Tyler, The Creator, the musician and record producer who brought the world Goblin and Igor, all the way through to Call Me If You Get Lost, doesn’t do anything without a story behind it. Each body of music from the artist comes fleshed out with an accompanying aesthetic that makes an album feel like an enveloping experience, and its this keen ability to turn any project into an all-encompassing universe that lends to the genius of the rapper’s debut solo collection for his luxury line, Golf Le Fleur.
Not to be confused with Golf Wang, the streetwear brand Tyler launched in 2011, Golf le Fleur has, since its inception, been the vessel through which the musician and entrepreneur has executed a number of collaborations, from an ongoing partnership with Converse, to a 2019 collection with Lacoste. Now, the Grammy award winner unveils the brand’s debut solo collection, an intricately curated capsule of unisex apparel, accessories, and beauty products. It feels not only like Tyler’s niche, instantly-recognizable fashion persona come to life, but an invitation for fans to step into a world he’s created.
Credit: Golf le Fleur / Luis “Panch” Perez
While developing a high-end apparel line can be expected to be a vastly different experience than, say, composing an album, Golf le Fleur’s newest collection is so innately Tyler that he says he didn’t find the design process to be a particular challenge. “It was pretty… easy,” he tells ESSENCE. “It was me saying ‘I want to make a silk shirt. Oh, but I like round collars – They never give guys round collars.’ ‘I’m going to do the buttons with the flower logo, so it’s subtle.’ Then, if it looks good on me, it’s like ‘there we go.’” Leopard print is the common denominator for many of the pieces, but it would come as no surprise to anyone who’s paid close attention to Tyler’s fashion choices over the years. “I feel like I’m on a different style every two years,” he says. “But a friend of mine said, ‘It’s wild how you were always who you are.’” He went on to describe how his love of leopard print evolved over the years: It started with a T-shirt he made at 17 that read “Fuck,” the lettering filled in with the spotted motif. Then, the baseball hat he wore while accepting his first VMA award onstage in 2011. And now, the pistachio-colored sweater vest he wore (from the collection, of course) for an intimate first-look showing of his pieces last week.
To that point, Tyler had already been seen quietly sporting styles from the collection for some time – The faux-fur ushanka hat he wore while performing at the 2021 American Music Awards, the pink leopard trunk he toted on the red carpet at 10th Annual LACMA Art and Film Gala topped with a pair of Golf le Fleur sunglasses. More preppy pieces that feel straight from the California-native’s personal closet come with the collection’s launch: A mohair cardigan in two colorways, a short-sleeve collared button up, a knit polo, a lineup of silk tops, and shorts and trousers to pair them all back with. There are immense, but unsurprising amounts of attention to detail – A color-blocked silk top boasts a pencil-like drawing on its backside and reads “call me if you get lost” (Tyler says he hand drew the graphic and opted to leave the text in his handwriting), while any buttons are in the shape of an asymmetric flower, and a pair of shorts come complete with a wavy silhouetted back pocket.
Credit: Golf le Fleur / Luis “Panch” Perez
“I don’t even see this as me diving into the beauty space,” Tyler says, regarding his debut fragrance, French Waltz, and the three nail polish shades that come alongside Golf le Fleur’s apparel (he wore “Geneva Blue” for its unveiling). “It’s just me saying ‘I want to make perfume,’ so I made it. I want to make nail polish,’ so I made it. I just made this, and this is what I’m on. And I hope people fuck with it.” The campaign for the launch feels like a visual representation of how one could expect French Waltz to smell. Scent notes include mandarin, jasmine, rose and more, but Tyler says more than anything, the fragrance takes him back to certain moments. “Remember being a kid and going to your mom’s friend’s house, and it’s a pool there and you’re swimming?” he says. “And you stop swimming, and you eat a bad sandwich or burger. You’re dripping wet. Or maybe you’re eating chips. That’s what it smells like to me. First time cliff jumping into water. First time hitting a donut in a car. Just that joy where I’m just yelling.” On a more basic level, Tyler says after spending time in London with a few young noses, taking in a heap of raw oils to land on the perfect scent, he wanted to go for something crisp he felt like anyone could wear. “I love clean, floral [smells],” he says. “I don’t like woody, heavy, musky, smokey, leather… I hate that.”
Credit: Golf le Fleur / Luis “Panch” Perez
While Golf Wang famously has a brick-and-mortar home on Fairfax in Los Angeles, Tyler says he wanted to create a special experience around this Golf le Fleur collection launch. Atop a hill in Malibu, he showed the collection in what was more of an immersive exhibit than a pop-up, with custom architectural design, a manicure station, and employees decked out in the collection down to the nail polish, fully illustrating its versatility. Luckily, it’s a set-up fans will have a chance to experience on Friday and through the weekend by appointment, before the collection hit’s Golf le Fleur’s website on December 13. “Everything I make is for anyone to wear,” Tyler says. “I hope when people go in there, they’re just like, ‘Oh I like this piece. I’m going to get this piece.’ That’s what it is.”