At the beginning of my phone interview with Jaden Smith, I had to start by telling him his song “K” was one of my favorites ever. Unintentionally, it proved the perfect starting point for our conversation about his latest creative venture under I LOVE YOU, his non-profit, which he explains was deeply informed by his 2019 album ERYS. ​

In support of his I LOVE YOU RESTAURANT – a food truck that serves free vegan meals to the Skid Row community – Jaden just dropped a limited line of I LOVE YOU graphic merch, with all proceeds going back to the nonprofit to fund I LOVE YOU’s ability to provide free meals to the unhoused. He shared more insight on the design process of the merchandise, as well as on the growth and future goals of I LOVE YOU and how it ties into his larger creative universe.

Could you say more about how EYRS prompted the launch of I LOVE YOU?

When I was making the EYRS album, that’s when I was really confronted with what was going down on Skid Row. All of the music videos for that album were shot in downtown LA. I realized I can’t just come here and, like, use the backdrop that’s been created, without giving back.

Why was giving back to the people of Skid Row, in particular, so important to you?

I have to go back a while for this one. This goes all the way back to when I was filming The Pursuit of Happyness, living in San Francisco with my dad. We hired homeless people to be extras in the film, and it’s part of the reason why the movie feels so real. That also just really engraved the realities of Skid Row into my brain. Those early experiences on Skid Row, combined with the experience of EYRS, just made me have this feeling of wanting to actively give back.

What was the goal in launching I LOVE YOU?

The initial goal was to make a non-profit, catered to this generation, that was cool. I wanted it to have a design language and clear aesthetic, and have everything shot and styled really cool. This generation cares a lot, and they are really vocal about what they care about, so I wanted to speak to that. I’d been seeing so much negativity, and I wanted to put more positivity into the world. I knew people would cling to it positively, and I knew it would make people smile, which is what pushed me to do it even more.

How did you decide on the name? 

Certain words and energy, scientifically, can have a certain effect on people and molecules. That’s why I decided to name it I LOVE YOU, because saying “I love you” has a positive effect on your brain. It’s forcing people to say “I love you” over and over again when they talk about it. You always hear it. You’re always saying it. You’re seeing it everywhere. It just affects your brain positivity.

Walk me through the design process of the Valentine’s Day graphics?

MSFTS [Smith's sustainable streetwear brand and creative collective] used to produce an I LOVE YOU shirt. It was just a shirt that said “I LOVE YOU,” and we used to give it out to all of our volunteers, but we ran out of those shirts because of all of the activations we were doing. I was designing for Christian Louboutin at the time, and I wanted to design more clothes, so I came up with these puff-printed hoodies and T-shirts for I LOVE YOU with the text “I’m not a volunteer, I’m just a person who believes in this.” I sat down with the design team at MSFTS, and we got to work.

Why drop a merch collection?

We only get our donations from big corporations that actually want to be involved. We’re for the people, and funded by the people, is what we say. This merch drop is my way to allow the people, and even those who haven’t been on the ground volunteering with us, to feel like they are part of the community. It’s more of a spiritual purpose. And that’s what I think fashion is about, an indication, from afar, of the kind of person you are.

How does I LOVE YOU fit into your creative universe at large?

It’s hard to get a sense of my personality. I make it hard to do so because that’s just how I am, but I LOVE YOU is what I would say is at the core of my personality and the most authentic reflection of the kind of person I am. In my music, I talk a lot about changing the world and speaking, and this next generation of existence, and I LOVE YOU carries over those themes too and represents that part of my artistry. MSFTS has always been rooted in the concept of the next generation coming together as one and giving back, and that’s the core sentiment of I LOVE YOU, so it also speaks to that part of my artistry as well. I LOVE YOU speaks to all of these different sides of who I am and the different sides of people in the world, so that when they see it on the internet, it resonates with them. Out of all of the things that I have done in my life, I LOVE YOU is one of them that resonates with people in the way that I really, really want it to.

What’s in the potential pipeline for I LOVE YOU?

One day, I’d love to have an I LOVE YOU gala that happens somewhere different around the world each year. My end goal is to have a matrix of nonprofits. I just want to create a world where everyone can go outside, celebrate, and change the world together.