Dior has announced that it will postpone its Cactus Jack collection, designed in collaboration with Travis Scott, indefinitely.
WWD reports that the capsule collection will not be released in the near future and that there is no indication whether it would be released at all. A source familiar with the situation tells Highsnobiety that the decision to postpone the upcoming collection was mutual, made by both Travis Scot and Dior, with both parties working to reschedule the launch for a later date.
This announcement comes following the tragic events at Astroworld Fest, where multiple people died after crowd trouble during Travis Scott and Drake’s performance.
Both artists came under fire in the wake of the incident for not stopping their performance when it became clear that people required medical attention. Scott has also been criticized heavily for the alleged understaffing of the event, as well as the reported cost-cutting that ultimately led to an unsafe environment for festival-goers.
Since Astroworld Fest, Travis Scott has stayed out of the limelight, only making an appearance in an interview with The Breakfast Club co-host Charlamagne tha God to speak about what had happened. Scott is currently facing several lawsuits, including a class-action lawsuit filed on the behalf of 282 clients seeking $2 billion damages.
"The defendants [Scott and Drake, whose guest appearance caused the surge to intensify] stood to make an exorbitant amount of money off of this event, and they still chose to cut corners, cut costs, and put attendees at risk," Thomas J. Henry, the attorney representing the 282 plaintiffs, said in a statement.
Meanwhile, various brands that were associated with the artist have since distanced themselves. Some, like Anheuser-Busch, who brews Scott’s Cacti hard seltzer, have discontinued selling any branded or collaborative products. Coachella also recently dropped Scott from its 2022 lineup.
Dior is only the latest in a string of brands associated with the creative to take this step, which much of social media is calling the right one.
It’s unclear how long brands will shy away from an association with Scott, and whether he’ll ever return to the heights he reached before Astroworld Fest.
Over the past few years, Scott had established himself as the biggest celebrity in music, fashion, and any of the industries that overlapped with those worlds. His collaborations with Nike’s Jordan Brand, McDonald’s, and Dior positioned Scott as one of the world's most brandable musicians.
Dior’s Cactus Jack capsule collection was heavily inspired by Scott’s Texan roots, featuring cacti and desert themes throughout a range of ready-to-wear apparel. It was also the first time Dior had partnered with a musician on a collection and the first time it ever allowed its iconic monogram to be altered.
