Fashion trends come, go, and evolve over time. One trend that eclectic hip-hop artist Swae Lee wants to bring back is heeled shoes for men. While sneakers and work boots have dominated the trend in men’s footwear for decades, Swae is betting that his new designs for Giuseppe Zanotti will challenge the entrenched gender norm and help men to realize they can get away with less conservative styles if they have the nerve.
In an interview with Footwear News about the Zanotti collaboration, Swae outright challenges the standing convention for his colleagues. “A lot of [rappers] are f*cking scared to wear sh*t,” he says. “They want to think the old ways and put a limit on that sh*t. I’m not scared to be different.” Swae says the reason for his androgynous style choice is he wanted to make “something to go on someone’s body, to complete their outfit, the shoe completes a look. 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.”
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Swae is known, along with a burgeoning collective of truly out-there artists and collaborators alike Lil Uzi Vert, Post Malone, and Young Thug, for his unique looks and refusing to conform to just one style — musically and sartorially. Swae himself even explains how his style differs from the conventional “rapper” look: “If you look good, or just feel like you look good in something, you should wear it,” he explains. “My style is like — I’m wearing basically blouses. I ain’t gonna lie, but they look unisex to me. 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.”
You can check out the shoes — there are three styles right now ranging from $995 to $1,695 — on the Zanotti website.
