The top comment on the post, however, was: “I like some of the SZA songs. WTF does she know about shoes?” It was a reference to a much-memed comment made by Kanye West years ago, in response to Lady Gaga being announced as Polaroid’s creative director: “I like some of the Gaga songs — WTF does she know about cameras?”
This news came right on the heels of another similar headline: Law Roach, the stylist extraordinaire who is the man behind Zendaya’s style icon status, is apparently in talks to purchase the struggling French fashion house Ungaro, which was founded in 1965 by designer Emanuel Ungaro. As a stylist and image architect, his skillset is closer to that of a traditional fashion designer.
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Plus, let’s not forget that A$AP Rocky was announced as the first creative director of sunglasses brand Ray-Ban earlier this year… What ever happened to the celebrity ambassador? In 2021, Kendall Jenner was announced as creative director of FWRD: an e-tailer which stocks fashion brands and does not create its own products. So perhaps a title like “curator” may have been more apt.
Of course, celebrity fashion collaborations are nothing new: Vans previously had a successful partnership with Tyler, the Creator and his brand Golf Wang from 2013 to 2016. Lindsay Lohan actually briefly held the title of artistic advisor at Ungaro in 2009, though this didn’t last more than a season. It was also made clear that Lindsay was collaborating with the brand’s actual head designer, Estrella Archs, rather than pretending she’d cooked it all up herself. (Regardless, the collection was absolutely bashed by the industry.)
Celebrity fashion brands are hardly a novelty either: from Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s The Row (launched in 2006), to Kylie Jenner’s Khy, launched in 2023. Sean John (made by disgraced rapper P. Diddy) and Kimora Lee Simmons’ Baby Phat are just a few more examples.