This cover story appears in the pages of VMAN 54: now available for purchase!

On any given night in Paris—situated between the Arc de Triomphe and Place Vendôme—pop culture’s MVPs clink glasses at Le Bristol. The hotel has been a meeting point for everyone from Charlie Chaplin to US Presidents, but on this particular evening, the venue hosts one of fashion’s elite curators and one of music’s most enigmatic names. Over dinner at the mutually favored spot in the city of lights, a conversation about design, community, and just about everything in between unfurls between Adrian Joffe—president of Comme des Garçons and Dover Street Market—and A$AP Nast on the evening of the Harlem-born rapper’s album cover shoot. Few names in hip-hop are as inextricably linked to high fashion as Nast and the iconic members of New York’s A$AP Mob—who arguably elevated rap style to its throne within contemporary menswear. Although nearly four decades separate the two men, it’s their mutual passion for style [and a much-adored copy of the Visionaire 20: Comme des Garçons issue] that proves how an unwavering spirit for bringing art to the masses can bond just about anyone in the name of fashion.

ADRIAN JOFFE: Tell us about your day today.

A$AP NAST: My day today was just legendary, one for the books for me and my career in general, considering I’ve been in the industry for so long now. I think that people have yet to really be able to get to know me and what this album is. I feel like people got a little glimpse of it, but now this is the full package. You get everything: the music, the styling, the taste, everything that comes into that. I shot my album cover with Paolo Roversi, which is iconic for me, considering I come from the Comme umbrella. Seeing the work that you guys have done together has always been super inspiring for me. And I always view myself in front of the camera by the people who helped you bring your visions to the forefront, into the light. Today was extremely special and emotional because I would never in a million years think that this would happen. People dream big all the time, but that doesn’t mean dreams come true for everyone. Today, my dream came true, and that’s wonderful.

AJ: How did you first met Paolo. How did that happen? Was it by accident?

AN: Well, it was at the opening of Dover Street Market in Paris. I was invited to come through, and I did, as you know I would. I ate a couple of croissants and pastries, and someone asked me if I wanted to meet Paolo, and I thought that was pretty crazy because I didn’t think I would ever see this guy in person. Of course I said yeah. And I met him, and it was very brief. As we were leaving, he was [also] leaving right behind us. Immediately as I see this guy, I’m like, maybe you don’t just walk up on Paolo Roversi and ask him for an album cover, that’s not the way it works. And [my publicist] Ella was like, ‘Yeah, sure you do’ and I was like, ‘Nah, I don’t want to be the guy to do it, you do it’. And then she’s like, ‘Okay’, moved me out the way. Literally walks up to the man and strikes the question, and I’m thinking immediately he’s going to say no. And it was the complete opposite. He said yes, right there on the spot. It happened just like that. Months later, we’re at this point now, and we’re actually doing it.

Hooded base layer ADIDAS ORIGINALS by AVAVAV / Pants and socks Y-3 / Black net oversized frilly tutu bag and black polished leather cut-out red multi lace tie brogues SIMONE ROCHA / Jewelry and glasses talent’s own

AJ: Why is the album suddenly coming out now? Because you’ve been making music for a long time.

AN: I don’t know. One day I just woke up and I felt like something was missing in my life. I’m doing all these great things and working in fashion, and I kind of feel that I made my mark in the fashion world around me, and I’m like, ‘Okay, what else? What am I missing that I’m not doing? Oh, the music.’ I forgot I was a musician for a second, just living life and doing things my way. I woke up one day and I was just like, ‘I need to put an album out.’ I need to make a solid body of work and give it to the fans and for myself, most importantly. Because I love music; I love rap. It’s a major aspect of my life that isn’t that right now. So many people love me for it. And I feel like I’m depriving not only myself; I’m depriving the fans of what they want and what they need. Every day I’m in the street; I’m in Dover Street, and people are like, ‘Yo, what’s up? We’re happy to have you here, but where’s the album?’ And I’m like, ‘Ah, yeah, you’re right. Cat got my tongue there.’

AJ: So can you say how high fashion and style inform the music? Is it two separate things completely or no?

AN: No, absolutely not. I think the music and fashion always kind of went hand in hand. Now more than ever, because to be an artist these days you’ve got to be the full package. The kids are like, ‘Oh great, you sound great. But what do you look like?’ They love that vibe, that story that’s like, ‘I’m a musician, but I have this great fashion story that goes along with the music.’

AJ: And it’s not just what you look like, it’s also what you think, and what you’re interested in, what you believe in—the whole package.

AN: Yeah, exactly. I agree with you, absolutely.

AJ: From Junya Watanabe and Comme, I’ve seen you wearing all the other brands. I’ve seen you wearing Play, I’ve seen you wearing BLACK. Do you think it’s a good idea to have all of those brands?

AN: Yeah, absolutely. Because there’s something for everyone within Comme. People always ask me why I like Comme. Because there’s literally something for everyone. There’s pieces that’re—all right—that’s a bit too wild. But that one wild piece, that might be the piece that someone’s been looking for their entire life, and you guys have it there. And then you have the piece for me, and you have the piece for everyone else. Having multiple brands within the brand is genius. There’s no designer like Rei [Kawakubo]. You can’t meet another designer that has made so many other successful designers under her umbrella. If you’re not a Junya guy, do you like Sacai, what do you like? We have everyone here. That’s what makes Comme my all time favorite. If all of the other brands got erased from the face of the planet and [yet] Comme and Rei and you guys exist, I’ll be perfectly fine. I’m good. I will forever have my Comme collection. And when I die, I’m probably going to get buried with all of that because I don’t want anybody with the pieces.

AJ: It’s amazing what you’re saying.

Wool knit and gabardine tweed trousers PRADA / Bracelet talent’s own / Rings O’THONGTHAI // On Skin PRADA BEAUTY Augmented Skin Face Serum

AN: I’m selfish.

AJ: How did a guy from West Harlem get into it? Where did you first see it?

AN: I think just seeing it around, that’s just kind of how we were. We were really young. But our eyes were really open. We would do a lot of research on the brands that we love, and we knew the stories behind them, where they came from, what the heritage of Comme [was], and all of the brands that we were into. We weren’t like street kids that put on stuff, just to put it on. We were happy to know the story, the history behind it, the fabrics, where they come from, why it was chosen.

AJ: What about the music? Were you doing it at the same time?

AN: Of course, it was all hand in hand for us. It was just like, ‘Yo, if we’re going to make this music, we got to look good. We got to look the part, or we got to look a certain way.’ And it was only us as a collective, the whole A$AP [mob]. We were competitive amongst each other. We would battle amongst each other. When I see Rocky, I’m like, ‘Oh, okay. So is that what you did today?’ And now when I come out, I gotta make sure my outfit’s better than yours. We just kept that kind of competitiveness sealed off from the outside world. That’s how we became A$AP, and that’s how we ended up on top of fashion and shit. You know, bigging up guys like Raf [Simons] and Rick [Owens] and all these guys. Like we totally feel responsible for a lot of this. And we are. You can literally go back in time, and the proof is always in the pudding, if you really want to know the truth, for anyone who has doubts on that. But we took a lot of bullets for what’s happening in the music industry and the fashion world and the mix as it is today. We feel very proud. Everywhere you look, A$AP is there somewhere. This is just us making our stamp and leaving our mark on history, whether it’s fashion or music.

Wool tuxedo jacket, silk shirt, silk tie, wool pants SAINT LAURENT by Anthony Vaccarello / Glasses GENERAL EYEWEAR / Ring O’THONGTHAI

AJ: It’s a very important movement

AN: The movie about us, has to be mental.

AJ: You’ve got to play yourselves.

AN: And there’s so many different aspects about it. How we were growing up, sneaking into like Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week and like having Anna Wintour stop and looking [at us] like ‘Who are these kids on the steps of like Phillip Lim and Ralph Lauren shows? Who are these kids? You know, like we were those kids, if we couldn’t get in [through] the front, we’d go to the back.

AJ: That’s amazing.

AN: We were going to find a way to get into these shows. We’re going to make ourselves seen. Musically, we brought back slam dance and mosh pit and all those different things, those aspects of music [that were] involved during punk rock culture of the ‘80s and ‘90s. We brought that shit back to the stage. We’re the reason.  Look at every show right now, you can’t name one artist right now, especially one that’s doing what we do, that’s not telling people ‘Open up the mosh pit.’ That wasn’t happening until we came back around, we brought that back. We [were] wearing black, all blacked out everywhere we [went]. Not to say that it hasn’t happened before, but you haven’t seen it in such a while. And that’s how we were. We love to kind of break down barriers and create new things, but also revisit the past and things that our generation don’t really know anything about. This is what we’re into, this is what inspired us. And all the other kids are like, ‘Oh that is sick. We want to do that too.’ We want to critique that and add that into our stage performance or the way we come outside looking now, you know. You can’t not see our mark in the industry right now. Everywhere you look, A$AP is there somewhere, you know, we’ve done so much for this industry.

AJ: Is it still as strong as it used to be? Or you’re going more in your own ways?

AN: Yeah, I think a collective is how they want us to be, but I think that the overall goal. From the beginning, it was for us to start as a collective but then branch out into doing our own thing—but then come back and do the reunion where everyone is alive, and we lost some soldiers on the way. But, you know, that was the overall goal; have everyone start as a collective. Our brother Yams, rest in peace, that was originally his vision. Honestly, when he passed away, we didn’t know how we wanted to continue.

AJ: What was his exact vision for the collective?

AN: He was the founder and CEO with another brother of ours. His vision was just for us to simply be a collective but a sick one, one that tells a modern-day story about some young kids from Harlem who go into fashion and music.

AJ: Because it’s more powerful as a group with that synergy that happens between you?

AN: Exactly, but I think he knew in the beginning that we wouldn’t stay a collective, but we would do as much as we could [together], and I think we did. We put out some albums and done a bunch of collaborations with brands. We’ve done a lot of stuff that we liked as a collective, and I think now it’s time to see everyone because the only one you really seen on his own is Rocky. He’s the one that held the torch for a long time, and that led us. But now I’m dropping [things], Twelvyy is dropping, he’s got an album now, and Ferg is dropping. Everyone’s kind of doing their own thing right now, but we’re still A$AP Mob. We’re not separated, which some people think we are.

Padded tailored jacket MARTINE ROSE / Shirt and tie OLLY SHINDER / Rings CHROME HEARTS, O’THONGTHAI / Gingham wool zip trousers BURBERRY / Classic Wheat boots TIMBERLAND

AJ: It sounds like a loose collective but very coherent.

AN: Absolutely

AJ: But you don’t have to tell each other what you’re about to do, right?

AN: I mean, yeah, we do. I think we want to keep it that way, as we know as much as we possibly can.

AJ: Sounds like the ideal sort of collective, you know, not many rules. Just the spirit that holds you together.

AN: It’s not like we’re industry plants that are made up, and some industry labels were like, ‘Yo, you guys need to form a group’. We had to make that a thing. Labels didn’t believe in rap camps, like boy bands and that kind of thing again.

AJ: It’s really authentic that no-one made you, you made yourself.

AN: So when Rocky released [his own music], I remember shopping around to labels, and they were kind of like ‘huh?’. They weren’t trying to hear that we were a collective. They were like ‘We’ll just take A$AP Rocky’ and Rocky’s like ‘Nah man, this is my crew, this is my camp, we kind of came in this together, you know?’

Nylon jacket Y-3 / Hooded base layer ADIDAS ORIGINALS by AVAVAV / Ring O’THONGTHAI, talent’s own / Embellished military hat PIÈCES UNIQUES x ABELA / Washed leather pants and Labryinthe cowboy belt PIÈCES UNIQUES / Adidas Originals Superstar leather sneakers ADIDAS

AJ: But the labels didn’t want that?

AN: They didn’t, they weren’t really up for that as much, you know? We found Sony, and they found us all as a collective, and they kind of saw eye to eye with Rocky and the vision that we have for ourselves.

AJ: As individuals as well.

AN: Yeah, because you know obviously Rocky’s our first member, but it wasn’t like it was all of his idea; we wanted to be a collective. We respect Rocky as a lead and commander-in-chief because he was the one that broke the doors down, and he kept that vision. He could’ve easily been like ‘I’ll come back and get you guys, I’m gonna go take these solo deals and do that.’ And he was like ‘Nah, these are my boys. We’re real brothers.’

AJ: Amazing.

AN: He kept the glue between us.

AJ: And you all grew up together?

AN: Yeah, all of us. So we’re real brothers, and it’s not like something that was made up.

AJ: That’s why it’s totally unique.

AN: Yeah, that’s why it’s had such a crazy impact. And then everyone has different styles.

AJ: So Comme is like the collective equivalent of A$AP Mob: family and community.

AN: I just love how you guys are so left field. I always say you guys can put stores anywhere. People hate traveling to certain places to go shopping. But when it comes to Dover, if it’s at the end of the moon and you got to get on a fucking boat to another boat, and then you got to take a submarine up to another boat.

AJ: And then a rocket.

AN: I would do that to go to Dover, and I know for sure it’s not just me, it’s so many other people. Even when you guys put Dover in downtown LA, everyone was like, ‘Oh, downtown.’

AJ: Everybody said, ‘You’re going to regret that.’

AN: Did you guys regret that?

AJ: Oh no, we never.

AN: That’s right, exactly. I feel like that’s how all of your stores are, like [the one in] New York. [There’s] nothing around it.

AJ: Yeah, Murray Hill, they all said that. Don’t go to Murray Hill. People won’t go there. I said ‘You wait.’

AN: Y’all have that power to go and do whatever you want to, and people are going to follow. You’re the only people that can do that, no one else can do that.

AJ: But luckily, it’s not totally for everybody. Not everybody’s going to go to Murray Hill, not Everybody’s going to go downtown.

AN: Exactly.

AJ: Not everybody’s going to go to the end of the moon, you know, but it’s enough people.

AN: I know you guys, it’s not about the money for y’all. It’s about art, and that’s why I buy into this.

AJ: The first thing is not money. You need to survive, you need to grow.

AN: Obviously, you gotta make some money, I know that. But you know, first, it’s always the art. And I think that’s why people love y’all. I remember when it was such a smaller brand. I’m aware that the fragrances and CDG play help the brand.

AJ: You really get it.

AN: I’m a real Comme boy for real. I was born to be this guy, this is not like a gimmick thing. I don’t play. Anyone will tell you, you can touch anything else in my closet [but if] that’s a Comme piece, I’m going to lose it. I’m going to seriously lose it. The way my brain works, it registers when a piece goes missing, my antenna is up. I lost this jean jacket that I love, I hunted it down for so long. Still looking for the pants. Can’t find them anywhere. I have what I call ‘Japanese hunters’. Like anything Comme, I text them and then they go into the field, and they find it.

AJ: Have you been to Japan?

AN: Yeah. Of course. I’m trying to stop myself from going there right now because I’m having a clothing crisis. So I’m like, maybe I don’t need to go to Japan right now. I need to like, chill.

AJ: Finish the album.

AN: Yeah.

Wool tuxedo jacket, silk shirt, silk tie, wool pants SAINT LAURENT by Anthony Vaccarello / Glasses GENERAL EYEWEAR / Ring O’THONGTHAI

AJ: Do you think what you do is for everybody? Or like Comme des Garçons, just the people who know and understand it? Do you want to appeal to the whole world?

AN: I personally don’t care to appeal, I’m not trying to appeal. I’m into what I’m into, and I like what I like. Most people don’t understand Comme. Maybe this is supposed to be this world for these kinds of people. Whatever world is cool for you over there, that’s fine. But I’m not into that world. This is my world. And then VMAN is just extremely iconic to me because these are magazines that I grew up flicking through pages of. The idea of being on the cover of VMAN was just surreal to me. I’m extremely grateful, what can I say?

AJ: I want to ask you one last question, are you thinking about making any merch for this celebratory year you’re coming up to?

AN: I am working on some stuff, man. I’m actually very blessed to say that I’ve gotten the chance to work with Comme Des Garcons on my merch for this album, and I cannot wait for [everyone] to experience it because I can’t wait. I can’t wait to wear this stuff myself.

AJ: I can’t wait to see what you want us to do.

AN: I’m just excited for everything that we’re working on right now. The album being done and working with Comme and and just all the great things that we’re doing right now, that’s what I’m excited for in the near future. I hope everyone else is as excited as we are, and I hope they understand it. And if they don’t, fuck em.

This cover story appears in the pages of VMAN 54: now available for purchase!

Photography Alvaro Beamud Cortes

Fashion Anna Trevelyan

Creative Director / Editor-in-Chief Stephen Gan

Grooming Taiba Akuhetie (Keash)

Prop stylist Josh Stovell

Digitech Sacha Phillips

Production The Production Factory

1st Photo assistant Simone Triacca

2nd Photo assistant Oran Eggerton

Stylist assistants Leonie Dennett, Keisha Adams, Nkechi Managwu, Timmy Taiwo

Prop stylist assistant Dan Wilson

Retouching Camillo Bernardi Studio