The Tamesis
Yet Smith is no opportunistic dilettante. One of his first acts after taking the job was a road trip to the factory in Campania, Italy, where Louboutin’s menswear production is concentrated and accounts for about a quarter of his income. He says the culture of craft tradition and family-cultivated expertise he discovered there “gave me a real appreciation and understanding and changed the way I looked at shoes and fashion.”
At the same time, his design instincts tend toward hybrid categories. There’s a black patent split-toe penny loafer called the Plato, made with a sliding slingback strap that Smith imagines could be worn from the boardwalk to the boardroom. He imagined a black Chelsea boot covered in webbing, worn directly from the promenade to a formal event. There’s also a black cowboy-boot-style boot with a shaft emblazoned with crowd scenes shot by his friend Moises Arias in Paris, which Smith thinks would be as suitable for a snake boot as it is for a casual lizard. Formal evening shoes are punched with Swiss cheese holes to give the wearer as many options as socks. There’s a mix of Louboutin red faux fur boots and casual moon boots.
Acielle Style Tumon
In addition to its diverse footwear offerings, Smith has developed an extensive line of accessories, including duffel bags, belts, chrome keychains with attached paintbrushes, and other miscellaneous items. His 12-pocket leather backpack, each pocket carefully printed with the designer’s desired content category, is a key piece to the “TCT Formal” aesthetic Smith worked hard to establish in the collection.
“I feel like fashion is about expressing yourself: radical expression through art,” said Jaden Smith. “All I can say about myself is that I’m honored to be here, I’m blessed, I’m happy. I’m going to do the best I can with the opportunities I’ve been given,” he added.
