Kid Cudi is set to make his deepest splash into fashion yet with the launch of his own label. “Members of the Rage” will release its first collection this Saturday, and a teaser website has gone live that allows fans to subscribe to email alerts.
Cudi has yet to reveal what his clothing will look like, but he has divulged that Members of the Rage’s logo was designed by him and Nigo, the founder of BAPE and current artistic director of Kenzo. In response to a fan, Cudi also tweeted that the collection shouldn’t be considered merch and that “it ain’t cheap.”
Long before collaborations with brands and musicians became commonplace, streetwear and fashion were already inextricably linked with Cudi. The Cleveland-born rapper and singer worked at the BAPE store in New York City before his music career blew up, and an early collab brought the connection full circle with a cartoon Cudi paired with the character Baby Milo.
Plenty of collab experience —
In addition to the music merch that’s become standard fare in the industry, Cudi has a long history of collaborating throughout the fashion space. 10 Deep hosted his seminal mixtape A Kid Named Cudi and accompanied it with merch in 2008. He then designed two jackets along with Surface to Air that appeared in the video for “Mr. Rager” before going on sale to the general public.
Cudi has reunited with BAPE on several occasions, and he also released a collection with A.P.C. in 2019. He’s grown close with Cactus Plant Flea Market, which has designed some of his own merchandise in recent years in addition to the Kids See Ghosts capsule with Kanye West. Last fall, Cudi partnered with Bleacher Report and Mitchell & Ness to release a limited-edition Cleveland Cavaliers jersey. And we can’t forget his Adidas line, which quietly fell from the face of the earth without explanation.
Now it’s finally time for Cudi to step out on his own. He said on Twitter that Members of the Rage is years in the making, and we’ll see just how he fares solo beginning this weekend. But if Nigo is involved beyond the logo, it’ll go a long way toward making the brand a hit.
