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If you’ve been online at all in the past 10 weeks, you’ll know that #Kravis – also known as Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker – were married in a Dolce and Gabbana-clad ceremony. If you’re chronically online, you’ll know the details of the guest list, which included the newly wedded pair’s collective six children. What you may not yet know is that while the couple has made headlines for their intricate wedding plans and matching couple's outfits, Barker’s son, Landon Barker, has been forging a name of his own in music and fashion.
On June 15, Barker launched a clothing collection — the young musician’s first professional foray into design — with UK-based digital direct-to-consumer retailer, boohooMAN. Having ensured that he would be granted creative direction before committing to the project, Barker co-designed each of the 40 pieces. He explained, “I wanted it to feel like me.”
Noticeably camera shy when we met on Zoom, Barker’s hesitation served as a reminder that, despite early exposure to fame and the expectation of unflinching maturity that brings, he’s only 18 years-old: “I just graduated!”
As a member of Gen Z, Barker is explicit about feeling a sense of permission to dress and design beyond gendered limitations. “There aren’t any boundaries,” he professes. “Clothing is for everybody.”
The collection clearly harkens to Barker’s roots, as is reflected in silver chain and barbed wire details, as well as distressed knits, vegan leathers, and pinstripe slacks. A few pieces also feature pearl details, which add softness to the otherwise punk aesthetic that Barker’s father has long been known for and has passed onto his son.
Despite working under a men’s label, Barker notes that he sees his new collection as unisex. Referencing his peers, he told Teen Vogue: “There are still [young] people who think ‘this is for boys and this is for girls,’ you know? But I love to see that it’s getting more common for people to just not give a f*ck. However you want to express yourself, you should. I paint my nails. I wear glittery shirts. When I get dressed every day, I don't have guidelines.”
There is utility in having young and popular artists who publicly resist — and thereby cause the public to question — the limitations of the gender binary (think: Lil Nas X, Janelle Monae, Harry Styles, or Kid Cudi). Adhering to one’s own independence, as opposed to that of historically normative cultural ideals, creates space for further conversation on degendering fashion, an increasingly popular movement.
Just this year, one of the movement’s leaders, Alok Vaid-Menon, interviewed gender-fluid designer Harris Reed on the subject. Reed (whose designs are worn by Beyoncé on British Vogue’s July cover) not only explains that “the future of fashion is gender free” but that freeing garments from gendered categories actually poses economic opportunity for new designers and established fashion companies alike.
Jessica Glasscock, a fashion historian and lecturer at Parsons School of Design, celebrates these strides while pushing us to think bigger. She told NBC, “[That] those fashion designers engaged with it and contribute to the visibility of the identity is wonderful, but I don't know if they are leading the charge.” Alongside acknowledging the power designers have in representing a move against gendered parameters in fashion, she reminds us that much of the cultural shift happening in fashion is a product of the work done by everyday folks who occupy non-binary and gender-fluid identities. Case in point: The hashtag #genderfluidfashion has over 6.6M views on TikTok.
With that in mind, Barker’s expansive outlook on fashion is well-suited for the moment. And his approach to music follows a similar trajectory. Having made his music debut with ‘die in california,’ on Machine Gun Kelly’s latest album, mainstream sellout, Barker says he sees music as genreless, too: “I started out with making rap music. And I've completely taken a different turn. Now I — not strictly, but mainly — make acoustic pop music, rock music, pop punk music. Everyone is going to like different genres, so there's no reason to confine yourself to one.”
Between his clothing collection and new solo music set to drop this summer, it seems 2022 will be a year for Barker’s books.
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Want more from Teen Vogue? Check this out: Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker’s Wedding Outfits Are Extremely On Brand.
