Call it a tale of two Cudis.
Last Friday, a 10-meter-high sculpture of Kid Cudi was erected outside the Place de la Bourse, one of three monumental statues (the other two landed in New York and Long Beach) that depicted the rapper in streetwear with his arms outstretched, his eye sockets and open mouth shining red light.
Today, from a showroom in the 16th arrondissement that was buzzing with feel-good colors, Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi showed off patchwork crew jackets and crystal-studded jeans in the flesh.
Same person, different deployments in Paris. While the vaguely menacing figure was a bold publicity move tied to the release of his ninth studio album, Insanothe outgoing and exciting clothing belongs to his brand, Members of the Rage.
In December, the Grammy-winning artist received an Honorary Master of Arts in Fashion Design from the Istituto Marangoni fashion school, a major recognition that came just two seasons under his belt. But Mescudi creates a idiosyncratic style, just as he developed his catchy music. To start with, he doubles down on his personal ideas that merge the vulnerable and the comic. Reflections, drawings and images are taken from his original sketches: “It’s hard to make friends because I’m an artist” spotted in a print chock full of doodles; a gritty, pointed tribute to the late bulldog, Freshie; hand-painted accents that are scanned for production.
Its design approach is a largely unisex offering that includes looser street silhouettes such as the ‘jumbo cord’ cargo pants; kaleidoscopic versions of collegiate standbys; and a tailored look defined by a cropped and boxy jacket with slightly flared trousers. He attended the recent Creative Arts Emmy Awards (his film, Entergalactic, won Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation) in a watercolor-print MOTR suit speckled with lavish beading. But there are also shopper-friendly hoodies, sports sweaters and fluffy cardigans that are better suited for music festivals than an evening on the couch.
He takes craftsmanship seriously, and this was reflected in the mixed material and leather pieces: super-fine lambskin printed with racing motifs (following a brand name that sounds like ‘motorcycle’); a remix of his 2011 suit jacket collaboration with Surface to Air; trousers and jackets with iridescent inserts or bouclé patches that reference ‘slime’ (yes, the ’80s neon junk that came in a can). Although in some cases the effect was a hallucination of ’80s nostalgia manifesting as stage dressing, the unbridled creation – as proof the repetition of ‘Art = freedom’ – certainly gave a positive slant to anger.
With the help of the fashion group 247, which produces the line in Italy and now distributes it internationally (there will also be e-commerce in the spring), MOTR’s positioning is higher than it seems. Mescudi credited Kim Jones, Matthew Williams, “my hero” Nigo and good friend Virgil Abloh for opening his mind to everything that goes into making high-level ready-to-wear. There is talk of a presentation next season and it is this increased exposure that will determine whether the industry – and not just his loyal fans – will consider him more than a crossover artist.
Mescudi welcomes the pressure, the investment and the commitment. “We don’t know if many people still take this seriously; this is still about to prove itself. But I have a very unique way of seeing things, I have a great support system and I know my audience,” he said. “This is a non-stop train in real time and you are on it for however long you have your brand. What I learned while creating is that even though I experienced the ups and downs, I was free. I expressed myself thoroughly. And no one said I couldn’t do it.”
