Travis Scott’s SUV rolls into Milk Studios in Hollywood. He and his friends get out, but leave the sound system on. 21 Savage’s hit track “Bank Account” thumps against the photo studio walls, rattling equipment. The vibe of the shoot becomes almost immediately moody. Scott changes into looks from his new collaboration capsule collection with Ksubi and purple smoke pours out of a fog machine, making the whole scene feel like some forgotten dream.
“I’ve been wearing Ksubi since before the opportunity came to collaborate,” says Scott after the shoot winds down. He’s rolling a blunt in a greenroom that comes fully stocked with Fruit Roll-Ups and Gushers and all manner of ’90s snacks. “That shit is dope. Dumb crazy. It makes you feel like you’re in an action movie.”
Thrills have long been Ksubi’s calling card. They first earned the infamy tag when they released 250 rats onto the runway in Sydney in 2001, so the action-movie aesthetic is fitting. The pieces in the Ksubi x Travis Scott collaboration, for instance, hang off the body like if Batman went health-goth, and the denim jeans (for which Ksubi is most famous) are shredded beyond what could be termed distressed. They’re more like what would happen to pants if you robbed a bank, which led to a car chase, and ended in an explosion.
“Distressed jeans are a sign you’ve been through some shit, more so than a clean jean,” says Scott, who has long shopped at Ksubi’s La Brea location in Los Angeles, picking up the elevated streetwear he couldn’t find in his native Houston. “Like I’m down to get dirty.”
Other pieces in Ksubi x Travis Scott collection include a T-shirt with a hand-drawn rendering of Scott’s famous eagle motif, and a tee with a flaming version of the Ksubi “no dollar” print. Several pairs of the collection’s distressed jeans have double pockets, something that the Texas-born Scott considers a Houstonian accent.
“We really wanted to deconstruct shit, so I deconstructed the pockets,” says Scott about his contribution to the collection. “I just wanted to keep it Texas culture—just real simple. Ready-to-wear dope shit. I just drew on the shit. Just fucking around.”
Ksubi, which started in Australia in 1999 (when it was called Tsubi), is having a moment in the rap world right now. The A$AP Mob (including Rocky and Ferg) are regularly seen in Ksubis—and even mention the brand on their records—as are The Weeknd and Vince Staples. Lil Uzi Vert, the Taylor Gang, Playboi Carti, Danny Brown, and XXXTentacion have all name-dropped Ksubi on tracks as well.
So it makes sense that label CEO Craig King approached Scott, whose AstroWorld record is one of the most anticipated albums dropping this fall, to headline their first collaboration since the Jeremy Loves Ksubi capsule the label created with Moschino’s Jeremy Scott in 2008.
“Certain brands cater to the culture,” says Scott about the love Ksubi gets from rappers. “Sometimes clothes make it through generations of artists, and it’s just because the designer is designing to the time and the culture. That’s what I think it dope about brands [like Ksubi]: It’s dope when a brand can captivate what’s going on with kids—it’s not out of touch. With or without me.”
As for Travis Scott, the fashion icon, it’s another feather in his cap after a successful collaboration with Helmut Lang earlier this year, and the launch of his own coveted Hood Toyota tour merch brand.
“Helmut Lang was more so fashion, my Hood Toyota shit was just merch for tour, and this is the shit that I’m like, man, when I’m dippin’ at my crib,” says Scott, who is reportedly expecting a baby with Kylie Jenner. “This is what I want to slide out in, wear everyday, all day, when I’m chillin’ at the crib, when I just wanna take a shower after getting out of my pajamas, and put these on, go outside, and chill. And it’s fresh, too, [for a] party. I like to mix up levels. I didn’t want to make nothing that was too out of reach.”
