In his 2015 hit “Shutdown”, Skepta raps about going to a show and sitting on the front row, and today he did just that – at Chanel no less. Wedged between Chanel model Lily-Rose Depp and pop singer Rita Ora, the king of grime was among VIP guests at the house’s space-inspired AW17 ready-to-wear show this morning, and while he wasn’t wearing a black tracksuit, he was donning a custom-made blue, black, and white tweed blazer.
“I never, ever thought I’d be at a Chanel show,” he told Dazed after the show, which climaxed with a rocket launching in the middle of the show space. “But I’m really happy to be here and to see this show ‘cause I’m sure this is one of the best.” Describing Lagerfeld as an “amazing designer”, the rapper said that he particularly liked the houndstooth pieces from the collection, saying, “I liked the glitter that he added to the materials too. And the rocket at the end was amazing. It was very creative.”
While he was out to see some of the very finest examples of French fashion, Skep was keen to extol the style virtues of hometown too. “I think London is a very fashionable place because there’s so many different cultures we’ve grown up around,” he said. “Since we were young, we’ve always been going to central London and buying designers even if we didn’t have money. London is the place to find fresh fashion.”
In fact, the rapper has been very involved in the city’s emerging fashion scene – in 2014 he collaborated with London designer Nasir Mazhar on a collection and, in the same year, took to the catwalk at one of his shows.
We also asked Skepta for his thoughts on Stormzy’s new album Gang Sign and Prayer, which came out last week and skyrocketed to the top of the UK charts, becoming the first grime album to reach number one. “It’s great for British music and for London,” he said. “London is definitely the place to be for music right now. Blessings to Stormy and congratulations.”
Head here to read more about Chanel’s AW17 show.
