Jaden Smith Unpacks His Debut Collection as Christian Louboutin’s Men’s Creative Director

Yet Smith is no opportunist dilettante. One of his first acts after accepting the job was to go on a road trip around the factories in Campania, Italy, where Louboutin’s menswear production, which generates around a quarter of his revenue—is centered. He says the tradition of craft and culture of family-nurtured expertise he discovered there “gave me a real appreciation and understanding, and changed the way I look at shoes and fashion.”

His design instincts, meanwhile, lean towards hybridizing categories. There is a black patent, split-toe penny loafer, the Plato, that has been constructed with a slide-style slingback strap that Smith imagines being worn from the boardwalk to the boardroom. There is a webbing-clad black chelsea boot that he visualizes trekking directly from the walking trail to a formal event. And there is a black cowboy boot style boot whose shaft is printed with a crowd scene shot in Paris by his friend Moises Arias that Smith characterizes as suitable both as a snake boot and for lounge lizards. A formal evening shoe has been perforated with Swiss cheese holes in order to give the wearer as many options as he has socks. There are faux fur boots in Louboutin red and slouchy moon boot hiker hybrids.

Along with this varied footwear footprint, Smith has also worked on a broad accessories range that includes duffels, belts, paintbrush-attached chrome keychains, and other sundries. His 12 pocket leather backpack, with each pocket carefully stamped with its designer’s intended category of contents, is a key piece in what Smith calls the “TCT Formal” aesthetic he is working to establish in this collection.

Jaden Smith says: “I feel like fashion is all about expressing yourself: radical expression through art.” He adds: “And all I can say about myself is that I’m really honored to be here, and I’m blessed and I’m happy. I’m going to do the best that I can do with the opportunities that I have.”