A$AP Rocky Turned The Courtroom Into The Catwalk

36-year-old Grammy-nominated rapper A$AP Rocky was found not guilty this Tuesday evening in a courtroom in Los Angeles. Rocky, born Rakim Meyers, was charged with two felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon surrounding an altercation with former high school friend Terrell Efron, also known as A$AP Relli, following a falling out back in 2021. Having declined a pre-trial plea deal offered by the prosecution, Rocky faced up to 24 years in prison if found guilty.

For the verdict reading, the hip-hop artist and fashion designer sported a pinstripe suit from the FW24 Saint Laurent Menswear collection paired with vintage Tiffany & Co. gold earrings. Rocky was seen leaving the court hand in hand alongside longtime partner and singer Rihanna with makeup smudged across his shoulder from the couple’s celebratory embrace, a final look in what has become an unexpectedly fashion-centric event.

Courtroom fashion has long been a powerful tool in signaling respect, authenticity, and even perceived innocence for high-profile celebrity trials in the court of public opinion. In March 2010, while covering the infamous “Bling Ring” case surrounding a series of celebrity robberies carried out by Los Angeles teenagers, journalist Nancy Jo Sales wrote for Vanity Fair, “The Suspects Wore Louboutins,” which prompted Alexis Neiers’ now TikTok-viral lament, “She said I was wearing six-inch Louboutins to court with my tweed outfit,” when she claims she actually wore little brown kitten heels. As a result, the piece helped paint a very pointed picture of the privileged Valley kids turned cat burglars. More recently, Gwyneth Paltrow was heralded as the mother of quiet luxury and calm during her trial surrounding a ski collision, largely dubbed ridiculous by the media, while wearing head-to-toe logoless Prada, Celine, and The Row last March.

Though Rocky faced serious, life-altering and career-derailing charges, much of fashion’s focus remained on the all-star couple’s outfits and has also marked a turning point in brands’ promotion of the looks. Over the course of the last month, Saint Laurent sent press mailers announcing each of A$AP’s looks; however, they referred to his appearances solely as “in Los Angeles” and avoided any mention of the ongoing case. A$AP was primarily styled in full Saint Laurent menswear FW24 and FW25, two of the brand’s most successful collections in recent years. In a trial that wrapped late last year, Young Thug’s lawyer Brian Steel also received considerable media attention for wearing and promoting his client’s brand Sp5der ahead of its drop in the midst of the case.

Rihanna was seen in attendance, in lieu of the ongoing fashion months, looking editorially polished wearing pieces including Maison Margiela Tabi loafers, a green draped Bottega Veneta Dress, Phoebe Philo leather trench, and asymmetric houndstooth blazer from COMME Des GARÇONS. A$AP was additionally seen in a Bottega Veneta poplin shirt, Prada raincoat, and his signature Ray Bans, of which he and his brand AWGE are a frequent collaborator.

AWGE was previously set to stage an event during NYFW this season but had to to cancel due to the trial dates. Canceled show withstanding, despite the gravity of the case, the onslaught of paparazzi images and guaranteed media attention still proved to be a newly explored opportunity for branded promotion, especially when office-core continues to top trend reports multiple runway seasons in a row.

Looking ahead, A$AP is set to co-chair this year’s Met Gala, Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, alongside Colman Domingo, Lewis Hamilton, Pharrell Williams, and Anna Wintour. The verdict also comes just in time for the upcoming London, Milan, and Paris Fashion Weeks as fans online hope to see the couple back out sporting everything from fresh off the runway to major archival pulls.