Swae Lee is pursuing a new creative outlet in gender-neutral fashion. The rapper recently entered a collaboration with Italian luxury designer Giuseppe Zanotti to release a collection of heeled boots for men.
In an interview with Footwear News published on Tuesday (Feb. 18), Swae explained how he hopes his designs will change gender fashion norms.
“A lot of [rappers] are fu*king scared to wear sh*t,” he told the outlet. “They want to think the old ways and put a limit on that sh*t. I’m not scared to be different.”
The collection includes three different pairs of heeled men’s boots, with one being a light pink-colored shoe, which Swae has already been seen wearing.
“I was making something to go on someone’s body, to complete their outfit, the shoe completes a look,” he continued. “It was up to me to make the most key part of the outfit, so it was way different. Now I’m helping people with their well-being. This is their image. That’s important.”
The Rae Sremmurd duo-half first announced his partnership with Zanotti last month with an Instagram post, which revealed he’d be designing floral-patterned sneakers with the brand.
“Even growing up we used to rap about Giuseppes. Everybody in the hood wanted them,” he said. “We couldn’t afford it so you were a real high-end dude if you wore Giuseppes. You were going to make a lot of noise and turn heads if you came through wearing them.”
During the interview, Zanotti said the “Sunflower” rapper had been instrumental in the new collection, even bringing his own sketch ideas to the table.
Swae has never been one to shy away from bold fashion, notably sporting sparkly silver boots at the 2020 Grammys.
“If you look good, or just feel like you look good in something, you should wear it,” he said. “If I can pull it off and make it like you can’t tell what sex it is for, then [I’m going] to put it on.”
Musically, Swae dropped off his “Back 2 Back Maybach” single last week. Rae Sremmurd released their most recent album SR3MM in 2018.