Jaden Smith Models Skirt for Louis Vuitton Campaign: Why the Brand Chose Him

Will and Jada Pinkett Smith's 17-year-old son defies gender norms and looks good doing it

By Rebecca Macatee Jan 04, 2016 8:30 PMTags
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Jaden Smith wears what he wants—be it a caped Batman ensemble or a Louis Vuitton skirt.

Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith's 17-year-old son actually modeled the latter as part of Louis Vuitton's "Series 4" spring-summer 2016 collection advertising campaign.  In an edgy photo titled "The Heroine," shot by Bruce Weber, Jaden poses alongside three female models in Tampa while wearing womenswear.

Nicolas Ghesquière, creative director of the house of Louis Vuitton, explained why the label wanted Jaden to model for this particular collection. "Why does Jaden Smith star in this campaign? He represents a generation that has assimilated the codes of true freedom, one that is free of manifestos and questions about gender," says Ghesquière in a Louis Vuitton press release. "Wearing a skirt comes as naturally to him as it would to a woman who, long ago, granted herself permission to wear a man's trench or a tuxedo."

"Jaden Smith conveys something very interesting about the integration of a global wardrobe," Ghesquière continued. "He's found an instinctive balance that makes his extraordinary attitude a new norm. That really inspired me in the creative process for this collection."

This isn't the first time Jaden's defied gender norms with his wardrobe. Last year, for example, he posted an Instagram photo of himself wearing a dress, writing, "Went To TopShop To Buy Some Girl Clothes, I Mean 'Clothes."

He later added to Twitter, "That Moment When Your Wearing A Dress With No Pants And You Swerve Way To Hard."

Clearly somebody's confident in his sense of style. Good on you, Jaden.

—Additional reporting by Vanessa McDonald Ryan