Kid Cudi has not been shy about taking fashion risks in 2021.
With his SNL outfit change from a Chris Farley tee and jeans to a long, floral dress designed by Virgil Abloh (a tribute to the late Kurt Cobain) and his NYFW fit — a Nirvana tee (another not to Cobain) with a long, floor-length, black skirt underneath, the Indicud rapper has certainly shifted from big glasses and a Cleveland fitted to elevated, higher-fashion looks.
And at Monday night’s Met Gala, Cudi continued his run of looks that push the envelope. Wearing a blue Louis Vuitton sweater, with a graphic-covered LV skirt and LV sneakers, along with fluorescent green hair, dark eye makeup and jewels to accent it, he pulled off what is probably his most daring look yet. To many, Cudi was simply expressing himself through fashion on a night where the world’s biggest A-listers get together to do the same thing, but to others, Cudi was doing too much.
Rappers Waka Flocka Flame and Soulja Boy both took to the Instagram comment section and let it be known that they were not down with Cudi’s fit, makeup or anything he had going on. “Blood Burnt Out,” Waka Flocka said of the 37-year-old Cudi. Soulja Boy, not known as one to ever mince words, was surprisingly more succinct, but made his feelings clear. “SMH,” Soulja commented, along with a facepalm emoji.
Despite the comments, however, Cudi’s recent willingness to dress exactly how he wants comes from a place of both honor and inspiration. Along with the obvious nods to Cobain, Cudi has said that Kanye West would “respect him” for wearing a dress on SNL and on an episode of HBO’s The Shop, Cudder said that him dresssing exactly how he wants gives “confidence to the kids and (tells) them to be themselves and do what they want to do.”