BLURRED LINES
/A reaction to Jaden Smith’s Louis Vuitton SS16 campaign.
–written by Felton Kizer @feltonkizer
As a Black male, seeing Jaden Smith's Louis Vuitton Spring/Summer ‘16 campaign debut was magical. Louis Vuitton is classic. Like Dior, Fendi, Gucci, and Prada–their designs are forever cemented in fashion and aren’t going out of style anytime soon.
Making Jaden the face of their latest collection symbolizes the current cultural climate of 2016. He looks amazing–his skin is flawless and evokes a natural, youthful glow. He's confident in his own skin and clearly doesn't care what anyone has to say about it–hence him rocking a few skirts.
He's the epitome of a carefree black boy creating his own standards and guidelines.
–image from louis vuitton
I grew up dealing with the repercussions of society’s preconceived ideas and guidelines on how to be a Black "man" and how to carry myself as such. Because my mother raised me to be comfortable and confident in my own skin, I never felt less than when I didn't meet all of the standards.
Growing up I didn't have a Jaden Smith to look up to or to aspire to be like. There were no "weird" Black boys in the media. There were only the gangster type–which was great for those who could connect to that type, but I never could completely. So, I would take bits and pieces from other people to mold myself into who I am today.
Jaden Smith proves how blurred the lines of character, personality and gender really are. In a decade or two, gender and sexual orientation will be irrelevant when it comes to someone’s personal makeup. With terms of gender and sexual fluidity, things are no longer so black or white–there’s really a lot of grey.
People are not interested in being categorized into boxes anymore–we just want to be comfortable in our own skin.
