supreme courthouse, the American flag as well as other imagery such as angels, the dollar bill, Jesus Christ, cross grave markers and figures wearing streetwear with slogans such as “Don’t Be Dumb”, an expression gracing a banner the posse outside was holding.

Guests such as Phoenix Suns’ Center Nick Richards and Trey Murphy III, the Pelicans’ shooting guard, sweltered for about another 50 minutes in the church that wasn’t equipped with any ventilation, a typical phenomenon here in scorching Paris, and water sponsors are also non-existent, apparently. Once RiRi and the baby made a ceremonious second entrance to the show, the ‘defile’ finally began at 10:35.

In the church’s altar, a faux judge’s benchraised at least twenty feet, a model posed as a judge in an almost deity fashion. The runway was dotted with several more ‘metal detectors’ as the show was a nod to the recent legal kerfuffles Rocky had experienced and expressed through uniforms and institutional dress while simultaneously raising “ghetto” design tropes to luxury. This idea was furthered in the A$AP Rocky soundtrack that played.

Reflecting his legal ordeal were suits worn with bullet-proof vests, a simple double-breasted white suit tightly fitted on a female model, and male models in various suiting accessorized with the legal-size paper and folders.

In nods to his uptown New York upbringing, the streetwear side of things included layered looks like parkers worn off the shoulders, flannel styles, often as a skirt over pants, baggy pants with bandanas hanging off them, usually accessorized with a 40 in brown paper bag, only this time with a rose sticking out of the bottle neck. A deck of cards print graced several styles. The Puma sneaker collab debuted, and models wore the rapper’s Ray-Ban collaboration.

As the show ended, the man of the hour took his bow and stopped to kiss his wife and carry his son off the runway. Guests rushed the exit for some fresh air.

For those who didn’t endure the heat, the show was livestreamed globally by Cash App, who recently partnered with Rocky to receive $1 million in unexpected Cash App Afterpay balance payoffs. Or they can stop by the AWGE Sample Sale Pop-Up in Le Marais, Paris, on June 29th and 30th.