ASAP Rocky Discusses His New Puma Collab, ‘LIVE.LOVE.A$AP…

ASAP Rocky thinks he’s the flyest that he’s ever been.

It’s a big claim considering the many influential style eras he’s lived through and helped foster. But he keeps evolving like Goku (his words, not ours).

As we sit in the penthouse of the Soho House in West Hollywood, he’s making a good case. His outfit is a mix of his self-proclaimed “dad swag,” a brown button-up shirt layered with a leather bomber jacket, mixed with black pony hair Mostros and indigo denim featuring a logo across the fly from his most recent Puma collaboration.

The new collection, which is available now at select retailers around the world including Complex, is what has us sitting down in Los Angeles on this particular evening in October. It’s one of the most extensive and flamboyant assortments he’s designed since joining the brand as creative director of its F1 division in 2023. It’s a perfect marriage of Puma’s classic sportswear with a luxurious twist. Pieces range from floor-length faux fur coats to layered mechanic shirts covered in colorful Puma, AWGE, and “Don’t Be Dumb” logo hits. Animal prints, from python to cheetah, are the driving force of the capsule.

The exotic accents are a literal reference to jungle music, which we now all refer to as jazz music. Rocky took inspiration from Harlem and its rich history of influential style and music. “Harlem is the most flamboyant, flyest region on planet Earth.” says Rocky.

Rocky’s new Puma collab was the main event, but that wasn’t all that we spoke to Rocky about. He also clued us into his favorite creation of what has been an incredibly productive 2025 for the rapper-turned-actor-turned-designer-turned family man, gave us a science lesson about dolphins, and reminisced about his legendary debut mixtape LIVE.LOVE.A$AP. Check out our full conversation with Flacko, below.

There’s a lot of animal print in this new collection. That’s trending in fashion again, but what made you want to put your own spin on it and translate it through Puma and sportswear?
I wanted to tell a story of where jazz derived from. If you think about Harlem, the Cotton Club, and all of the performers, they used to perform jungle music. We refer to it as jazz. So, this was just a nod to the jungle, literally.

Do you have a favorite piece from this collection?
All of them. I think each piece has its special quality to it. Each piece is a part of my heart. Every time I go into anything creative, I always try to embed some type of tender love and care into each piece. If there’s no love there, those pieces don’t see the light of day. 

Harlem inspired this collection. I feel like people in New York and from the east coast realize the impact of Harlem on fashion. For those that don’t know, can you just touch on its importance?
Harlem is the most flamboyant, flyest region on planet Earth…Japan might be first, but don’t tell nobody I said that.

I think Harlem’s influence transcends beyond barriers and genres. We just talked about the Cotton Club, which was predominantly a white establishment with restrictions to colored people and Black people at the time. They weren’t allowed in unless they were performing or something like that. And just to know that Harlem derived from Seneca Village, which is now known as Central Park, and went to the outskirts of 110th Street all the way to 155th…wealthy people were kicked out of their homes. All of the furs, full-length minks, Rolls-Royces, and really flashy opulence comes from Seneca Village, Harlem. That’s why Harlem is the shit.

Harlem’s taught you a lot about fashion. You have been able to teach people a lot about fashion and set many trends throughout your career. Do you have a favorite style era of yours?
Right now. I’m in my bag. I am the most flyest I’ve ever been, G. I’m the most handsome I’ve ever been. I just keep evolving. I’m like Goku. I’m a holographic Pokemon card, gang. I don’t know what I’m going to be able to do in my 40s and 50s. I’ll figure it out though.

To that point, you’ve done a lot this year.
A whole lot.

What is your favorite thing that you’ve created this year?
My daughter. That’s my favorite thing I created this year. Shout out to Rocki Irish, man.

You also just celebrated a birthday. Happy belated.
Thank you, bro. I appreciate that.

What’s your favorite gift you got?
My Goyard cake and my Puma cake. [Laughs.]

Have you heard of Animorphs?
Yeah. The books, right? 

Yeah. If you had that power to morph into any animal, what would you pick?
The real king of the jungle, the elephant.

Interesting. Why?
Elephants are sacred. If you look at a lot of Asian and eastern religions, they put them at the top of the chart. It was westernized to refer to the lion as the king of the jungle, but the elephant is definitely the god of the jungle. And the most intelligent too. They’re very emotional. They’re empaths. 

I think elephants are equivalent to land dolphins. I’m just talking shit. Please guys, don’t take me too serious. What the fuck am I talking about right now? Everybody going to be like, “Yo, this motherfucker was high, bro.” Land dolphins. Because dolphins are mammals, right?

You’re right.
Bro, I’m a bit of a geek. I’m quite intelligent.

I’m sitting here with you in LA right now. I’ve sat down with you in cities all over the world.
I ain’t going to lie, we might as well do a world tour together at this point. Pack your bags, man. 

What city right now do you feel like brings out the most creativity in you when you’re there?
There’s a few regions. If we talk about North America, I’m biased. New York. It’s just so fast paced. I get a lot of inspiration from the vastly different people just walking up and down the streets. There’s just so many varieties of people with different backgrounds. 

For Europe. it was Berlin, but right now it’s Paris. Prior to it being Berlin, it was London.

And if we’re talking about Asia, it’ll be Tokyo, Japan. I just think they are just the future. And South Korea is the shit.

Never been to Japan. The first stop on the tour.
Listen, you go to Japan and it’s like a cheat code because you come back flyer than everybody. I promise you, if you really want to step your swag up, this is a secret I’m about to tell y’all. Your big brother Flacko got you covered. If you ever are in a place where you just feel like, “Damn, I need a new vibe or I need new inspiration for my drip. I want to get draped up, dripped down.” Go all the way out there to Tokyo, Japan. They got everything. They are a catalyst for fashion, from streetwear to runway to high-end luxury.

Your motto right now is “Don’t be dumb.” What is the smartest thing you have done this year?
I used to do a lot of dumb shit. Now, I try to move on some straight and narrow shit. So, the smartest thing I did this year was just learn from a lot of mistakes that I made in the past. I think we all should try to learn from mistakes. Some people don’t evolve from it, but for me, I’ve been really trying to dissect all the mistakes I did and try my best to convert them into a positive. Sorry to sound cliche. Learning from my dumb mistakes was the smartest thing I did this year.

This is random, but I recently found myself shuffling through playlists and LIVE.LOVE.A$AP came on. You’ve evolved a lot as an artist since then, but is there a song off of that project that you can hear today and still be like, “Damn,” like you impress yourself?
I felt like that whole project as a body of work was really impressive to me. It’s such a nostalgic time. I think that that marks a period in time. When you talk about decades and you think about the ‘60s, you might think about the Beatles or Jimi Hendrix. When you think about the ‘70s, you think about disco. The ‘80s is like break dancing. The ‘90s is hip-hop. I think that was a pinpoint for a certain era, the 2010s. I’m just glad that I got to be a part of it, for real. I’m a fan of that shit myself. Even though I made it, I think it’s just an excellent body of work overall. 

“Keep It G” is a personal favorite.
Man, that was crazy. It’s a few songs though. “Wassup” is crazy, bro. “See me in the hood, the gangstas saying what’s up.” Clams [Casino] went crazy on that beat. “Peso” is a classic. Fucking “Kissin’ Pink.” “Trila.” There’s some shit on there. “Bass.” Yo. “These other n****s so-so, they open off my mojo.” That shit is crazy. What else?

“Brand New Guy.
”See, it’s too many to pick one. “Palace,” the first intro track. Clams went crazy, yo. I went crazy.