S. Samuel
New York rapper A$AP Rocky has something to brag about after picking up an award for his fashion tastes at the 2013 Style Icon Awards this week in South Korea.
According to reports, Rocky accepted an award at the style-themed awards show this past week.
A$AP Rocky and G-Dragon accepted prizes at the 2013 Style Icon Awards held Thursday in the South Korean capital. The U.S. hip-hop artist visited the country for the first time for the internationally broadcast event, calling it a meaningful feat for street fashion. “I appreciate [the Style Icon Awards] for understanding urban culture and street fashion, because people like me get to be iconic and get my respect from people who have a level of taste for high fashion or art,” the singer told local press after being named Global Style Icon. (Hollywood Reporter)
A$AP also used the big night to perform a few notable records like radio-friendly hit “Fashion Killa.”
He performed “Fashion Killa” and “Wild for the Night.” The ceremony was held at the CJ E&M Center, the headquarters of the Korean entertainment giant. The event was broadcast live in Korea, Southeast Asia, and the U.S. It was also streamed online on CJ E&M’s global.mnet.com, China’s largest portal site sohu.com, and YouTube. When asked if he had plans to collaborate with Korean artists, the musician said he would like to do so one day. “I don’t have any plans yet but I don’t see nothing wrong with that. I would love to collaborate. CL is cool,” he said referring to the member of local girl band 2NE1. (Hollywood Reporter)
Earlier this year, Rocky gushed over his knowledge of the clothing industry and described his knack for understanding all things fashion-related.
“Nah, I’m not. I wouldn’t toot my own horn like that. I just know what I know,” the rapper told us. “Fashion is almost like a religion, for me at least…I get it, I identify with it. It’s just one of those things that I’m into. I can’t help that I know it. It’s like subconscious.” Say what you want about A$AP, but the man knows his stuff. After all, he’s been doing his research since he was kid. “Before my dad went to jail, I used to get a good allowance. I used to buy Jordans and Nike and Tommy [Hilfiger].” And while he name drops designers in his lyrics, it’s the labels he was wearing back in the day that gives him the street cred. “I was a fan of Raf [Simons] way back when. Like, I was wearing Rick Owens and they were looking at me like, ‘What the f*ck is on your feet? You have space boots on!'” (The Coveteur)
The Harlem native also revealed just how far he’ll go to find some gear.
A$AP calls himself a “scavenger shopper,” telling us he used to (and still does!) hit up consignment stores for cheap high-end clothes. “I remember one time I went to Craigslist to find something; that’s how bad I wanted it.” As for that piece that got away? “It was a pair of Raf Simons. But [Raf] said he was going to make them for me.” Now that’s what we like to call being hooked up! It’s A$AP’s runway, people, we’re all just walking it. LONG.LIVE.A$AP! (The Coveteur)
Rocky recently talked about wanting to have knowledge of fashion even at a young age.
“I came up in a world that was just crazy — and it was hectic and kind of radical at the same time. For me, growing up in Harlem and then migrating down to SoHo and the lower East Side and chillin’ down there and making that my stomping ground . . . That was a big thing, because I’m from Harlem, and downtown is more artsy and also more open-minded. So I got the best of both worlds. It was like being on the streets and then being in school at the same time, and I tried to keep my hands in everything just so I wasn’t missing out on any fun. I just always wanted to be knowledgeable of my whereabouts, my surroundings, and what was going on with our generation,” he says. (NY Daily News)
