When Kendrick Lamar shows up to a Chanel show, he shows out. Back in July 2023, Lamar wowed everyone watching with his look at the label’s haute couture show decked out in full Chanel, from his bandana and glasses to his women’s tweed jacket and Chanel logo pants.
It was a powerful, memorable look that only one with Kendrick’s panache could truly pull off, doubly so considering that Chanel remains a womenswear label.
Kendrick does describe himself as the best-dressed rapper out there and to be honest, he’s not wrong. At Chanel's 2024 Haute Couture runway show, Kendrick arrived looking equally suave and stylish, though this time his look was a little more subdued.
You don’t just drape yourself in pearls every time you make an appearance, you know.
This time, he was less logo-heavy and more referential to Chanel’s brand history, wearing a simple bejeweled Chanel hat and tweed Chanel jacket with baggy jeans (no Chanel C logos this time.
He also rocked a very nice-looking pair of black and white adidas sneakers, because Kendrick can do whatever he wants, including wearing vintage basketball shoes as haute couture.
Kendrick looked like the epitome of chill, which cannot be easy for someone seated front row at the Chanel Haute Couture Show next to Naomi Campbell. (Although Kendrick’s star power is certainly comparable)
Still, only Kendrick can take something as prim as a luxuriously nubby blazer and make it look relaxed as he does here.
Lamar also oversaw the set design for Chanel's couture runway and scored an accompanying short film for the show. The Button is a story about “time and transmission,” written by Kendrick’s creative partner and pglang co-founder Dave Free and starring Chanel ambassador Margaret Qualley and Naomi herself.
In the short, Qualley runs around Paris looking for a missing button before coming toe-to-toe with fellow house ambassador Anna Mouglalis.
The score is fairly simple, with just two lines of vocals from Lamar: “I’m up and down/ I’m unenthused/To see there’s an exit is impossible.”
Fans are already wondering if Chanel partnership means new music from the Compton-born rapper, given that he’s only done a few features since his last full album was released in 2022. Whatever Kendrick has in store for 2024, he’s off to a good start.
And, heck, might not an adidas collab be just as interesting? Or to follow in Pharrell's footsteps with a Chanel collection?
